Live Video vs. Gustavus Adolphus | at Whitewater:
Live Stats | at Platteville:
Live Stats
THIS WEEK'S GAMES: UW-Stout (8-8, 1-1 WIAC) will look to shake off a loss to UW-La Crosse last week when they host
Gustavus Adolphus College, (13-3, 4-1 MIAC) Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. But the order will be tough to fill. The Gusties recently lost their first regular season conference contest since 2014 to Augsburg, but did bounce back for a 3-1 conference win over St. Thomas, Saturday. The Blue Devils will hit the road for homecoming weekend, traveling to conference favorite
UW-Whitewater, Friday, Oct. 7, then at
UW-Platteville, Saturday, Oct. 8. Stout returns home Monday, Oct. 10 to host former conference rival UW-Superior at 7 p.m.
ON-LINE: All home Blue Devil matches are available in a
live video stream.
BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: UW-Stout started out strong, but the tide turned after the first set and 19th ranked UW-La Crosse won the final three sets to defeat the Blue Devils, 21-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-16, in Stout's home opener Wednesday at Johnson Fieldhouse.
Ashley Pratt finished with 15 kills and
Kennedy Strain had 12 kills for the Blue Devils. |
Story and Stats
A LOOK AT STOUT: The Blue Devils started off the season by going 7-2, but have had their ups and downs since then, coming into this week at 8-8 overall, 1-1 in the WIAC.
Ashley Pratt leads the Blue Devils with a 3.53 kills per set average, ranking fourth in the WIAC.
Kennedy Strain is averaging 2.44 kills and leads the team in blocks, with 17 solo blocks and 23 assisted blocks for a 0.74 per set averaging.
Olivia Jung is making the most of her senior season, and is averaging a career-best 2.31 kills.
Jessica DuVal has taken on the majority of the setting duties and is averaging 7.67 to rank sixth in the WIAC. DuVal, along with
Anna Panning and
Carli Langeland, have taken on digging duties in the back row. Langeland leads the team in digs with 3.80, followed by Panning with 3.86 and DuVal with 2.89. |
Statistics
The Blue Devils return six players to the roster - one senior, two juniors and three sophomores - including both starting middle hitters from last season. All-WIAC honorable mention pick
Ashley Pratt (Jr, Lakeville) led the team in kills last season at 2.59 per set and was the team's leader in total blocks with 109 as a sophomore. Pratt recorded 18 solo blocks and 91 block assists.
Kennedy Strain (So, Elk River, Minn) had a strong freshman season, securing the middle opposite Pratt, finishing with 2.14 kills per set and led the team in solo blocks with 29. Strain finished with 106 total blocks. Beginning her third year as the Blue Devil head coach,
Laura Evans will look to Pratt and Strain to anchor the team in the middle.
Olivia Jung (Andover, Minn), the lone senior on the team, will play either outside or on the right side. Jung saw limited action last season, playing in 43 sets, but still finished sixth on the team in total blocks with 23. Junior
Becky Bradshaw (Oak Lawn, Ill) returns at outside hitter and she too saw limited action last year, but when she is on the court, she is capable of playing front and back row and averaged 1.83 kills per set. Outside hitter
Steph Cannon will need to recover from an injury and is not expected to be back for the season after playing in 118 sets last year. Sophomore setter
Emily Bialka (Cottage Grove, Minn) gained valuable experience after playing in 139 of 141 possible sets last year. Bialka was part of a two-setter system - Stout played three different offenses throughout the year - for much of last season and led the team in assists with 742 (5.34), ranking eighth in the WIAC. Bialka can also get off the ground. She put down 50 kills and recorded 36 total blocks, fourth on the team. Defensive specialist
Carissa Hilgers played in 73 sets last season and returns. Defensive specialist
Hallie Locher comes in as a junior after transferring from UW-La Crosse, where she played for two seasons. Last season, Locher played in 88 sets for the Eagles, averaging 2.33 digs and tallied 14 service aces. The Blue Devils will look to a large freshman class to fill needs. The recruiting class includes three setters who will compete with Bialka. "Our incoming setters coming in can, and will need to, compete at a high level," Evans said. The coaching staff will need to concentrate on fundamentals early in the preseason "With so many new kids, we will need to focus on the ball control piece," Evans said. "Our serve, receive and defense will be key." |
2015 Stats
A LOOK AT GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE: After starting the 2015 season 0-2, the Gusties went on a program-record 27-match winning streak en route to a perfect 11-0 record in the MIAC, the first MIAC title since 1986, and to cap it off, a MIAC Playoff title and automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. The Gusties did fall in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but do return as conference champion. The Gusties were receiving votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll. Lauren Hansen leads the team in kills, averaging 3.40 per set, fourth in the MIAC. Hannah Albers is averaging 2.95 and Taylor Trautman 2.42. Albers is averaging 0.41 service aces per set and Abby Leitch is averaging a team-best 0.42. Nora Holton is topping the MIAC in assists, averaging 9.70 as the Gusties lead the MIAC in kills (13.25) and is second in assists (11.89). |
Statistics
GUSTIES LAST TIME OUT: Gustavus Adolphus bounced back after suffering a conference loss in their previous outing, defeating St. Thomas in four sets, 25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 25-18, Oct. 1 in St. Paul. Nora Holtan posted her third career triple-double with 48 assists, 16 digs, and 10 kills, including an efficient .381 attack percentage. Hanna Albers added a double-double with 19 kills and 18 digs, while Lauren Hanson and Taylor Trautman contributed 18 and 12 kills, respectively. Brittany Luethmers led the back line with 20 digs. |
Story and Statistics
THE LAST TIME STOUT AND GUSTAVUS MET: Gustavus Adolphus def. Stout, 25-18, 21-25, 24-26, 25-11, 15-10 and
Rachel Tschumperlin had 14 kills to lead Stout.
Emily Bialka had 43 assists, Sept. 19, 2015, at the Gustavus Invitational. Stout took sets two and three, but the Gusties were too strong in the final two sets. The Gusties' Lauren Hansen led the way with 16 kills. Alyssa Taylor and Anne Ladwig each had 11 kills. Taylor finished the five-set match with two solo blocks and five assisted blocks. |
Story and Statistics
A LOOK AT UW-WHITEWATER: The Warhawks were picked to win the WIAC, bringing back six starters from last year's tournament championship team. Lauren Pfeiffer and Courtney Wagner are a one-two punch for the Warhawks at the net. Pfeiffer is averaging 2.72 kills per contest and Wagner 2.71. Stacy Hasler is averaging 9.32 assists per contest. Wagner and Ashton Doll team up defensively at the net ranking one and two in the WIAC, with Doll leading the league with six solo blocks and 55 assisted blocks. Wagner has 12 solo, 68 assisted blocks. |
Statistics
WARHAWKS LAST TIME OUT: The Warhawks will be at Concordia in Mequon Wednesday. The Warhawks went 3-1 at the UW-Oshkosh National Preview Sept. 30-Oct. 1, downing St. Mary's (Ind), 3-0; Carthage College, 3-1; and Trinity-Texas, 3-2; before falling 3-0 to Elmhurst College. |
Story and Statistics
THE LAST TIME STOUT AND WHITEWATER MET: After dropping the first set, UW-Stout had some momentum going in the second set, but 12th ranked UW-Whitewater snatched the momentum back and went onto to take the set and ultimately the match, 3-0, Oct. 9, 2015, at Johnson Fieldhouse. UW-Whitewater took just over an hour to defeat UW-Stout, 3-0, in the first round of the WIAC Volleyball Championship, presented by Culver's, Nov. 3, 2015, at Russell Arena. The third-seeded Warkhawks (29-4) took a 25-12, 25-18, 25-19 decision in the conference quarterfinal match-up that saw UW-Stout (16-18) hit just barely over .000 for the match. Stout had as many errors as kills in the first set, had 11 errors compared to nine kills in the middle set and nine kills and five errors in the third set to finish the night hitting .019. |
Story and Statistics |
WIAC Story and Statistics
A LOOK AT UW-PLATTEVILLE: Allison Jensen leads the Pioneers with 2.78 kills per contest. Ashlee Moore and Lidia Frias lead the team defensively at the net. Frias has six solo blocks and 29 assisted blocks, while Moore has five solo blocks and 34 assisted blocks. |
Statistics
PIONEERS LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers will be at Edgewood College Wednesday. The Pioneers defeated Iowa Wesleyan, 3-0, Oct. 1 and lost to Coe College, 3-0. | Story and Statistics
THE LAST TIME STOUT AND PLATTEVILLE MET: It may have been Senior Day, but it was several underclassmen who came up clutch as UW-Stout rallied to take a 3-2 home win over UW-Platteville, October 10, 2015, at Johnson Fieldhouse. |
Story and Statistics
UW-STOUT COACH LAURA EVANS: Coach
Laura Evans (44-36) is in her third year as the Blue Devil coach. In her first season, the Blue Devils posted 20 wins, the first 20-win season since 2004. 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 posted a 20-10 overall record during the 2014 season, finishing with 20 wins for the first time since the 2004 season and finished fourth in league play, again their best finish since the 2004 season. But the Blue Devils picked up the competitive level of their schedule in 2015 and finished at 16-18 overall...Stout was picked to finish sixth in the WIAC in a preseason poll conducted by conference coaches and sports information directors.
AWARDS: Defensive specialist
Anna Panning was selected to the WIAC/CCIW Crossover all-tournament team, Sept. 25...Middle hitter
Ashley Pratt was selected as the UW-Stout/DigiCopy Athlete of the Week, Sept. 13...Middle hitter
Kennedy Strain was named to the Northland College all-tournament team, Sept. 10...Setter
Jessica DuVal and middle hitter
Kennedy Strain were selected to the University of Northwestern all-tournament team, Sept. 3...
2015 Awards:
Ashley Pratt earned all-conference honorable mention honors...
Payton Schultz was selected to the All-Tournament team at the Coe College Mabel Lee Invitational...
Ashley Pratt was selected UW-Eau Claire Sandy Schumacher Memorial Tournament all-tournament team, Oct. 17...
Molly Brion was selected to the UW-Whitewater all-tournament team, Sept. 26...
Ashley Pratt was selected to the Loras College Invitational all-tournament team...
Ashley Pratt was selected as the UW-Stout/Northwestern Mutual Athlete of the Week, Sept. 8...
Carly Troudt and
Ashley Pratt were named to the Pacific Coast Classic all-tournament team.
DOWN THE ROAD: The Blue Devils host UW-Superior, Monday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m., then are at the St. Catherine University Invitational, Oct. 15, where they will face Macalester College at 10 a.m. and host St. Catherine at noon.
