Volleyball Preview: Attention turns n to CCIW foes

UW-River Falls:  Live Stats | Live Video  at UW-Stevens Point CrossOver:  Live Stats | Live Video

THIS WEEK'S GAMES:  After a conference-opening win over UW-River Falls, the Blue Devils turn their attention to the non-conference schedule as they head to UW-Stevens Point to meet 23rd ranked Elmhurst College and Wheaton College at the WIAC/CCIW Crossover Saturday, Sept. 24, at UW-Stevens Point.   The Blue Devils (7-5, 0-0 WIAC) open conference play when they travel to UW-River Falls (10-2, 0-0 WIAC), Wednesday, Sept. 21, then play at the WIAC/CCIW Cross Over at UW-Stevens Point, Saturday, Sept. 24. The Blue Devils will meet 23rd ranked Elmhurst College (6-4, 1-0 CCIW) at 10 a.m. and Wheaton College (3-8, 0-1 CCIW) at 2 p.m. Elmhurst and Wheaton met last week in a CCIW opener.

ON-LINE: All home Blue Devil matches are available in a live video stream.

BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: The Blue Devils lost three matches last week, falling 3-1 to the University of Northwestern, Sept. 14, 3-1 to the University of St. Thomas and 3-0 to Bethel University, Sept 17. Olivia Jung and Ashley Pratt both had 11 kills and Kennedy Strain had 10 kills against St. Thomas and Pratt had nine kills and Elle Hagstrom had eight kills in the second game against Bethel. | Story and Stats

A LOOK AT STOUT: The Blue Devils fell to 7-5 over the last week, but they look to bounce back in their next few games. Pratt, who is third in the WIAC with a 3.42/set average, leads the team in kills with 140, 42 kills more than the next leader Kennedy Strain who has 98. The team as a whole averages 1.4 kills per set more than their opponents this season, and have also been sharing the ball more than opponents; Stout has 28 more total assists than their opponents. Freshman Jessica DuVal leads the way in assists, averaging 8.38 per set. The Blue Devils have four additional players who have more than 10 assists at this stage of the game.  Strain is sixth in the league in total blocks, averaging 0.86, and tops the league in solo blocks with 17.

The Blue Devils 7-2 start was the best start since Stout went 8-2 to open the 2013 season, but Stout has dropped their last three matches. UW-Stout returns their top two hitters and blockers to lead a small group of returners into the 2016 season. 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 UW-RIVER FALLS: The Falcons opened the season with a loss, but have won 10 of their next 11 games, running an eight game winning streak at one time. Amara Meyer leads not only the Falcons in hitting percentage, but the entire WIAC, hitting a pace of .354. Meyer leads the team in kills with 3.54 kills per set. Raven Klein is averaging 9.89 assists, second in the WIAC.  | Statistics

FALCONS LAST TIME OUT:  The Falcons visited the Chicago area, playing four matches at the North Park Invitational, coming out of the meet at 3-1. The Falcons. All matches went 3-0, River Falls defeated Nebraska Wesleyan, North Park and Beloit and lost to Aurora University.  | Story and Statistics

THE LAST TIME STOUT AND RIVER FALLS MET: UW-Stout dropped the first set, 25-18, but stormed back to win the final three, 25-17, 25-11, 25-21, in the conference opener, Sept. 23, 2015. After singing the national anthem to open the night, Rachel Tschumperlin went on to hammer out 11 kills and take command at the net with two solo blocks and seven block assists.   | Story and Statistics


A LOOK AT ELMHURST COLLEGE: The Blue Jays are ranked 23rd in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll.  Elmhurst volleyball players Melissa Nava and Amy Schryver have both been honored as College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Players of the Week.  Nava, a senior middle hitter, averaged 3.33 kills per set for the Bluejays last week.   Schryver, a junior libero,, averaged just under six digs (5.93) per set last week. | Statistics

BLUE JAYS LAST TIME OUT: Elmhurst (6-4, 1-0 CCIW) finished the weekend 1-2, including a victory over No. 19 Washington University (Mo.) Friday. The Bluejays got off to a hot start against the host Wittenburg (6-2), winning the first four points and jumping out to 6-1 and 12-4 leads in the opening set. Trailing 20-16, Wittenberg charged back to take the set 25-22 by winning nine of the final 11 points  The Bluejays were scheduled at Carroll University, Sept. 20.  | Story and Statistics

THE LAST TIME STOUT AND ELMHURST MET: The Blue Devils and the Bluejays have split two matches. Elmhurst took a 3-2 decision, Oct. 22, 1999, and the Blue Devils took a 3-2 win Nov. 12, 1998. | Story and Statistics


A LOOK AT WHEATON COLLEGE:  The Thunder have won two of their last three matches. Shelby Knowles is averaging 3.20 kills per set, while Meghan Lacey is averaging 2.93.   | Statistics

WHEATON LAST TIME OUT:  Wheaton hosted #22-ranked Elmhurst Sept. 14 in the CCIW-opening match for both teams. Elmhurst (5-2, 1-0 CCIW) topped the Thunder 3-1. Shelby Knowles led the Thunder with a match-high 19 kills and she recorded 22 digs. Freshman Meghan Lacey registered 11 kills with 23 digs. Fellow freshman Madeline Moore tallied 10 kills Hannah Japp tallied eight kills and Katie Rohrer added six. The Thunder will play UW-Eau Claire Friday, Sept. 23.  | Story and Statistics

THE LAST TIME STOUT AND WHEATON MET: The Blue Devils are 1-0 against the Thunder, taking a 3-0 Sept. 11, 2015, in their only meeting. Molly Brion  recorded a team-best eight kills over Wheaton College. Kennedy Strain  had six kills, three solo blocks and three assisted blocks. | Story and Statistics


TEAM CAPTAINS: Captains for the 2016 season are yet to be named.

UW-STOUT COACH LAURA EVANS: Coach Laura Evans (43-33) 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: 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.

DOWN THE ROAD: The Blue Devils stay in conference action and will open the home portion of the schedule when they host UW-La Crosse, Sept. 28.