SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2022: 2-7 MIAC, 9-16 Overall

ST. OLAF OLES

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2022: 6-3 MIAC, 13-12 Overall

LIVE ON THE WEB:

Live Stats * Streaming Video

SMU-STO * A YEAR AGO:

Oct. 27, 2021 * Winona, MN

L, 3-0 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Oct. 25, 2022 * La Crosse, WI

UW-La Crosse * L, 3-0

ST. OLAF * LAST ACTION:

Oct. 26, 2022 * River Falls, WI

UW-River Falls * L, 3-0

SAINT MARY’S UP NEXT: 

Oct. 29, 2022 * St. Peter, MN

Gustavus * 7:00

ST. OLAF UP NEXT: 

Oct. 29, 2022 * Northfield, MN

Carleton * 7:00

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference match against St. Olaf sitting at 9-16 overall, including a 2-7 showing in nine conference play.

• LAST ACTION: UW-La Crosse used a big run to close out each of the first two sets, and had just enough left in the tank to out-kick the Cardinals in the third set in dealing Saint Mary’s a 3-0 nonconference setback Tuesday at UW-L’s Mitchell Hall.

• SWEEPING UP: Six of Saint Mary’s nine wins this season have been 3-0 sweeps, with the other three wins coming in four sets. On the flip side, the Cardinals have been swept seven times, while falling three times in four sets and dropping all six five-set matches.

• END OF THE ROAD: Friday’s match at St. Olaf is the fourth of five consecutive road contests to close out the Cardinals’ regular-season schedule. SMU will close out the regular-season at Gustavus on Saturday. … SMU finished 1-5 in home matches this season, while sitting at 8-11 in road matches.

• ON THE ATTACK: Ciarra McNally (Lewiston, Minn.) heads into Friday’s showdown at St. Olaf leading the team with 327 kills, followed by Abbie Stigler (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) with 298. Braidyn Ruetten (Holmen, Wis.) is third on the team with 164 kills, while Elise Amerongen (Lake Elmo, Minn.), Faith VanErp (Sartell, Minn.), and Brenna Bruchert (Eau Claire, Wis.) are sitting at 88, 83, and 77 kills, respectively.

• DOUBLE DIGITS: McNally delivered a single-match season-high 28 kills against Grinnell on Sept. 2, and has recorded 10 or more kills 40 times in her collegiate career — including nine matches of 20 or more kills.

• CAREER BESTS: The Cardinals have had two players post career-highs of 10 or more kills this season. Stigler has recorded a career-best 21 kills twice — first against Webster on Sept. 16 and then again against Hamline on Oct. 7, while Bruchert posted 16 kills in the Cardinals’ 3-1 win over Ripon on Sept. 23. … SMU boasts five players who have recorded career-highs of 10 or more digs this season — Peyton Berg (Chatfield, Minn.) put up a career-best 32 digs vs. Saint Benedict on Oct. 14; McNally delivered a career-high 20 digs against Grinnell on Sept. 17; Stigler notched a career-high 19 digs vs. Ripon on Sept. 23, and Larkin Clem (Elk River, Minn.) and Hannah Herrem () have both recorded a career-best 15 digs — Clem vs. Buena Vista on Oct 12 and Herrem vs. Knox on Sept. 17

• GIVING AN ASSIST: Schmidt and Larkin Clem (Elk River, Minn.) have shared the setting duties this season, with Schmidt owning a team-high 442 assists, followed closely by Clem with 391. … Schmidt has recorded at least 20 assists in a match nine times this season — including a season-high 31 against Knox on Sept. 17 — and has delivered 20 or more helpers 25 times over the past two seasons. … Clem has eclipsed the 20-assist mark seven times this season.

• JOINING THE CLUB: With her third assist against Marian on Sept. 10, Schmidt became the 13th player in program history to reach 1,000 career assists. Schmidt enters Friday’s match at St. Olaf with 1,351 helpers, ranking her 11th all-time. Rachel Monterastelli ’10 is next up on the all-time assist list, sitting in 10th at 1,471.

• DOUBLING UP: Schmidt recorded her 10th of the season with 18 assists and 17 digs against Bethel last Saturday. … McNally picked up her 14th double-double of the season against Macalester on Oct. 19, posting 14 kills and 12 digs, while Stigler and Schmidt also had double-doubles against the Scots — Stigler collecting her seventh double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs, and Schmidt notching double-double No. 9 with 22 assists and 12 digs. … SMU has had three players record double-doubles in the same match twice three times season.

• DIGGING IT: Berg enters Friday’s matchup against St. Olaf owning a team-high 414 digs, and has collected 10 or more digs in 14 of the team’s last 15 matches — and in 20 of the Cardinals’ 25 contests this season. … McNally is currently second on the team with 270 digs, followed by Schmidt with 219, Stigler with 194, and Clem with 150.

• SERVING UP ACES: Along with her team-leading 414 digs, Berg also leads the team with 42 service aces. VanErp is second with 32, followed by Clem with 25 and McNally with 20. … As a team, Saint Mary’s owns 166 aces through 25 matches.

• AT THE HELM: The 2021 season is the first at the helm for Cardinal coach Amber Zitzow — who picked up her first Saint Mary’s victory with a 3-0 win over Marian on Sept. 2. Zitzow spent the 2021 season as an assistant coach at UM-Morris, after serving 12 seasons at Rochester Community Technical College (RCTC), the first four as an assistant coach and the last eight as the Yellowjackets’ head coach.

ST. OLAF OLES SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Oles head into their final weekend of the regular season owning a 13-12 overall record, including a 6-3 mark through nine conference matches.

• LAST TIME OUT: St. Olaf got off to a slow start, and UW-River Falls took advantage, racing out to a 25-18 win in the opening set, and never looked back in dealing the Oles a 3-0 setback in the teams’ final nonconference match of the season Wednesday in River Falls, Wis.

• STREAKING: St. Olaf’s 3-0 loss to UW-River Falls on Wednesday snapped their two-match winning streak. The Oles head into their Friday showdown against Saint Mary’s having gone 4-2 in their last six contests and 6-3 in the month of October.

• FINAL HOME CONTEST: Friday’s match against Saint Mary’s is the final home contest of the season for the Oles, who do not have to leave Northfield, Minn., for their season-finale, traveling across town to face Carleton on Saturday. … St. Olaf is sitting at 5-2 in its seven home contests this season, while sporting an 8-10 mark away from Bob Gelle Court at Skoglund Center.

• ON THE ATTACK: St. Olaf enters Friday’s match against Saint Mary’s boasting six players with 100 or more kills, including three — Catherine Moore, Katelyn Lannom, and Anysia Caile — who have recorded more than 200 kills. Moore leads the team with 305 kills, followed by Lannom (223) and Caile (209). Christina Cheng (142), Tatum Sims (120), and Nicole Bannitt (113) have also eclipsed the 100-kill mark. 

• GIVING AN ASSIST: Paige Christophersen and Taylin Gosch have shared the setting duties for the Oles this season, with Christophersen delivering a team-best 604 helpers, while Gosch owns 429 assists. … Christophersen has posted 15 or more assists in all 25 matches this season, including a season-high 35 helpers against Coe on Sept. 9. Gosch, meanwhile, owns 23 matches with 10 or more assists, with a season-best 27-assist effort against Bethel on Oct. 14. 

• DIGGING IT: Selena Rodriguez is St. Olaf’s digs leader with 481. She is one of five Oles with more than 100 digs, being joined by Morgan Ryan (280), Cheng (273), Christophersen (214), and Gosch (162). … Rodriguez has reached double figures in digs in 24 of the team’s 25 matches, including season-highs of 33 against Macalester on Sept. 28 and 34 vs. Northwestern on Oct. 5.

• SERVING UP ACES: The Oles have served up 218 assists through 25 matches and have four players who own 30 or more aces. Christophersen leads the way for St. Olaf with 44 aces, followed by Lannom (38), Cheng (36), and Ryan (33).

• BY THE NUMBERS: St. Olaf has put together three, two-match winning streaks and a season-best three-match run. On the flip side, the Oles have lost two in a row twice, and once dropped three straight. … Ten of St. Olaf’s 25 matches this season have gone the maximum five sets. STO is 5-5 in those 10 contests. St. Olaf is 2-5 in three-set matches and 6-2 in four-setters.