Volleyball Preview: Same two teams as last week, plus a couple of more

Live Video and Live Stats vs. Macalester

THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devil (2-0, 0-0 WIAC) will be at the Macalester College Invitiational Friday, Sept. 5 and Saturday, Sept. 6. The Blue Devils will take on Carleton College (3-1) and host Macalester College (2-2) on the first night, then will meet Beloit College (0-4) and Minnesota-Morris (3-1) on the second day. Live stat and live video will be available for the Macalester match.

BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT:  Sweeping through the first day of the St. Olaf Tournament, the UW-Stout volleyball team handed first year head coach Laura Evans her first two collegiate head coaching wins by downing Carleton College, 3-1, and Macalester College, 3-0, Friday, at Skoglund Center. Laura Reiter (Jr, LIno Lakes, Minn) led the way for the Blue Devils with 14 kills, while transfer Kaylee Jacobs (Jr, Glenwood, Minn) put down 11 kills in the 25-15, 20-25, 25-21, 25-17 win over Carleton. Morgan Denny (Sr, Luck) led the way on the blocks, picking up three solo blocks and three assisted blocks. Karley Wiensch (Sr, Chippewa Falls) had 28 assists and a match-high three service aces. Jacobs recorded two service aces. Karen Halls led Carleton with 13 kills. Nobody recorded double digit kills in a 25-18, 25-18, 25-23 win over Macalester, but Jacobs led the way with nine kills. Denny recorded eight kills and Molly Brion (Jr, Cameron) had seven kills. Reiter and Ashley Pratt (Fr, Lakeville, Minn) each had five kills. Wiensch had 27 assists and five other players had at least one assist.. | Story and Box Score

A LOOK AT STOUT:  The Blue Devils return three seniors to the squad - setter Karley Wiensch, middle hitter Morgan Denny, and defensive specialist Nicole Bradford. Both Wiensch and Denny have started or seen considerable action since their freshmen seasons. Junior hitter Laura Reiter led the Blue Devils years in the attack, averaging 3.00 kills per set. Denny was just behind with 2.35 kills and led the team in blocks for the third consecutive season, averaging 0.83 total blocks per set. Wiensch handled the majority of the setting, averaging 9.46 assists per contest. Wiensch was the team leader in service aces with 33 and Bradford had 25. Bradford led the team in digs with 3.41. Stout returns eight players from last year's squad, and brings 10 new faces to the roster. Stout was picked to finish eighth, according to a WIAC preseason poll. | 2014 Stats | 2013 Stats

A LOOK AT CARLETON: The Knight's Camile Benson led the MIAC last season in digs and was a first team all-conference selection at libero. Setters Caroline Duke and Alicia Flatt, who split time in the offense, both return from a team that finished 13-14 overall and 1-10 in the MIAC, Duke was second on the team in kills. The Knights, after losing to UW-Stout, defeated Bethany Lutheran, Martin Luther College and Crown College, all by 3-0 decisions. | 2013 Stats | 2014 Stats

LAST TIME THEY MET:  Laura Reiter (Jr, LIno Lakes, Minn) led the way for the Blue Devils with 14 kills, while transfer Kaylee Jacobs (Jr, Glenwood, Minn) put down 11 kills in the 25-15, 20-25, 25-21, 25-17 win over Carleton. Morgan Denny (Sr, Luck) led the way on the blocks, picking up three solo blocks and three assisted blocks. Karley Wiensch (Sr, Chippewa Falls) had 28 assists and a match-high three service aces. Jacobs recorded two service aces. Karen Halls led Carleton with 13 kills.  | Story and Box Score

A LOOK AT MACALESTER:  For the first time in four years, the Scots will be without all-everything player Laura Avenan, who was a three-time all-MIAC selection. Avena graduated the program third on the all-time kills list. The cupboard is not bare for the Scots, which finished last year at 13-14 overall. The team returns two of their three kills leader from last season in Brooke Hunter with 247 kills and Hannah Rehauk with 139 kills. Cara Trout led the team in digs with 299. In addition to losing their opener to UW-Stout last weekend, the Scots lost their second match of the day, but then bounced back to sweep Bethany Lutheran and Crown College by identical 3-0 scores. | 2013 Stats | 2014 Stats

LAST TIME THEY MET:  No Stout player recorded double digit kills in a 25-18, 25-18, 25-23 win over Macalester last weekend a the St. Olaf/Carleton Tournament, but Kaylee Jacobs led the way with nine kills. Morgan Denny recorded eight kills and Molly Brion (Jr, Cameron) had seven kills. Reiter and Ashley Pratt (Fr, Lakeville, Minn) each had five kills. Wiensch had 27 assists and five other players had at least one assist.. | Story and Box Score

A LOOK AT BELOIT: The Buccaneers hosted their own tournament last weekend, but fell in all four matches, losing 3-0 to Alverno College, 3-1, to Rockford College, 3-0 to Marian Unviersity and 3-1 to MSOE. Jaylan Dunn, in her first collegiate action, led the team with 32 kills and added seven blocks.  Veterans Molly Schulting had 25 kills and Bethany Stavrakas 23.  Cheyenne Moffatt finished with 49 set assists and a team-best seven service aces while Julianne Gruenhagen, who earned a spot on the seven-person All-Tournament Team, had 94 digs, putting her over 1,100 for her career, and six aces. | 2013 Stats | 2014 Stats

LAST TIME THEY MET:  The Blue Devils lost the first set, 25-15, then came back to take the final three, 25-20, 25-21, 25-21, when the teams met Oct. 23, 2010. Kate Mikutowski had 11 kills, while Hope Weilage finished with 10 kills to lead Stout.  | Story and Box Score

A LOOK AT UM-MORRIS:  After sharing a UMAC Conference Championship last season the Cougars received 44 points and three first place votes in the 2014 UMAC Preseason Poll. Minnesota Morris was just two points shy of Northwestern, who are the favorites in 2014.
The Cougars return All-UMAC players outside hitter Emily Auch and middle blocker Abby Tietz. Auch averaged 2.83 kills per set and 2.37 digs per set during the 2013 season while Tietz added 3.10 kills per set. Auch and Tietz will also be joined by returners Brooke Decker, Kayley Siekmann, Addie Vancura and Cori Becker all who played integral roles last season. Hannah Terhaar was named the UMAC Defensive Player of the Week after averaging 3.91 digs per set this weekend  The Cougars when 3-1 in the Colorado College Tournament last weekend, falling to host Colorado College, 3-0, but downing Simpson College, Oswego State and Blackburn College by identical 3-1 scores, | 2013 Stats | 2014 Stats

LAST TIME THEY MET:  Morgan Denny finished with 14 kills, three solo blocks and three block assists. Brion had 12 kills. Nicole Bradford  had 35 digs, as the Bue Devils defeated the Cougars, 3-2, at the Macalester Tournament, Sept. 6, 2013. | Story and Box Score

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 (2-0) 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: Kaylee Jacobs was selected to the all-tournament team at the St. Olaf/Carleton Invitation, 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 Blue Devils will be Augsburg College, Wednesday, Sept. 10, then will be at the St. Catherine Tournament, taking on Bethel University and Simpson College, Friday, Sept. 12, and Buena Vista University and Coe College, Saturday, Sept. 13.