Volleyball Preview: Stout off to River Falls for WIAC tourney play Tuesday

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THIS WEEK'S GAMES:  The Blue Devils (20-9, 4-4 WIAC WIAC) will turn their attention to the WIAC Championship Tuesday, Nov. 4, when they travel to UW-River Falls (12-18, 4-4 WIAC) for a 7 p.m. quarterfinal contest. Stout is the fifth seed in the tournament, while River Falls is the fourth seed. The winner advances to the final rounds, Friday, Nov. 7 and Saturday, Nov. 8 at UW-Stevens Point. The Blue Devils are the fifth seed in the tournament.

BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: The Blue Devils held off a feisty UW-La Crosse team Oct. 31, and went on to a 25-16, 25-21, 25-22 win over the Eagles at Johnson Fieldhouse. Morgan Denny put down the final two kills of the match and, in the process, went over 1000 kills for her career. Denny led all players with 10 kills. | Story and Stats

A LOOK AT STOUT:  With 20 wins, the Blue Devils have put together more wins in a single season since the 2004 season. Morgan Denny is having a solid season, averaging 3.01 kills per set, ranking fourth in the WIAC and is averaging 0.90 blocks per set, ranking seventh in the league. Denny ranks 10th in the league in hitting percentage (.267). Denny has delivered double digit kills in 18 matches and has at least one solo block in 22 matches and currently has 1001 career kills. Laura Reiter has contributed 2.62 kills, ranking 11th in the league.  Karley Wiensch averages 9.71 assists per set, fifth in the WIAC, and ninth in service aces with 0.26. Nicole Bradford is averaging 4.37 digs per set, good for fifth in the league.. Molly Brion is 12th in the WIAC in digs with 3.38. Freshman Ashley Pratt has also chipped in, with 2.23 kills per set, and is third in the WIAC in hitting percentage (.302). As a team, Stout is third in the WIAC in hitting percentage (.208), fourth in assists (11.44), fourth in kills (12.19), sixth in blocks (1.64), fourth in service aces (1.36) and fifth in digs (16.71). Stout was picked to finish eighth in the conference, according to a WIAC preseason poll. | 2014 Stats

A LOOK AT UW-RIVER FALLS: The Falcons are coming off a 3-0 loss at UW-Stevens Point, Oct. 31. River Falls is led by Rebecca Gasper with 2.44 kills, Brianna Muetzel with 2.20 and Lisa Keppers with 2.10. Raven Klein is averaging 9.86 assists and 0.30 service aces per set. Gasper is averaging a team-best 0.69 blocks per set and Keppers is contributing 0.65. Lexi Pingel is ranked fourth in the WIAC in digs with 4.62.  The Falcons are 5-11 in the month of October. | 2014 Stats

THE LAST TIME STOUT AND UW-RIVER FALLS MET: The teams have met twice this season, with both teams winning in their opponent's gym. The Falcons won a 3-2 conference decision in Johnson Fieldhouse, Oct. 1, while the Blue Devils won a 3-1 non-conference decision at Karges Center, Oct. 18. | Match One | Match Two

TEAM CAPTAINS: Captains for the 2014 season are Morgan Denny, Nicole Bradford, Laura Reiter and Molly Brion

UW-STOUT COACH LAURA EVANS: Coach Laura Evans (20-9) is in her first year as the Blue Devil coach, replacing Jill Jolliff, who completed 21 seasons as the program's head coach, the longest tenure of any UW-Stout volleyball coach. Evans, the former Laura Hegerle, played her college volleyball at Southwest State University in Marshall, Minn. She has been an assistant coach at Colorado Christian, Augsburg College and Luther College.

QUICK HITS: The Blue Devils are coming off their second consecutive 15-win season...preseason camp was very competitive, with nearly 30 potential players in before the roster was trimmed to 18...Stout will face Carleton and Macalester colleges on both their first and second days of competion. The Blue Devils open with the pair at the St. Olaf Tournament this weekend, then also open the Macalester Tournament with the same teams, Friday, Sept. 5...Stout has only one home date in September (Friday, Sept. 26 vs. UW-Platteville in the conference opener)...and four home dates in October...Stout faces eight of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) teams at some point this fall, and face Carleton, Macalester, and Bethel twice. The only WIAC school the Blue Devils are scheduled to meet twice is UW-Oshkosh, but a trip to the WIAC Tournament will change that.

AWARDS: Nicole Bradford was the UW-Stout/Northwestern Mutual Athlete of the Week after Stout went 3-1 from Oct. 6-11...Morgan Denny was the UW-Stout/Northwestern Mutual Athlete of the Week after her performance at the St. Kate's Invitational, Sept. 19-20...Morgan Denny and Karley Wiensch were named to the St. Kate's Invitational all-tournament team, Sept. 20...Morgan Denny was named to the Macalester College all-tournament team, Sept. 6...Kaylee Jacobs was selected to the all-tournament team at the St. Olaf/Carleton Invitational, Aug. 29...Karley Wiensch was an honorable mention selection to the 2013 All-WIAC Volleyball team...Morgan Denny earned Academic All-District honors...the entire 2013 squad was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) with the Team Academic Award for the fourth time in five years....

DOWN THE ROAD:  The quarterfinals of the WIAC Tournament are Tuesday, Nov. 4, with the semi-finals Friday, Nov. 7 and finals Saturday, Nov. 8. The top six teams make the field, with the No. 1 and No. 2 teams getting a first round bye. The No. 3 and No. 4 seeded teams will host a quarterfinals game. The winners of  those matches will advance to the semi-finals match, hosted by the No. 1 seeded team.