WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team returns home for the first time since Aug. 30 on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Bethel in a 7 p.m. conference match at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1 MIAC | 9-5 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (1-0 MIAC | 11-4 Overall)
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals posted a perfect 4-0 record at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational last weekend in Ripon, Wis., beating Milwaukee School of Engineering (3-1), UW-Superior (3-0), UW-River Falls (3-0) and Ripon (3-1).
• Bethel: The Royals have been off since last Wednesday, when Bethel kicked off conference play with an impressive 3-0 rout of St. Olaf at Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn. | Recap
 
SMU vs. Bethel — A Year Ago:
• September 18, 2013: Bethel may have been faster out of the starting blocks, but it was the Cardinals who had the better finishing kick, as Saint Mary's used some come-from-behind heroics — including scoring the final three points in the decisive fourth set — to beat the Royals 3-1 at Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn. | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back on their home court on Saturday, as Saint Mary's hosts Macalester in a 3 p.m. match at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Bethel: The Royals return home to the Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., on Saturday, as Bethel entertains Concordia in a 3 p.m. conference match.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
With their 4-0 showing at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational last weekend, the Cardinals improved to 25-6 in regular-season tournaments over the past two seasons. … The Cardinals enter Wednesday's showdown against Bethel having played their last 10 matches on the road. … Kenzie Lind (Rushford, Minn.) and Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) were named to the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational all-tournament team. It was the third time in as many tournaments that Krogstad has earned all-tournament honors. … Lind collected a team-high 48 kills—including a season-high 17 against Ripon—and hit .221 in the Cardinals' four tournament matches last weekend. … Krogstad recorded 54 digs and a pair of service aces en route to her all-tournament honor. … Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.) and Molly Grover (Zumbrota, Minn.) chipped in 32 digs, while Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) finished with 29 in four tournament matches last weekend.  … Cassidy Bittle (Winona, Minn.) recorded a career-high 18 kills in the Cardinals' conference-opening loss to St. Thomas last Wednesday. … Fadness and Peterson enter Wednesday's match vs. Bethel sharing the team lead in kills with 104, with close behind with 96. … Peterson tallied a season- and career-high 23 kills against UW-La Crosse on Sept. 10. … Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) and Brittney Hansen (Janesville, Iowa) have shared the setting duties for the Cardinals, with MacVey collecting 262 assists, while Hansen has dished out 241. … Fueled by her 54 digs, Krogstad pushed her team-leading dig total to 219. Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) and MacVey have also eclipsed the 100-dig mark this season—Thomas has 118 and MacVey has 107. … Thomas recorded a career-high 20 digs against UW-La Crosse on Sept. 10. … Six of Saint Mary's nine wins this season have been 3-0 sweeps. … The Cardinals picked up their first two four-set wins of the season last weekend at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational. … Last Wednesday's conference-opening match against No. 20 St. Thomas was the third of six matches against nationally ranked opponents for the Cardinals, who have already faced No. 7 Colorado College and No. 17 Clarkson, and still have No. 14 Saint Benedict and No. 24 Augsburg on their schedule.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
The Royals enter Wednesday's match against Saint Mary's riding a two-match winning streak, having beaten Simpson (3-2) and St. Olaf (3-0) in their last two contests. … Nine of Bethel's 11 wins this season have come during five- and four-match winning streaks. … Tegan LaBerge and Carlee Hoppe each collected 11 kills, while Katie Lubben chipped in 36 assists and Courtney Sheets tallied a team-best 17 digs. … Kristin Stern owns the team lead with 183 kills through 15 matches, with Hoppe (156) and LaBerge (113) also owning more than 100 kills. … Lubben is averaging 10.55 assists-per-set (580 assists). … BU boasts four players with 10 or more service aces, led by LeBerge and Kalli Johnson with 19 each. … Johnson also owns a team-best 197 digs, followed by Sheets (168) and Kevyn Janicek (130). … Bethel owns a 5-1 record on its home court, while going 6-3 away from Robertson Center. … The Royals have won the first set in 12 of their 15 matches this season.