ST. PETER, Minn.  — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team closes out its 2011 season on Saturday, traveling to Gustavus for a 3 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against the Gusties.


The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-7 MIAC, 17-13 Overall)
at Gustavus Gusties (6-4 MIAC, 19-9 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals recorded back-to-back 26-24 wins in Sets 3 and 4 en route to a 3-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Carleton Wednesday in Northfield, Minn. … Gustavus, meanwhile, locked up a spot in the six-team MIAC Tournament Wednesday, sweeping St. Catherine 3-0 in St. Peter, Minn.

Cardinals vs. Gustavus — Their Last Meeting:
October 30, 2010: Heading into their regular-season finale against Gustavus, the Cardinals boasted an impressive 7-3 mark on their home court. And, thanks to home win No. 8 — a 3-1 MIAC victory over Gustavus at the SMU Gym — the Cardinals will get to serve up yet a little more home cooking to open the MIAC Tournament.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
Saturday's match at Gustavus is the final collegiate match for SMU seniors Erika Hurley (Chatfield, Minn.) and Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.). … Saturday's match at Gustavus is the eighth straight road match for the Cardinals, who played four matches at the North Central (Ill.) Tournament and MIAC road contests at St. Thomas, Hamline and Carleton in the last 15 days. … Sabrina Bushlack (Mapleton, Minn.) equaled her season- and career-high in kills Wednesday, leading the Cardinals with 18 kills at Carleton. … Bushlack's 18-kill effort marked the 11th time this season the junior outside hitter has collected 10 or more kills. … Kara Grant (Peosta, Iowa) chipped in 17 kills against the Knights Wednesday, giving the freshman 10 or more kills in 27 of the 30 matches she's appeared in this season. … Grant enters Saturday's match with Gustavus owning a team-best 451 kills. … Grant's 451 kills this season rank third in school history behind Anna Thibault, who owns the top two single-season kill records at 537 (1996) and 516 (1995). … Grant is one of seven Cardinals with 100 or more kills. Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) is second with 245, followed by Bushlack (191), Carissa Hahn (Hutchinson, Minn. / 143), Molly Grover (Zumbrota, Minn. / 130),  Kaylee Bunne (LeRoy, Minn. / 108) and Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill. / 106). … Assimos eclipsed the 1,000-assist mark for the season Wednesday, dishing out 46 assists vs. Carleton. Assimos enters Saturday's season finale with a single-season career-high 1,002 assists. … Led by Tara Rasmussen (382) and Erika Hurley (Chatfield, Minn. / 357), the Cardinals boast two players with 300 or more digs, five players with 200 or more and six with 100 or more. … The Cardinals' 2-2 showing at the North Central (Ill.) Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament on Oct. 14-15 marked the first time in five regular-season tournaments this year that the Cardinals did not go 3-1. … Assimos has been named to the all-tournament team in four of the five regular-season tournaments the Cardinals have played in. … The Cardinals have played 12 five-set matches this season, going 5-7. … Thirteen of SMU's 17 wins have come on the road. The Cardinals are 4-5 on their home court. … SMU has won the first set in 15 of its 17 victories this season. … SMU's 22-20 Set 5 loss to Bethel last on Oct. 12 was the highest-scoring fifth set in the last 15 years. … SMU's Oct. 21 showdown against nationally ranked St. Thomas was the fourth straight match in which the Cardinals square off against a league-leader. SMU had also squared off against Concordia, Saint Benedict and Bethel — all three were tied with St. Thomas atop the MIAC standings at the time they played SMU. … The Cardinals set a pair of single-match records in the rally scoring era in their 3-0 victory over Finlandia on Sept. 2. SMU held the Lions to a record-low four points in their Set 3, 25-4 win, while the Cardinals' 19 service aces were also a single-match record.

Gustavus Gusties News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
The Gusties' 3-0 win over St. Catherine Wednesday not only locked up an MIAC Tournament berth, but also snapped GAC's two-match losing streak. … Gustavus' back-to-back losses to Concordia and Saint Benedict prior to Wednesday's win over St. Catherine marked just the second time this season the Gusties have lost two straight matches. … Wednesday's 3-0 win over St. Catherine was the Gusties' 13th sweep of the season. GAC is 13-5 in three-set matches, while going 3-1 in four-setters and 3-3 in matches going to maximum five sets. … With Wednesday's win, GAC improved to 4-1 on its home court, while going 15-8 away from home. … The Gusties boast four players with 100 or more kills, led by Angela Ahrendt (344) and Emily Phillips (269). … Ahrendt is also hitting a team-leading .305. … Malea Noennig has accounted for 840 of the team's 1,099 assists this season, while also leading the squad with 38 aces. … Paige Breneman owns the team lead in digs (445), and is one of four Gusties with 200 or more digs.