THIS WEEK'S MATCHES: The Blue Devils (5-6, 0-0 WIAC) open conference play when they take the winding trip to UW-Platteville (5-7, 0-0 WIAC) on a Tuesday night, taking on the Pioneers, Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. The Blue Devils will be at Bethel University,(11-2, 1-0 MIAC) Friday, Sept. 21 for a 7 p.m. contest.
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.
BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: The Blue Devils opened the week with a 3-2 loss at the University of Minnesota-Morris, Sept. 11. At the Bethel University Invitational, the Blue Devils got things going with a 3-0 win over Luther College, Sept. 14. Stout vs. St. Olaf and Bethel University. | Morris Match and Stats | Luther Match and Stats | Bethel Invite Day Two Match and Stats
A LOOK AT STOUT: The Blue Devils return all-conference picks Kennedy Strain and Steph Cannon, who both garnered honorable mention honors. Strain, a senior middle hitter,, led the Blue Devils in kills, averaging 2.82 kills per set, tallying 302 total, and ranks 10th in the WIAC in kills per set. She ranks eighth in the conference in hitting percentage, hitting at a .255 clip. On the block, Strain finished with 23 solo blocks and 49 block assists for 79 total She averaged 0.67 per set. Eighteen times this season, Strain finished with double-digit kills, with a season-high 20 in a 3-2 win over Minnesota-Morris. After sitting out the 2016 season, Cannon, a junior, made the switch from hitter to back-row specialist, wearing the libero shirt for the majority of games and was chosen to the all-conference team as a libero. Cannon, who was also selected to the all-defensive team, finished the year with 548 digs, a mark that is fifth on the UW-Stout all-time singles seasons list. Cannon ranked fourth in the WIAC in digs, averaging 4.98 per set. Cannon threatened the school single match digs record, recording 44 digs against Minnesota-Morris. The school record is 48. Cannon 11 times exceeded 20 digs in a single match and four times had 30 or more digs.The Blue Devils return senior Emily Bialka, who switched from setter to hitter last season. Jessica DuVal returns after two years as the starting setter. Amber Ripley made an impression as a freshman hitter. | Complete 2018 Season Preview
THE BLUE DEVILS IN 2018: Amber Ripley, after missing a weekend tournament a week ago, is averaging 3.41 kills per contest over 32 sets. Kennedy Strain is averaging 2.95 kill per set. Strain has a hitting percentage of 2.73, and has 31 total blocks, 10 solo. Playing in a 6-2, Jessica DuVal is ranked seventh in the WIAC in assists with 7.64 per set. DuVal is among the top 20 in service aces, and has 14. Ripley has collected 13. Steph Cannon is fourth in digs in the WIAC, averaging 4.73. | Statistics
MILESTONE MARKERS LOOMING: Kennedy Strain currently has 951 career kills. Jessica DuVal has 2134 career assists. Steph Cannon has 1102 career digs.
UW-PLATTEVILLE: The Pioneers finished above .500 (15-14) in 2017 for the first time since compiling a 21-12 record in 2012. A season ago, junior middle blocker Katie Jones had a team-high 96 blocks and added 140 kills. Olivia Kudronowicz leads the team with 2.55 kills per set. . | Statistics
UW-PLATTEVILLE LAST TIME OUT: UW-Platteville's was unable to pull off any victories at the 2018 UW-Platteville Invitational. The Pioneers fell to Coe 25-11, 20-25, 22-25, 25-19, 15-11 on Friday night to snap their 3-game winning streak. On Saturday, the Pioneers lost to North Park 25-23, 25-17, 25-14 and Waldorf 25-23, 25-21, 25-19. In the Coe match, Paige Mertens led the team with nine kills and Lauren Murphy led with 20 assists. On Saturday against Waldorf, Kaite Asche had seven kills while hitting .389 while Hailey Youngren had seven kills and hit .316. | Game Story and Statistics
LAST TIME THE PIONEERS AND BLUE DEVILS MET: It wasn't just veteran middle hitters Ashley Pratt and Kennedy Strain that put down the big kills when UW-Stout need them in the fifth and deciding set over UW-Platteville - it was several of the young players that helped Stout to a WIAC-opening 25-27, 25-23, 25-19, 12-25, 15-12, Sept. 20, 2017, at Johnson Fieldhouse. Pratt and Strain each put down a couple of monster kills apiece following long rallies, but freshman Amber Ripley, sophomore setter Jessica DuVal and sophomore right side hitter Kara Simonson contributed key kills to help the Blue Devils snag the win. Stout dropped the first set, but came back to take the next two sets. The Pioneers (9-5, 0-1 WIAC) dominated the fourth set to send the match in the fifth and deciding set. The point range of the fifth set was only twice wider than two points until the final deciding score. | Game Story and Statistics
THE SERIES: The Pioneers hold a 28-21 lead in the series.
BETHEL UNIVERSITY: The Royals have won five consecutive matches and 11 of their last 12 matches. Bethel has four attackers averaging more than two kills per set, led by Tina Hoppe's 2.90 kills per set. Tina Canakes is averaging 1.31 blocks per set. | Statistics
BETHEL LAST TIME OUT LAST TIME OUT: Bethel went perfect over the weekend at their own tournament and downed UW-Stout 3-0 to close out the tournament. Bethel then turned their attention to UW-Stout and started out with a solid first set win 25-22. The Royals then dominated the second set, never trailing while leading by as many as 11 points, before finishing with a 25-18 win. The third set was much tighter throughout but again the Royals maintained a slight advantage nearly the entire way, finishing with another 25-22 victory to complete the sweep. Maria Claflin hit an amazing .524 in the win, leading the way with 11 kills. Hannah Wilhite recorded 40 assists to go along with six kills and a .500 attack percentage.. | Game Story and Statistics
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 (5-6) 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 Three: Offensive athlete of the week: Kennedy Strain, Sr, Elk River, Minn.; Defensive athlete of the week: Steph Cannon, Jr, Mora, Minn.
AWARDS: 2018: 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: After straight matches on the road, the Blue Devils open a four-game home-stand by hosting Hamline University Tuesday, Sept. 25, then will host conference opponent UW-Stevens Point, Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. Stout will host UW-La Crosse, Saturday, Sept. 29 at 3 p.m., then wrap up the four straight home games, by hosting St. Mary's University, Wednesday, Oct. 3.
