WINONA, Minn.  — After 11 straight road matches, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team finally returns home on Wednesday, as the Cardinals host St. Catherine in a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Match-Up:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-3 MIAC | 16-11 Overall) vs. St. Catherine Wildcats (0-7 MIAC | 9-14 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals dropped all three of its matches at the UW-Eau Claire Invitational last weekend, falling to Northwestern (Minn.) and host UW-Eau Claire by identical 3-1 scores on Friday, before dropping a 3-0 decision to St. Scholastica on Saturday | Recap
• St. Catherine: After a week off, St. Catherine hoped it could a way to repeat last year's thrilling five-set win over Carleton last Wednesday. Despite coming out to a strong start and taking the first set, the Wildcats couldn't hold off the Knights, falling 3-1 at Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine—Their Last Meeting:
• October 18, 2013: The Cardinals, fueled by Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.) and Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) wasted no time dispatching of the Wildcats 3-0 in a conference match at Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back on their home court on Saturday, as Saint Mary's entertains nationally ranked Augsburg in a 3 p.m. match at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• St. Catherine: The Wildcats return home to Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday, hosting Macalester in a 3 p.m. MIAC match.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
Last weekend's matches at the UW-Eau Claire Invitational were the final road—and nonconference—matches of the regular season for the Cardinals. … The Cardinals finished 12-7 record in tournament play this season and are now 28-10 mark in regular-season tournaments over the past two seasons. … After 11 straight road matches, Wednesday's match against St. Catherine is the first of four straight home matches to close out the regular season … 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. … Saint Mary's 3-1 loss to Northwestern (Minn.) to open the UW-Eau Claire Invitational last Friday snapped their three-match winning streak. … Jenna Sullivan (Woodbury, Minn.) finished with a team-best 37 kills in the Cardinals' three tournament matches last weekend—including a career-best 18-kill effort against Northwestern (Minn.) last Friday. … Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) hit a team-leading .287 and chipped in 31 kills at the UW- Eau Claire Tournament. … Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) posted her top two collegiate assist performances last weekend, recording a career-best 42 assists against host UW-Eau Claire last Friday, then adding a 36-assist showing against St. Scholastica last Saturday. … Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) pushed her tam-leading dig total to 422 with 41 digs in two tournament matches last weekend. … Krogstad, who tallied a season-high 28 digs against Wartburg on Oct. 11, has posted 20 or more digs in a match nine times this season. … Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) enters Wednesday's match against St. Catherine with a team-leading 208 kills. Alex Peterson (Harmony,  Minn. / 187), Nordick (181), Molly Grover (Zumbrota, Minn. / 169), Kenzie Lind (Rushford, Minn. / 165), and Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn. / 153) have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau. … Peterson tallied a season- and career-high 23 kills against UW-La Crosse on Sept. 10. … Hanson has compiled a team-leading 524 assists, while Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) has chipped in 494 helpers. … Sullivan notched a career-high 23 digs against the University of Chicago on Oct. 10, 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.
 
Scouting The St. Catherine Wildcats:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
The Wildcats' 3-1 loss to Carleton last Wednesday pushed their losing streak to a season-high seven straight. … Eight of St. Catherine's nine wins have come on neutral-site courts. …  Alyssa Besch has amassed a team-leading 203 kills this season. She is one of four Wildcats with 100 or more kills—Megan Lindenfeiser (167), Amber Zeiher (124) and Abigail Palmer (113) are the others. … Besch also boasts a team-best .241 attack percentage and a single-match high 21-kill performance. … Karsee Knutson and Ashley Kahlow have shared the setting duties for the Wildcats—Knutson boasts 402 assists, with Kahlow adding 330. … Knutson is also the team leader in service aces with 28, eight more than Kahlow. … Shanee Herd owns 365 digs, tops on the team, while Abigail Palmer is second with 216. … Seven of the Wildcats' nine wins have been 3-0 sweeps. SCU is 1-4 in for-set matches and 1-2 in five-setters.