The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team hits the road this weekend for a pair of key Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matches. The Cardinals head to St. Joseph, Minn., for a 7 p.m. showdown with nationally ranked Saint Benedict on Friday, before traveling to Moorhead, Minn., on Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. matchup with Concordia.
 
The Matchups:
Friday, October 3, 2014 | St. Joseph, Minn. | 7 p.m.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-1 MIAC | 11-5 Overall) at No. 17 Saint Benedict Blazers (3-0 MIAC | 11-5 Overall)
Saturday, October 4, 2014 | Moorhead, Minn. | 1:30 p.m.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-1 MIAC | 11-5 Overall) at Concordia Cobbers (1-2 MIAC | 7-8 Overall)
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals made quick work of Macalester last Saturday, needing just over an hour to hand the Scots a 3-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym. | Recap
• Saint Benedict: The Blazers continued their perfect start to the conference season on Saturday, cruising to a 3-0 victory over St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
• Concordia: The Cobbers dropped a 3-0 decision to Bethel in Arden Hills, Minn., last Saturday in their last conference match | Recap
 
SMU vs. Saint Benedict — A Year Ago:
• September 27, 2013: Saint Mary's had plenty of company following its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against 12th-ranked Saint Benedict. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that wasn't a good thing. The Cardinals became the Blazers' 14th victim this season — and the 13th to lose in straight sets. Saint Benedict gave Saint Mary's a first-hand look at why the Blazers' are ranked among the nation's best, cruising their 14th win in 15 matches, 25-19, 25-21, 25-19 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
SMU vs. Concordia — A Year Ago:
• September 28, 2013: For the first time in Saint Mary's first 17 matches, the Cardinals were extended to a fifth set against Concordia. Unfortunately for Saint Mary's, the "veteran" Cobbers — owners of two five-set wins in three tries this season — rattled off the first six points of the decisive final set and the Cardinals never recovered, falling 15-9 to drop the conference decision to Concordia 3-2 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• November 5, 2013: The Cardinals got seven kills and 34 assists from Lexi Assimos, as Saint Mary's punched its ticket to the MIAC Tournament semifinals in convincing fashion, cruising to a dominating 3-0 win over the fourth-seeded Cobbers at Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn. | Recap
 
The Cardinals — Up Next:
After this weekend's matches vs. Saint Benedict and Concordia, the Cardinals are right back on the road on Wednesday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference match against Carleton.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
With their victory over Macalester on Saturday, the Cardinals pushed their winning streak to a season-high six straight. … Saint Mary's 3-0 win vs. Macalester pushed the Cardinals' record to 5-1 on their home court—the lone loss a 3-0 setback vs. Wartburg at the season-opening Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic. … Mackie Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) finished with a team- and match-high 12 kills against Macalester Saturday, while Kenzie Lind (Rushford, Minn.) and Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.) each chipped in 10 kills. … Lind has now recorded 10 or more kills in four straight matches and five times in her last six contests. … Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) dished out 27 assists vs. Macalester last Saturday. The junior setter has now eclipsed the 20-assist barrier in three straight matches and nine times this season. … Peterson enters this weekend's matches against Saint Benedict and Concordia as the team leader in kills with 127—five more than Fadness and seven in front of Lind. … Peterson tallied a season- and career-high 23 kills against UW-La Crosse on Sept. 10. … MacVey has accumulated a team-leading and career-high 309 assists through 16 matches, while Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) is close behind with 273. … Lex Krogstad's 10 digs against Macalester last Saturday pushed her team-leading total to 243. Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill. / 131), MacVey (114) and Hanson (101) have also recorded more than 100 digs this season. … Thomas recorded a career-high 20 digs against UW-La Crosse on Sept. 10. … Eight of Saint Mary's 11 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, beating MSOE and Ripon by 3-1 counts. … The Cardinals' schedule includes matches against six teams that have been ranked in the AVCA Top 25—No. 17 St. Thomas, No. 7 Colorado College, No. 17 Clarkson, No. 14 Saint Benedict and No. 24 Augsburg. … Krogstad has earned all-tournament honors in all three of the Cardinals' regular-season tournaments this season. … With their 4-0 showing at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational on Sept. 19-20, the Cardinals improved to 25-6 in regular-season tournaments over the past two seasons.
 
Scouting The Saint Benedict Blazers:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
Saturday's win over St. Catherine was the Blazers' third straight victory—and third consecutive 3-0 win. … The Blazers enter Friday's match against Saint Mary's ranked No. 17 in the latest AVCA Top 25 Poll. … Four of CSB's five losses have come to teams ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 poll. … After opening the season 2-2 at the CSB Labor Day Tournament, the Blazers have gone 9-3 in their last 12 matches. … Saint Benedict enters Friday's showdown with Saint Mary's boasting four players with 100 or more kills—led by Laura Schmitt with 169. Mary Franz (130), Lexi Rinde (125) and Sophie Stangl (121) are the other three. … Taya Kockelman has accounted for 634 of the team's 745 assists and is averaging 10.9 assists-per-set. … Kockelman also leads the Blazers with 33 service aces, while Victoria Nass and Schmit are team's leaders in digs with 304 and 214, respectively. … Four of the Blazers' five losses have also been 3-2 decisions—the lone exception, a 3-0 setback vs. the University of Chicago on Sept. 20. … Nine of CSB's 11 wins have been 3-0 sweeps.
 
Scouting The Concordia Cobbers:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
The Cobbers' 3-0 loss to Bethel last Saturday snapped their two-match winning streak. … After opening the season with three straight losses, Concordia enters its conference weekend having gone 7-5 in its last 12 matches. … Vanessa Johnson enters the weekend boasting a team-leading 129 kills, while Anna Skow-Anderson (118) and Kelly Reed (111) have also eclipsed the 100-kill barrier this sason. … Mandy Mercil and Jena Klaphake have shared the setting duties for the Cobbers this season, with Mercil dishing out 282 assists, 25 more than Klaphake. … As a team, the Cobbers have notched 84 service aces, led by Klaphake (22), Alyssa Schmidt (15) and Mercil (14). … Concordia boasts four players with 100 or more digs, led by Schmidt with 254 and Korbyn Ross with 157. … Five of the Cobbers' seven wins have been 3-1 victories. The Cobbers are just 2-5 in three-set matches and 0-2 in matches that are stretched to a fifth set. … Concordia enters the weekend owning a perfect 3-0 mark on their home court.