SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2022: 0-3 MIAC, 7-10 Overall

HAMLINE PIPERS

Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

2022: 0-2 MIAC, 3-15 Overall

LIVE ON THE WEB:

Live Stats * Streaming Video

SMU-HU * A YEAR AGO:

Oct. 8, 2021 * Winona, MN

L, 3-0 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Oct. 5, 2022 * Decorah, IA

Luther * L, 3-2

HAMLINE * LAST ACTION:

Oct. 5, 2022 * St. Paul, MN

Crown * W, 3-0

SAINT MARY’S UP NEXT: 

Oct. 8, 2022 * Winona, MN

Carleton * 7:00

HAMLINE UP NEXT: 

Oct. 8, 2022 * St. Paul, MN

St. Catherine * 5:00

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into Friday’s conference matchup at Hamline sitting at 7-10 overall, including 0-3 in conference play.

• LAST ACTION: The Cardinals got double-doubles from three different players, but it was not enough to carry SMU to a victory, as Luther rallied from a 2-1 deficit to deal Saint Mary’s a 3-2, nonconference setback Wednesday evening in Decorah, Iowa.

• GOING THE DISTANCE: Wednesday’s loss to Luther was the Cardinals’ fifth five-set match of the season. Four of Saint Mary’s seven wins have been 3-0 sweeps, with the other three wins coming in four sets. On the flip side, the Cardinals have been swept four times, while falling once in four sets and dropping all five five-set matches.

• ROAD WARRIORS: Friday’s match at Hamline is the second straight road contest for the Cardinals, who will play 16 of their first 18 matches on the road. SMU will begin a four-match homestand on Saturday, when SMU hosts Carleton at the Saint Mary’s Gym.

• ON THE ATTACK: Ciarra McNally (Lewiston, Minn.) heads into Friday’s matchup at Hamline leading the team with 221 kills, followed by Abbie Stigler (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) with 179. Braidyn Ruetten (Holmen, Wis.) is third on the team with 108 kills, while Brenna Bruchert (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Elise Amerongen (Lake Elmo, Minn.) are sitting at 67 and 59 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 34 times in her collegiate career — including seven 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 recorded a career-best 21 kills against Webster on Sept. 16, while Bruchert posted 16 kills in the Cardinals’ 3-1 win over Ripon on Sept. 23. … Stigler posted a career-high 19 digs against Ripon on Sept. 23, and McNally notched a career-high 20 digs against Grinnell on Sept. 17, while Peyton Berg (Chatfield, Minn.) put up a career-best 28 digs vs. Luther on Wednesday.

• GIVING AN ASSIST: Mandy Schmidt (Mitchell, S.D.) and Larkin Clem (Elk River, Minn.) have shared the setting duties this season, with Schmidt owning a team-high 294 assists, followed closely by Clem with 261. … Schmidt has recorded at least 20 assists in a match seven times this season — including a season-high 31 against Knox on Sept. 17 — and has delivered 20 or more helpers 21 times over the past two seasons. … Clem has posted 20 or more assists in each of SMU’s last four matches.

• 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 Hamline with 1,203 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: McNally was one of three Cardinals to record a double-double in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to Luther, delivering 10 kills and 16 digs for her team-leading 10th double-double. Schmidt chipped in 24 assists and a season-high 19 digs for double-double No. 6 and Stigler added 19 kills and 11 digs for her fourth. … Clem is fourth on the team with two double-doubles. … 

• DIGGING IT: Payton Berg (Chatfield, Minn.) heads into Friday’s matchup against Hamline owning a team-high 269 digs, and has collected 10 or more digs in 13 of the Cardinals’ 17 matches this season. … McNally is currently second on the team with 200 digs, followed by Schmidt with 145, Stigler with 115, and Clem with 88.

• SERVING UP ACES: Along with her team-leading 269 digs, Berg also leads the team with 34 service aces. Clem is second on the team with 23 aces, followed by Faith VanErp (Sartell, Minn.) with 22. … As a team, Saint Mary’s owns 135 aces through 17 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.

HAMLINE PIPERS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Pipers head into Friday’s home matchup against Saint Mary’s sitting at 3-15 overall and are still searching for their first conference win, having dropped matches to Saint Benedict and Augsburg in their first two MIAC contests.

• LAST TIME OUT: Hamline put an end to a three-match losing streak on Wednesday, cruising to a 3-0 nonconference win over Crown at Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn.

• STREAKING: Hamline snapped a season-opening four-match losing streak — all four contests decided in 3-0 sweeps — by beating Martin Luther 3-1 on Sept. 9. HU would then drop its next eight before picking up its second win of the year with a 3-2 victory over Lawrence on Sept. 24.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Friday’s match against Saint Mary’s is the second straight home contest for the Pipers, who have picked up two of their three wins this season on their home court. HU is 2-6 at home, while going 1-9 away from Hutton Arena.

• ON THE ATTACK: Julianna Boyum leads the Pipers’ offensive attack, compiling 118 kills, while hitting .129. Kennedy Tutak is second on the squad with 97 kills, followed by Lindsay Eckelman (84) and Faith Johnson (82). … Boyum recorded a single-season, match-high 12 kills against Martin Luther on Sept. 9, while Tutak has reached double digits in kills a team-leading three times — including 11-kill efforts against both Martin Luther on Central (Iowa).

• GIVING AN ASSIST: Kaitlyn Kotek and Katrina St. Clair have shared the setting duties this season, with Kotek dishing out a team-leading 263 assists, followed by St. Clair with 163. … Kotek has delivered 10 or more helpers 12 times, including four matches with 20 or more assists. … Kotek racked up 35 assists against Martin Lutheron Sept. 9, and added a season-best 36 the following day against Grinnell.

• DIGGING IT: Jenna Rubbelke leads three Pipers who have eclipsed the 100-dig barrier, leading the team with 285. Lauren Wilborn is second to Rubbelke with 105, followed by Kotek with 103. … Rubbelke has amassed 10 or more digs in 16 matches, including a season-high 28 against Carroll on Sept. 23.

• SERVING UP ACES: Hamline has racked up 119 aces this season and boasts six players with 10 or more service aces — led by Rubbelke with 32 and Wilborn with 21.

• BY THE NUMBERS: Eleven of Hamline’s 15 losses this season have been 3-0 sweeps. The Pipers have also dropped one 3-1 decision and one that went the maximum five sets. On the flip side, two of HU’s three wins were sweeps, with the other lasting four sets.