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WIAC Weekly Release
THIS WEEK'S MATCHES: The Blue Devils (15-12, 3-3 WIAC) close out the regular season today and host
UW-Oshkosh(16-13, 2-4 WIAC). Both teams are assured of a berth in the WIAC tournament, which gets underway next Tuesday. The results from the three matches scheduled for Friday night will set some sites, but Stout and Oshkosh will determine their future. Saturday is Parents Day and Senior Day as the Blue Devils will honor
Kennedy Strain and
Emily Bialka for their four year careers as Blue Devils. During their four years, the Blue Devils will have played at least 120 total matches and Strain will have played in all of them and Bialka in 112.
ON-LINE: All home Blue Devil matches are available in a
live video stream.
PARKING: Parking on the UW-Stout campus is restricted during the business week. For games in Johnson Fieldhouse during the week, please plan to park in Lot 29. Do not park in Lot 4, which is a reserved lot for students that live in the residence halls.
SENIORS:
Emily Bialka came to the Blue Devils as a setter and made the transition to hitter, where throughout her career she has played in 112 matches and 369 sets. Emily has recorded 317 kills, 910 assists, 307 digs, 20 solo blocks and 129 assisted blocks over her career.
Kennedy Strain has been a main player in the middle throughout her four-year career where she has been among the team's leader in kills and blocks. Playing in 120 matches and 439 sets throughout her career, Kennedy has 1108 kills, where she ranks 8th all-time, 106 solo blocks and 237 block assists, where she ranks sixth all-time.
BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: Stout had UW-Eau Claire down 2-0, but the 13th-ranked Blugolds climbed the ladder all the way back to hand the Blue Devils a 3-2 loss in WIAC volleyball play Wednesday at Johnson Fieldhouse. The Blue Devils captured the first two sets, 26-24, 25-22, but the Blugolds bounced back win the final three and the match, 25-18, 25-20, 15-11.
Amber Ripley matched a season-best by putting down 20 kills.
Kennedy Strain had three kills and each had four block assists.
Lexie Nelson finished the night with nine kills.
McKylie Hoff had eight kills and a team-high five block assists.
THE BLUE DEVILS IN 2018: Outside hitter
Amber Ripley is leading the Blue Devils in kills, averaging 2.86 kills per set and ranks fourth in the WIAC. Middle hitter
Kennedy Strain is averaging 2.78 kills per set over 102 sets played and has recorded 284 total kills, bringing her career totals to 1108. She is currently sixth in the WIAC in kills. Strain is the team's leading blocker, recording 26 solo blocks and 54 assisted blocks, averaging 0.78, ranking seventh in the WIAC. Freshman
Lexie Nelson is averaging 2.41 kills for the season, and is currently 13th in the conference.
Jessica DuVal, who was selected to the all-tournament team at Concordia-Wisconsin, is currently averaging 8.39 assists and is ranked fourth in the conference.
McKylie Hoff has five solo blocks and just trails Strain with 45 assisted blocks.
Steph Cannon is second in the WIAC in digs, averaging 5.80 digs per set, ranking 13th in Division III. |
Statistics
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT BOUND: The Blue Devils have locked up a spot in the WIAC tournament, which begins Tuesday, Oct. 30, but their seed will not be determined until after this week. They face a tough UW-Eau Claire team, Wednesday, Oct. 24 and will host UW-Oshkosh, Saturday, Oct. 27 to close out the regular season.
MILESTONE MARKERS:
Kennedy Strain currently has 1094 career kills. Strain currently has 234 career block assists, eighth on the all-time list.
Jessica DuVal has 2649 career assists.
SCHOOL RECORD:
Steph Cannon shot down the school career digs record and currently has 1487 digs, topping Alicia Mizer's four-year total of 1510. Accomplishing the feat in three season, as a freshman, Cannon collected 341 digs. Injury kept her out of action the following year, but when she returned, Cannon was moved to the libero spot where she had 548 digs. This season, she has 621 digs. Twelve times this season, Cannon has had more than 25 digs in a single match.
UW-EAU CLAIRE: The Blugolds have won their last eight matches and currently ranked 14th by the AVCA. Statisically, the Blugolds are on top of the WIAC in kills, averaging 13.54 kills per set and they do it them most efficiently, leading the league with a .249 hitting percentage. Madelyn Pashiben is second in the WIAC in kills, averaging 3.84 and Makenzie Bachman is 10th, averaging 2.56 per contest. Madison Surprise leads the WIAC in assists, averaging 11.08, putting her sixth nationally. Krista Meyer is second in the league in blocks, with 12 solo blocks and 93 assisted blocks for a 1.13 per set averaging, ranking 25th nationally. Taylor Scalia is sixth in the WIAC in digs with 4.60. The Blugolds are slated to meet UW-Whitewater Friday. |
Statistics
BLUGOLDS LAST TIME OUT: The Blugolds defeated Albion (MI) and Denison (OH) by scores of 3-0. In their first match of the day against Albion, the Blugolds out-hit the Brits .269 to .096 including an incredible .484 first set as they won by scores of 25-12, 25-22 and 25-17. Once again it was a balanced attack for UW-Eau Claire with five Blugolds recording seven or more kills with Madelyn Pashibin leading the way with 10. Taylor Scalia anchored the defense with 17 digs while Madison Surprise recorded 36 assists, 10 digs and two aces. In match two against Denison, the Blugolds continued their dominance, defeating the Big Red by scores of 25-14, 25-11, 25-14. Eau Claire outhit Denison .348 to -.018 to earn their 25th win of the season. Ten different Blugolds tallied kills with Pashibin again leading the way, adding eight to her team-leading 349 on the season. Scalia again had 17 digs with Amber Karn adding 10 digs and two aces. Surprise also had two aces for Eau Claire along with 30 assists. Krista Meyer (So. - Germantown, WI) recorded a game-high five block assists while Abby Volk chipped in four. |
Story and Statistics
LAST TIME STOUT AND EAU CLAIRE MET: After UW-Eau Claire had downed UW-Stout in the first two sets, the Blue Devils did bounce back in the third set, but still fell in three sets at McPhee Center Oct. 25, 2017. The Blugolds defeated Stout 25-18, 25-12 in the first two rounds, but Stout showed signs of life, leading most of the set as freshmen
Amber Ripley and
Emili Cain led Stout's attack. Ripley put down five kills in the third set and Cain scored four. Both finished the match with a team-high nine kills. |
Story and Statistics
THE SERIES: UW-Eau Claire leads the series, 61-24.
UW-OSHKOSH: The Titans have won six of their last seven contests. Renee Rush leads the team in kills, averaging 2.09. Carly Lemke has 2.01 kills and six solo blocks and 62 assisted blocks. Taylor Allen is fourth in the WIAC in blocks with nine solo and 82 assisted blocks. |
Statistics
TITANS LAST TIME OUT: The Titans clinched a conference playoff berth with a 3-0 win over UW-Platteville Wednesday in the team's final home game of the season. Samantha Jaeke had a team-leading seven kills on 15 errorless attempts, Allen added five kills and a match-best six blocks. | Tina Elstner had a team-leading 17 kills to go along with 11 digs on the day as the UW-Oshkosh volleyball team split a pair of 3-0 decisions at the Concordia University Wisconsin Invitational on Saturday (Oct. 20) in Mequon. UW-Oshkosh suffered a three-set loss to nationally ranked Illinois Wesleyan University in set scores of 16-25, 20-25, 21-25 before rebounding with a sweep over Cardinal Stritch University in scores of 25-22, 25-22, 25-23 by hitting a season-high .261. UW-Oshkosh had its season-best four-match and 11-set winning streaks end. Illinois Wesleyan University (19-5), ranked 15th in the NCAA Division III by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, extended its school-record winning streak to 14 consecutive matches. Illinois Wesleyan University, which also swept UW-Oshkosh last season, improved its record to 4-16 in the all-time series.The Titans will host UW-Platteville, Wednesday, Oct. 24. |
Story and Statistics
LAST TIME STOUT AND OSHKOSH MET: UW-Stout won the first two sets, but UW-Oshkosh came roaring to back to sweep the final three as the Titans defeated the Blue Devils, 3-2, Oct. 28, 2017, at Kolf Sports Center. The teams came into the match tied with 2-4 conference records, with the winner receiving the No. 5 seed in the WIAC tournament and the loser the sixth seed. In the opening set, Stout trailed 23-18, but went on an 8-1 run to win the set. Stout trailed only briefly in the second set, but never led in the third set. Stout took a 7-1 lead in the fourth set, but the Titans came back to tie the set at 11 apiece. The Titans jumped out in front 18-12 and went on to the win. Stout tied the final set at 12 each, but the Titans rolled off the final three points for the set and the match. |
Story and Statistics
THE SERIES: UW-Oshkosh leads the series, 43-9.
CONFERENCE & NATIONAL POLLS: The Blue Devils were picked to finish sixth in a preseason poll conducted by league coaches and sports information directors. UW-Whitewater is projected to finish first, UW-Eau Claire second, UW-Oshkosh third, UW-La Crosse fourth, UW-Stevens Point fifth, UW-Stout sixth, UW-Platteville seventh and UW-River Falls eighth. |
2018 WIAC Preseason Poll |
AVCA Top 25 Poll
UW-STOUT COACH MANDY TRAUTMANN: Coach
Mandy Trautmann (15-12) is in her first season as the head coach of the Blue Devils. Trautmann took over the Blue Devils after a season as an assistant coach. Prior to coming to Stout, Trautmann was the team captain for UW-Oshkosh in 2015, a season the Titans captured the WIAC regular season championship. Trautmann was a two-time first team all-WIAC selection in 2014 and 2015, and an honorable mention choice in 2013. She was named to the all-WIAC defensive team in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
QUICK HITS: The Blue Devils have two seniors, six juniors, four sophomores and seven freshmen on the 2018 roster...the team is made up of 13 players from Minnesota, four from Wisconsin and one each from Iowa and Illiniois...assistant coach
Pam Schroeder begins her 15th season with the Blue Devils, matching hockey assistant coach
Greg Slupe as the longest current assistant coaching tenure with a Stout program...
BLUE DEVIL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: Week Eight: .
Offensive athlete of the week: Jessica DuVal, Jr, Logan, Iowa (Harlan Community);
Defensive athlete of the week: Steph Cannon, Jr, Mora, Minn.
AWARDS: 2018:
Steph Cannon was selected as the WIAC Defensive Athlete of the Week, Oct. 23, after averaging 6.0 digs per set over 16 sets played. Cannon also broke the school career digs record during the week..
Jessica DuVal was selected to the all-tournament team at Concordia-Wisconsin...
Steph Cannon was selected as the UW-Stout/Toppers Athlete of the Week Oct. 15 after averaging 7.73 digs per set over 15 sets played...
Lexie Nelson was selected as the UW-Stout/Toppers Athlete of the Week after putting down 27 kills in a 3-2 win over Augsburg University, Oct. 6, and 18 in a 3-1 home loss to Saint Mary's University, Oct. 3....
Steph Cannon was selected WIAC defensive athlete of the week after averaging more than seven digs per set over three matches and 11 sets...
Kennedy Strain was selected to the Bethel University all-tournament team...
Jessica DuVal was selected to the UW-Oshkosh Pizza Hut all-tournament team...
Kennedy Strain was selected to the Oregon Trail all-tournament team.
DOWN THE ROAD: The Blue Devils will participate in the WIAC Volleyball Championship, starting Tuesday, Nov. 2 with the quarterfinals. The semi-finals are Thursday, Nov. 4 and the championship game is Saturday, Nov. 6.
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