THIS WEEK'S MATCHES: The Blue Devils (9-17, 2-3 WIAC) will close out the regular season on the road, traveling to UW-Eau Claire, (13-10, 4-1 WIAC) Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m and at UW-Oshkosh (17-14, 1-4 WIAC), Saturday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m.  Stout will compete in the WIAC Volleyball Championship next week. The first round game is Tuesday, Oct. 31. The semi-final game is Thursday, Nov. 2 and the championship game is Saturday, Nov. 4.


BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: The Blue Devils lost 3-0 to nationally ranked Gustavus Adolphus, Oct. 17, then defeated Minnesota-Morris, 3-2, Oct. 20 on Senior Night. Against Morris, the Blue Devils were down 2-1 sets, came back to take the fourth set to force the final set. Trailing by four points, Stout came back to close out and win the match with a 9-1 run. Senior Ashley Pratt had six kills in the run. Kennedy Strain finished the match with 20 kills.Warhawks, 3-2. Stout got back on the winning track Oct. 14 when they swept Hamline University, 3-0. 

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 2.36 kills per contest, while Cain is now averaging 1.99 kills. Junior middle hitter Kennedy Strain still leads the Blue Devils, and is averaging a team-best 2.84 kills per set, 10th in the WIAC, and has put down 23 solo blocks along with 43 block assists for 66 total blocks.  Strain had a season-best 20 kills against Minn-Morris. Ashley Pratt is averaging 2.26 kills, getting 16 against Minn-Morris. Setter Jessica DuVal is fifth in the WIAC in assists with 8.84, and had a career-best 55 vs. Morris. Steph Cannon is averaging 4.96 digs per set, good for fourth in the WIAC. Cannon recorded a career-best 44 digs against Morris, four short of the school individual match record. 


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 UW-EAU CLAIRE: Madelyn Pashibin leads the WIAC in hitting percentage (.314) and is second in the league in kills (3.78). Jessica Coyne is putting down 2.88 kills. Madison Surprise is second in the WIAC in assist with 10.31.Talia Jaskulske is one spot ahead of Stout's Steph Cannon in digs, averaging 5.26 per set. The Blugolds are 5-4 in the month of October.

BLUGOLDS LAST TIME OUT: The Blugolds split at the UW-Oshkosh Invitational, defeating Bates College, 3-0, but falling, 3-0, to Illinois Wesleyan. The Blugolds started off the day with the three-set sweep over Bates via scores of 25-21, 25-12, and 25-18. Eau Claire put together a .301 mark for hitting as five different players had at least seven kills in the match. The second match of the afternoon did not go nearly as well for the Blugolds. Illinois Wesleyan topped Eau Claire 25-19, 25-21, and 27-25.

LAST TIME THEY MET: After leading UW-Eau Claire 2-1, UW-Stout had to hold off a strong challenge from the 25th-ranked Blugolds, but the Blue Devils' Carli Langeland and Ashley Pratt came up big late in the fifth and deciding set as Stout took a 3-2 decision Oct. 19, 2016, at Johnson Fieldhouse.


A LOOK AT UW-OSHKOSH: The Titans hit some rough patches in September, but have turned things around a bit in October, currently running a four-match winning streak. The Titans are at UW-Platteville Wednesday, Oct. 25. Where the Titans have struggled has been in league play, where they dropped their first four conference matches before toppling UW-River Falls, Oct. 13. Tina Elstner leads the Titans in kills, averaging 3.18, good for fourth in the WIAC. Samantha Jaeke is averaging 2.12 kills. Shelby Coron and Carly Lemke lead the Titans in blocks, with Coron averaging 0.89 and Lemke, the WIAC defensive player of the week, averaging 0.78.

TITANS LAST TIME OUT: Tina Elstner had a team-leading 42 kills to go along with 30 digs, nine blocks and four service aces during UW-Oshkosh's four matches. She recorded a match-best 14 kills on .300 hitting with nine digs and two service aces in the Titans' win over University of Northwestern, ranked ninth in the NCAA Division III by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Elstner also compiled 14 kills and 12 digs in four sets against Carthage College on Oct. 20, 12 kills on .312 hitting in three sets against Lakeland University on Oct. 18, and two kills in three sets against Bates College (Maine) on Oct. 21..Elstner was the WIAC offensive player of the week.

LAST TIME THEY MET: UW-Stout needed to pick up a win if they wanted to host a first round Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) tournament game...and things looked good after Stout took the first set over UW-Oshkosh Oct. 29, 2016, at Johnson Fieldhouse. But the 23rd ranked Titans stopped the Blue Devils in their tracks and took the final three sets. In the process, the Titans earned a share of the WIAC title along with UW-Whitewater and UW-La Crosse. The Blue Devils went to Oshkosh in the first round of the WIAC tournament days later and were unceremoniously bounced from the tournament, and the season, by a 3-0 score.


UW-STOUT COACH LAURA EVANS: Coach Laura Evans (60-59) 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: Kennedy Strain, Jr, Elk River, Minn.; 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 upsetting 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 will compete in the WIAC Volleyball Championship. The first round game is Tuesday, Oct. 31. The semi-final game is Thursday, Nov. 2 and the championship game is Saturday, Nov. 4.