MIAC Athletes of the Week

WINONA, Minn. — Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) has been good all season for the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team.
 
Very good.
 
Friday evening, Blattner was as good as any player wearing a Cardinal uniform has ever been, as the sophomore outside hitter racked up a rally scoring-era program record 31 kills in a 3-1 conference loss to Bethel.
 
Less than 24 hours later, Blattner was again leading the Cardinal offense, compiling 16 more kills in fueling Saint Mary's 3-0 victory over Macalester.
 
And Blattner's monster weekend did not go unnoticed, as she was named Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hitter of the Week, the league office announced Monday.
 
Blattner, the conference's leader in kills (381) and kills-per-set (4.54), was virtually unstoppable against the Royals last Friday, collecting nine kills in the opening set, three in the second, nine more in the third, and a match-high 10 in the fourth en route to her school-record 31-kill effort. The sophomore also added 13 digs in recording her team-leading 12^th double-double.
 
The 31 kills were two better than Blattner's previous career-high 29, recorded against Central-Iowa on Sept. 9. Blattner's 31 and 29 kills are the most by a Cardinal since Molli Dant recorded 29 in a four-set match against Wartburg on Oct. 31, 2002.
 
Blattner picked up right where she left off against Macalester the following afternoon, hammering out 16 more kills, including eight in the second set, to help the Cardinals to the 3-0 win—their 15^th 3-0 sweep of the season.
 
Blattner has now led the team in kills in 22 of their 26 matches this season, and owns five matches of 20 or more kills.
 
The Cardinals (6-3 MIAC, 22-4 overall) close out their regular-season schedule with a pair of home matches at the Saint Mary's Gym this week, hosting Carleton in a 7 p.m. showdown on Wednesday, before entertaining Gustavus in a 3 p.m. contest on Saturday.