Volleyball Preview: Closes home schedule tonight with Senior Night

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THIS WEEK'S MATCHES: The Blue Devils (8-17, 2-3 WIAC) close the home portion of the regular season by hosting non-conference opponent the University Minnesota-Morris Cougars (23-6, 12-2 UMAC). Tonight is Senior Night and the Blue Devils will recognize their lone senior, Ashley Pratt. A middle hitter, Pratt has 1096 total career kills and is currently seventh on the Stout all-time kills list. Her .258 career hitting percentage is currently fifth on the all-time list. Minnesota-Morris (22-6, 11-2 UMAC) at 7 p.m. for Senior Night

PAJAMA NIGHT: Whoever wears the craziest of funniest pajama outfie will win the Jimmy Johns "Best Seat in the House."

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

 A LOOK AT THE BLUE DEVILS: The Blue Devils have five players that are averaging more than two kills per set. Junior middle hitter Kennedy Strain leads the way with 2.78  kills and averages 0.69 blocks per set. Freshman Amber Ripley has increased her kills total and now has recorded 199 kills, averaging 2.34 per set. Senior Ashley Pratt is averaging 2.20 kills and freshman Emili Cain is averaging 2.02 kills. Sophomore Kyle Hoff has come off the bench to average 2.25 kills. Strain is currently 10th in the WIAC in kills, Ripley 15th and Pratt 16th.  Setter Jessica DuVal is fifth in the WIAC in assists with 8.72. Steph Cannon is averaging 4.76 digs per set, good for fifth in the WIAC.  
   
STOUT LAST TIME OUT:  Down 2-0 after dropping the first two sets of the match, Stout would not fold up the tent and played 11th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus relatively even in the third set, but ultimately lost the set and the match Tuesday, 25-18, 25-15, 25-22. Stout got 10 kills from Kennedy Strain, who also had two block assists. Amber Ripley finished with seven kills. Ashley Pratt recorded a solo block and a block assist. Stout finished with a solo block and six block assists.         

A LOOK AT MINNESOTA-MORRIS: Morgan Miller was selected as the UMAC player of the week for the third time this season last week, earning defensive honors, the second time this year. She also holds an Offensive Player of the Week nod as well. It was a great all-around effort for the sophomore middle blocker in three matches last week. She collected 18 total blocks, adding to her UMAC-leading total of 100. Offensively she added 32 kills and five digs. Miller averages 2.76 kills per set, second only to Marissa Ekness, who is averaging 3.93 kills per set. Miller is averaging 1.03 blocks per contest, sending back 25 solo blocks and 81 block assists. Miller leads the UMAC in blocks and is second in kills. Layne Herrmann is averaging 10.32 assists and leads the UMAC. The Cougars are currently second in the UMAC.

COUGARS LAST TIME OUT: Morris down Martin Luther Tuesday, 26-24, 25-7, 23-25, 25-14, in a UMAC matchup. After Martin Luther forced a fourth set, Morris used an early 6-point spurt to take a 9-4 edge in the fourth set. The lead grew to double figures at 16-6 following a Tori Everson kill. Marissa Ekness led the Cougars with 22 kills. Layne Herrmann recorded 50 assists and Katie Reitsma led with 17 digs.   

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BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: The Blue Devils defeated UW-River Falls, 3-1, Oct. 11, then just missed out on a win over UW-Whitewater, Oct. 13, falling to the nationally ranked Warhawks, 3-2. Stout got back on the winning track Oct. 14 when they swept Hamline University, 3-0.  | River Falls Story and Stats  | Whitewater Story and Stats  | Hamline Story and Stats

THE BLUE DEVILS IN 2017: Freshmen Amber Ripley and Emili Cain have pushed the Blue Devils over the last several weeks, and their lines on the stat sheet show. Ripley is averaging 2.34 kills per contest, while Cain is now averaging 2.02 kills. Junior middle hitter Kennedy Strain still leads the Blue Devils, and is averaging a team-best 2.76 kills per game and has put down 21 solo blocks along with 40 block assists for 61 total blocks.  Ashley Pratt is averaging 2.23 kills, getting 15 against UW-Whitewater. Setter Jessica DuVal is fifth in the WIAC in assists with 8.73. Steph Cannon is averaging 4.71 digs per set, good for fifth in the WIAC.  | Statistics

SENIOR NIGHT: Friday night is Senior Night and the Blue Devils will recognize their lone senior, middle hitter Ashley Pratt. Before the Gustavus match, Pratt has recorded 1092 career kills and is currently seventh on the UW-Stout all-time kills list. Her .262 career hitting percentage is currently fifth on the all-time list.

A LOOK AT STOUT: The Blue Devils return strength up the middle by returning middle blockers Ashley Pratt and Kennedy Strain, both WIAC honorable mention selections last season. Pratt, a two-time All-WIAC honorable mention pick, has been at or towards the top of Stout's hitting game throughout her career, lasting year leading the team in both hitting percentage (.264) and kills (3.41). Pratt ranked seventh in the WIAC in hitting percentage and was fourth in kills. For her career, Pratt is averaging 2.75 kills per contest and hitting at a .268 clip. Pratt has played in 91 matches, tallying play in 335 sets. Opposite Pratt, Strain is the team's top returning blocker and trailed only Pratt in kills. Strain averaged 0.83 blocks last year, ranking 10th in the league, but topped all league players with 28 solo blocks. Strain also led the conference as a freshman in solo blocks with 29, ranking seventh in total blocks (0.85) in her rookie year. Emily Bialka contributed to the Blue Devils last season while moving to a different role. As a freshman, Bialka was one of the two setters in the Blue Devils' 6-2 offense. Bialka played a few sets last season as the setter, but was moved to the right side hitter position. Bialka finished by averaging 1.0 kills per contest and still managed to contribute just short of one assist per contest (0.80). Bialka trailed only Strain in blocks per set, averaging 0.59. Jessica DuVal secured the setter position last season as a freshman, and finished the season ranking sixth in the WIAC in assists, averaging 8.26 per contest. DuVal played in 105 sets last year, tops of any returning players. DuVal recorded 2.83 digs per set, the best of any returning players. Carissa Hilgers returns to the back row where she played in 99 of 107 possible sets and averaging 1.79 digs per set. Hilgers served up 19 service aces, second on the team, and the best of any returners. Following a good freshman season, Steph Cannon was forced to sit out the entire 2016 season due to injury. But Cannon returns in 2017 as an outside hitter. During her freshman year, Cannon averaged just shy of a kill per set, tallying 0.99 kills, seeing action in 118 of 141 sets. Cannon was second on the team in digs with 2.89 digs per set.


A LOOK AT GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS: Gustavus is ranked 11th in the Oct. 11 AVCA Top 25 poll and the Gusties sit on top of the MIAC after beating St. Thomas last week. The Gusties are riding a seven match winning streak, with their last loss coming to seventh-ranked University of Northwestern Sept. 23. Kate Holtan is averaging 3.11 kills per contest, followed by Hannah Albers with 2.85 and Lauren Hansen with 2.60. Nora Holtan is averaging 9.82 assists.   | Statistics

GUSTIES LAST TIME OUT: The No. 11-ranked Gustavus volleyball team swept the No. 19-ranked University of St. Thomas during Cancer Awareness Night at Gus Young Court Wednesday evening to take hold of the first place spot in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings. | Story and Statistics

LAST TIME THEY MET: Ashley Pratt finished with 15 kills and Kennedy Strain had a strong night defensively at the net as UW-Stout defeated Gustavus Adolphus College in four sets Oct. 4, 2016, at Johnson Fieldhouse. The Blue Devils were coming off a poor attacking night in their previous outing, and tonight put the ball down when they needed to. Pratt finished the night hitting at a .268 clip, while Strain added 11 kills and hit .333. | Story and Statistics


A LOOK AT MINNESOTA-MORRIS: Morgan Miller was selected as the UMAC player of the week for the third time this season last week, earning defensive honors, the second time this year. She also holds an Offensive Player of the Week nod as well. It was a great all-around effort for the sophomore middle blocker in three matches last week. She collected 18 total blocks, adding to her UMAC-leading total of 100. Offensively she added 32 kills and five digs. Miller averages 2.81 kills per set, second only to Marissa Ekness, who is averaging 3.87 kills per set. Miller is averaging 1.01 blocks per contest, sending back 24 solo blocks and 76 block assists. Miller leads the UMAC in blocks and is second in kills. Layne Herrmann is averaging 10.23 assists and leads the UMAC. The Cougars are currently second in the UMAC  | Statistics

COUGARS LAST TIME OUT: It was a big night for sophomore setter Layne Herrmann as she became the sixth player in program history to surpass 2000 career assists and she reached 1000 season assists as the Cougars won home matches over St. Scholastica and Concordia-Moorhead Friday night at the PE Center. Herrmann was 13 assists shy of reaching the 2000 career assists milestone and she was able to reach that in the first set against St. Scholastica. Late in the set, Herrmann fed Morgan Miller for a kill that made it 22-13 UMM. That marked Herrmann's 13th assist of the set and the Cougar bench gave out a big, extended cheer to acknowledge their teammate's accomplish. The Cougars are Martin Luther Tuesday, Oct. 17.  | Story and Statistics

LAST TIME THEY MET: The Blue Devils have not been able to get past UM-Morris the last several years, and the Cougars took a 20-25, 29-27, 25-16, 26-24 decision, Oct. 17, 2015 at the Sandy Schumacher Memorial Invitational in Eau Claire.  Ashley Pratt led Stout offensively at the net with 12 kills against Morris. The sophomore had a solo block and three block assists against St. Ben's and three block assists against Morris. Carly Troudt recorded 11 kills and Kennedy Strain, Steph Cannon and Rachel Tschumperlin each recorded eight kills against Morris  | Story and Statistics



UW-STOUT COACH LAURA EVANS: Coach Laura Evans (59-58) is in her fourth 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.

BLUE DEVIL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: Offensive: none; Defensive: Steph Cannon, So, Mora, Minn.

AWARDS: Steph Cannon was selected as the UW-Stout/Toppers Athlete of the Week, Oct. 16, after averaging 5.25 kills in a 2-1 week that saw the Blue Devils come up just points from updsetting nationally ranked UW-Whitewater...Kennedy Strain was selected to the UW-Eau Claire Sandy Schumacher Memorial all-tournament team, Oct. 7...Steph Cannon was selected to the UW-River Falls Invitational all-tournament team, Sept. 16...Kennedy Strain was selected to the UW-Oshkosh Pizza Hut Classic all-tournament team, Sept. 9..2016: The Blue Devil team earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award...Libero Anna Panning was selected as the UW-Stout/DIgiCopy Athlete of the Week, Oct. 25...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 Ashley Pratt were selected to the University of Northwestern all-tournament team, Sept. 3.

DOWN THE ROAD: Stout closes out the regular season with a pair of conference road games, traveling to UW-Eau Claire, Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m., then will be at UW-Oshkosh, Saturday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m.