WINONA, Minn.  — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team returns to its home court on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain nationally ranked Augsburg in a 3 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Match-Up:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-3 MIAC | 17-11 Overall) vs. #25 Augsburg Auggies (7-1 MIAC | 19-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals got nine kills from three different players, as Saint Mary's collected a hard-fought 3-0 (25-15, 29-27, 26-24) conference win over St. Catherine Wednesday at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Augsburg: The 25th-ranked Auggies rallied from a 2-1 set deficit, winning the fourth-set, 25-20 and the fifth, 16-14, to beat seventh-ranked St. Thomas 3-2 in a showdown of league leaders Wednesday in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg—Their Last Meeting:
• October 19, 2013: Saint Mary's hit 15th-ranked Augsburg with a lethal Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.)-Kenzie Lind (Rushford, Minn.) 1-2 punch, as the Cardinal duo banged out a combined 30 kills in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match. Unfortunately, the Auggies not only took all the Cardinals had to offer, they countered with a knockout combination of Colleen Ourada and Ashley Peper. Ourada wore the Cardinals down with her 16 kills and Peper delivered the knockout blow with 19 kills and a .311 attack percentage, as the Auggies handed SMU a 3-1 conference setback at Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn. | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on their home courts for the third of four straight home contests on Wednesday, as Saint Mary's entertains St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. conference match.
• Augsburg: The Auggies head back to Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn., on Wednesday, as Augsburg hosts St. Catherine in a 7 p.m. MIAC match.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
Saturday's match against Augsburg marks the seventh time this season the Cardinals have faced a team that has been ranked in the AVCA Top 25. The Auggies enter their match vs. Saint Mary's ranked No. 25 in the latest poll. Saint Mary's has also faced nationally ranked foes St. Thomas, Colorado College, Clarkson, Saint Benedict, and the University of Chicago. … After a season-high 11 straight matches on the road, Saturday's match vs. Augsburg is the second of four consecutive home matches to close out the regular season. … Saint Mary's is  6-1 on their home court—the lone loss a 3-0 setback vs. Wartburg at the season-opening Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic. … The Cardinals boasted three players—Jenna Sullivan (Woodbury, Minn.), Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.) and Molly Grover (Zumbrota, Minn.)—with a team-best nine kills vs. St. Catherine on Wednesday. … Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) enters Saturday's match against Augsburg with a team-leading 214 kills. Alex Peterson (Harmony,  Minn. / 187), Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn. / 187), Grover (178), Kenzie Lind (Rushford, Minn. / 171), Urban (162) and Sullivan (128)have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau. … Peterson tallied a season- and career-high 23 kills against UW-La Crosse on Sept. 10. … Sullivan posted a career-best 18-kill effort against Northwestern (Minn.) on Oct. 17, and notched a career-high 23 digs against the University of Chicago on Oct. 10. … Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa), who posted her top two collegiate assist performances at the UW-Eau Claire Invitational on Oct. 17-18—recording a career-best 42 assists against host UW-Eau Claire, then adding a 36-assist showing against St. Scholastica—leads the team with 546 assists, while Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) has chipped in 512 helpers. … Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) pushed her tam-leading dig total to 437 with 15 digs against St. Catherine on Wednesday. … 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. … Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) recorded a career-high 20 digs against UW-La Crosse on Sept. 10. … Eleven of Saint Mary's 17 wins this season have been 3-0 sweeps. … 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.
 
Scouting The Augsburg Auggies:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
Wednesday's 3-2 win over No. 7 St. Thomas pushed the Auggies' winning streak to eight straight. Augsburg has also won 11 of its last 12, the lone loss during that stretch a 3-0 loss to Saint Benedict on Sept. 24. … With their win over the Tommies last Wednesday, Augsburg moved into a tie with St. Thomas atop the conference standings. The Auggies and Tommies shared the regular-season conference crown a year ago. … Wednesday's victory marked Augsburg's first win over St. Thomas since a 3-2 win at Si Melby Hall on Oct. 3, 1997, snapping a 23-match losing streak to the Tommies. It was also Augsburg's first win at St. Thomas since a 3-0 win on Oct. 7, 1985, snapping a 17-match losing streak at St. Thomas. … Ashley Peper heads into Saturday's showdown vs. Saint Mary's owning a team-best 343 kills, while Colleen Ourada (280), Jessica Lillquist (169) and Ellen Sachs (119) have also recorded 100 or more kills this season. … Courtney Lemke has accounted for 817 of the team's 1,066 assists. … Augsburg has five players with 10 or more service aces, led by Mackensie Menke with 25. … Menke is also the team's dig leader with 435. Menke is one of four Auggies with 200 or more digs—Ourada (325), Peper (231) and DeeDee Maier (220) are the others. … Saturday's match against Saint Mary's is the final road match for the Auggies, who close out the season with home contests vs. St. Catherine and Macalester. Augsburg is 9-0 on its home court this season. … Three of Augsburg's four losses have been 3-0 sweeps. … With their 3-2 win over St. Thomas Wednesday, the Auggies improved to 4-0 in five-set matches this season.