EAU CLAIRE, Wis.  — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team steps out of conference play for the final time this weekend, traveling to the UW-Eau Claire to take part in the UW-Eau Claire Fall Classic. The Cardinals will face Northwestern (Minn.) and UW-Eau Claire on Friday, before closing out tournament play with a match against St. Scholastica on Saturday.
 
Saint Mary's Tournament Schedule:
Friday, October 17, 2014
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (16-8 Overall) vs. Northwestern (Minn.) Eagles (16-7 Overall), 5:15 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (16-8 Overall) vs. UW-Eau Claire Blugolds (11-13 Overall), 5:15 p.m.
Friday, October 18, 2014
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (16-8 Overall) vs. St. Scholastica Saints (11-10 Overall), 12:15 p.m.
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats: Match 1 * Match 2 * Match 3 | Tournament Homepage
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 15, 2014: The Cardinals picked up their third straight win Wednesday, outlasting Hamline 3-1 in an Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
• Northwestern—October 11, 2014: Northwestern picked up a pair of Upper Midwest Athletic Conference victories last Saturday, defeating both St. Scholastica and North Central (Minn.) in three sets in St. Paul, Minn.) | Recap
• UW-Eau Claire—October 11, 2014: The Blugolds split their two matches at the Elmhurst Invitational last Saturday, falling to St. Olaf 3-2 to start the day, before beating St. Mary's (Ind.) 3-2 at R.A. Faganel Hall in Elmhurst, Ill. | Recap
• St. Scholastica—October 11, 2014: The Saints could only manage a .131 hitting percentage, while Northwestern (Minn.) hit at a .325 clip, as the Eagles cruised to a 3-0 UMAC win over St. Scholastica last Saturday in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Northwestern (Minn.)—Their Last Meeting:
• October 6, 2010: Saint Mary's got off to a roaring start at the Northwestern (Minn.) Triangular, as the Cardinals cruised to their seventh straight win with a 3-0 nonconference win over Crown. The Cardinals' drive to win No. 8 in a row, however, ran into a roadblock in the form of host Northwestern, as the Eagles snapped SMU's season-high win streak with a 3-0 victory in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Eau Claire—Their Last Meeting:
• October 29, 1999: UW-Eau Claire put an end  to Saint Mary's latest three-match winning streak, handing the Cardinals a 3-0 setback during the opening day of the UW-River Falls Tournament.  | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Scholastica—Their Last Meeting:
• September 3, 2010: According to coach Mike Lester, when a team is playing well, they make things look simple. And if that's the case, the Cardinals' opening two matches of the Saint Mary's Sugar Loaf Classic were as simple as they come. In fact, if the Cardinals were feeling any ill effects from their season-opening loss to Viterbo, they certainly didn't show it. The Cardinals looked to be in perfect health — and in mid-season form — as they dismantled St. Scholastica and Luther by identical 3-0 scores at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's Up Next:
• The Cardinals begin their final conference push on Wednesday, hosting St. Catherine in the first of four consecutive home MIAC matches to close out the regular season. Match time is slated for 7 p.m. at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
This weekend's three matches at the UW-Eau Claire Invitational are the final road—and nonconference matches of the regular season for the Cardinals. … Saint Mary's matches against Northwestern (Minn.), UW-Eau Claire and St. Scholastica are the last of 11 straight road matches for the Cardinals. … With their 3-1 showing at last weekend's Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament, the Cardinals head into the UW-Eau Claire Invitational boasting a 12-4 record in tournament play this season and a   28-7 mark in regular-season tournaments over the past two seasons. … The Cardinals' win over Hamline Wednesday was their third straight and fourth in their last five meetings. … Jenna Sullivan (Woodbury, Minn.), who was named to the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament all-tournament last weekend after leading the team 45 kills in—including a career-best 15 vs. Wartburg last Saturday—posted a team-high nine kills in Saint Mary's win over Hamline Wednesday. … Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) pushed her tam-leading dig total to 381 with 22 digs vs. the Pipers Wednesday. … Krogstad, who tallied a season-high 28 digs against Wartburg last Saturday, has posted 20 or more digs in a match eight times this season. … Alex Peterson (Harmony,  Minn.) enters this weekend's tournament matches  as the team leader in kills with 187. Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis. / 182), Kenzie Lind (Rushford, Minn. / 162), Molly Grover (Zumbrota, Minn. / 151), Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn. / 150) and Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn. / 132) have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau. … Peterson tallied a season- and career-high 23 kills against UW-La Crosse on Sept. 10. … Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) has accumulated a team-leading and career-high 482 assists through 24 matches, while Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) is close behind with 419. … MacVey and Hanson both posted single-match career bests at the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament last Saturday—MacVey dished out 35 assists vs. North Park and Hanson posted 27 helpers vs. Wartburg. … Sullivan notched a career-high 23 against the University of Chicago last Friday, while Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) recorded a career-high 20 digs against UW-La Crosse on Sept. 10. … Ten of Saint Mary's 16 wins this season have been 3-0 sweeps. … The Cardinals' schedule includes matches against seven teams that have been ranked in the AVCA Top 25—St. Thomas, Colorado College, Clarkson, Saint Benedict, University of Chicago, and Augsburg. … Saint Mary's is  5-1 on their home court—the lone loss a 3-0 setback vs. Wartburg at the season-opening Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic.

Scouting The Northwestern (Minn.) Eagles:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
The Eagles pushed their winning streak to three straight with 3-0 wins over St. Scholastica and North Central (Minn.) last Saturday. The Eagles have also won 12 of their last 13—highlighted by a nine-match winning streak. .… Northwestern has not dropped a set during its three-match winning streak—sweeping Northland, St. Scholastica and North Central (Minn.). … This weekend's matches will be the first road matches of October for the Eagles, who have played their last seven matches at home—where they are 8-1 this season. … Northwestern's matches vs. Saint Mary's and Saint Benedict this weekend will be the eighth and ninth against MIAC foes this season. The Eagles are 4-3 vs. the MIAC thus far. … Northwestern boasts five players with 150 or more kills, led by Lindsey Peterson (248) and Hallie Mueth (229). … Lizzy Jonas has amassed 915 assists in 23 matches this season, while also sharing the team lead in service aces (20) with Jackie Foster. … Lizzy Potratz is the team-leader in digs with 385, followed closely by Peterson with 313.
 
Scouting The UW-Eau Claire Blugolds:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
UW-Eau Claire's match against the Cardinals Friday will be the second time in their last three matches that the Blugolds will face a Saint Mary's team—UW-EC beat St. Mary's (Ind.) in their final match of the Elmhurst Invitational last Saturday. … UW-Eau Claire's 3-2 win over St. Mary's (Ind.) snapped its two-match losing streak. … The Blugolds' last three matches have all gone the maximum five sets—losses vs, UW-Platteville and St. Olaf, and a win vs. St. Mary's (Ind.). …
The Blugolds have accumulated 1,027 kills through 24 matches, led by Katrina Raskie (222), Alexis Wong (202) and Megan Tracy). … Jenna Smits has accounted for 826 of the team's 963 assists, while also leading the team in service aces with 30. … Jamie Dimka owns a team-high 538 digs, with Raskie second with 516. … Fifteen of the Blugolds' 24 matches have bee decided in three sets—UW-Eau Claire is 6-9 in those three-set contests. … UW-Eau Claire has played just five home matches this season, going 3-2.
 
Scouting The St. Scholastica Saints:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
The Saints' loss to Northwestern (Minn.) last Saturday snapped their two-match winning streak. … St. Scholastica's last six matches have all been decided in three sets—the Saints are 3-3 in those six matches. … The Saints are winless (0-10) in matches that go longer than three sets—all 11 of CSS's wins have been 3-0 sweeps. … Kortney Martin is the team's kill leader with 224, while Noelle Eivehiem has also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau with 128. … Erika Birkeland owns a team-high 389 assists, while also leading the team with 26 service aces. … St. Scholastica heads into tournament play with five players boasting 100 or more digs, led by Danielle Benusa (266) and Kortney Morrin (191). … The Saints have played just four of their first 21 matches on their home court, going 2-2.