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THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devils (4-7, 0-0 WIAC) will open the conference schedule when they host
UW-Platteville (9-4, 0-0 WIAC), Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. Stout will be at the WIAC/CCIW Crossover at North Central College and will meet
Augustana College (6-6, 0-0 CCIW), Friday, Sept. 22, then will meet
North Park University (6-2, 0-0 CCIW) and
Elmhurst College (3-7, 0-0 CCIW), Saturday, Sept. 23.
ON-LINE: All home Blue Devil matches are available in a
live video stream.
BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: The Blue Devils went 1-3 last week, downing UW-Superior, 3-1, dropping the home opener, 3-1, to Bethel University, Sept. 15, then losing two at the UW-River Falls Invitational, Sept. 16, falling 3-0 to the College of St. Benedict, and 3-2 to the University of St. Thomas. |
Story and Stats
THE BLUE DEVILS IN 2017:
Kennedy Strain is leading the Blue Devils' attack, averaging 2.78 kills and has 15 total blocks, with a team-high six solo blocks.Strain is third in the WIAC in hitting percentage at .336, and 10th in kills.
Ashley Pratt is averaging 2.22 kills per cent and has 23 total blocks with 20 block assists. Freshman
Amber Ripley has made an appearance on the conference kills list, where her 2.14 kills is ranked 20th. After a season off due to injury,
Steph Cannon has moved from an outside hitter to the libero position and is fifth in the WIAC in digs with 4.69 per set.
Jessica DuVal is fifth in the WIAC in assists with 8.31. |
Statistics
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-PLATTEVILLE: The Pioneers have the leading blocker in the conference with 6-1 sophomore middle hitter Katie Jones, who has collected 23 solo blocks and 38 assisted blocks for 61.0 total blocks. Jones is averaging 1.20 blocks per set and is ranked 14th in the NCAA. Allison Jensen is the Pioneers' leading hitter, averaging 3.00 kills per set, seventh in the WIAC. Jensen led the 2016 squad with 309 kills and 350 points. Maddie Dower ranks 12th in the WIAC and is averaging 2.59 kills. Senior Ashlee Moore is fourth in the WIAC in hitting percentage, hitting .335. After nearly 30 years, the Pioneers have a new coach with the retirement of Deb Schulman. Platteville welcomes Samantha Birkicht as its new head coach. She served as an assistant coach with the program from 2011-15. |
Statistics
PIONEERS LAST TIME OUT: Platteville successfully defended its home court, taking two out three matches in its own invitational Friday and Saturday. Platteville bounced back from Tuesday's straight set loss at Cornell to sweep Hamline 25-19, 25-22, 25-22 Friday night. Allison Jensen led the Pioneers with 10 kills, hitting .318. Allie Carter set up the offense with 30 assists, and Grace Austin's eight digs paced the defense. The Pioneers continued their winning ways Saturday morning, edging Cardinal Stritch 27-25, 20-25, 25-14, 19-25, 16-14. Katie Jones and Karlie Niedert delivered the go-ahead and winning kills in the decisive fifth set. The match also featured a near-perfect hitting third set for the Pioneers, as they had 15 kills and just one error in 23 attempts. Jensen and Jones each scored 13 kills, while Merritt Johnson had 11 and Maddie Dower 10. Carter had 42 assists, four service aces and tied Austin with a match-best 12 digs. UW-Platteville could not recover in time Saturday afternoon, falling 25-21, 25-18, 25-23 to Augustana. |
Story and Statistics
LAST TIME THEY MET: Less than 24 hours after being held to a near career low,
Ashley Pratt pounded down a career-best as UW-Stout defeated UW-Platteville in five sets, 3-2, last October in Platteville. Pratt put down a career-high 17 kills as the Blue Devils took a 24-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-27, 15-9 win.
Olivia Jung added 10 kills.
Kennedy Strain finished with six kills, but returned one solo block and assisted on seven.
Jessica DuVal recorded 37 assists. The Pioneers' Allison Jensen recorded 14 kills and Lidia Frias and Amber Williams each had 11 kills. |
Story and Statistics
A QUICK LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS AT THE WIAC/CCIW CROSSOVER HOSTED BY NORTH CENTRAL COLLEGE, SEPT. 22-23
A LOOK AT AUGUSTANA COLLEGE: The Vikings are currently 6-6 and have gone 4-2 over their last six matches. They open conference play Tuesday at Carthage. Augustana was picked to finish sixth in the CCIW. Emily Westermeyer leads the team in kills with 2.83. Maisse Musick leads the league in blocks at 1.08 per set. The teams last met in 2010 with Augustana taking a 3-1 win. |
Statistics
A LOOK AT NORTH PARK UNIVERSITY: North Park is currenly 6-2 and riding a four-game winning streak. The Vikings meet CCIW favorite Millikin Wednesday, Sept. 20 in their conference opener and UW-Stevens Point on Friday. Niki Ahlstrand (.331) and Kelly Clinton (.319) are second and third in the CCIW in hitting percentage. Kajsa Meyer is second in the league in assists with 8.27. Ahlstrand is fourth in blocks (0.83). This will be the first meeting on the volleyball court for the two programs. North Park was 8-21 last season and were picked to finish eighth in the CCIW preseason poll. |
Statistics
A LOOK AT ELMHURST COLLEGE: The Blue Jays are looking to snap a six game losing streak and are currently 3-7 overall. Elmhurst will open the CCIW schedule Wednesday when they host Carroll University. The Blue Jays will play UW-La Crosse Friday night before meeting Stout on Saturday. Allie Rogers leads the Blue Jays in kills with 2.76 and Amy Schryver is tops in the league in digs with 5.97. Elmhurst defeated Stout last season 3-0. This will be the teams' fourth meeting. Elmhurst (Last season: 23-13, 6-2) was picked third received one first place vote in the CCIW preseason poll after the Bluejays earned an at-large bid to the NCAA postseason in 2016, their sixth-straight appearance. Elmhurst finished tied for second with Wheaton last season. |
Statistics
UW-STOUT COACH LAURA EVANS: Coach
Laura Evans (55-49) 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: Defensive:
Steph Cannon, So, Mora, Minn.
AWARDS: 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 takes to the road for a couple of conference matches, traveling to UW-Stevens Point, Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. and at UW-La Crosse, Saturday, Sept. 30 at 5 p.m.
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