THIS WEEK'S MATCHES: The Blue Devils (13-5, 0-2 WIAC) (14-6, 0-3 WIAC) will be at UW-Eau Claire (10-7, 2-1 WIAC), Wednesday, Oct. 9, then will travel to the Washington University Baden Invitational in St. Louis, Mo., where they will face Fontbonne University (1-4, 1-5 SLIAC), Lakeland University (10-8, 4-1 NAAC) and the University of Dallas (8-11, 3-4 SCAC), which is coached by the sister of UW-Stout coach Mandy Trautmann. In four matches this week, Stout will meet teams from four different athletic conferences.
BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: The Blue Devils defeated UW-Superior, 3-1, Oct. 1, then took the first set against 10th ranked UW-Whitewater, but eventually fell to the Warhawks, 3-1.
THE BLUE DEVILS IN 2019: The Blue Devils started the season off with an eight match winning streak and lost only one set during that stretch. But the conference season has been a challenge for Stout. The Blue Devils are looking for that first conference win. Lexie Nelson has been improving on her freshman season when she earned All-WIAC honorable mention honors. Nelson has been working along with senior setter Jessica DuVal in a two-setter 6-2 system. Nelson leads the team in kills, averaging 2.68 (8th in WIAC) and is just behind DuVal in assists, averaging 4.68. DuVal is averaging a team-best 5.42 assists (7th). Freshman Lydia Kneubuehl is averaging 2.53 kills per contest (11th) and leads the team in blocks with eight solo blocks and 42 assisted blocks, averaging 0.71 total blocks (9th). The Blue Devils' all-region libero, Steph Cannon, currently leads the conference in digs, averaging 5.75 per se. Cannon, who set a school career record last year in single season and career digs, currently has 1978 career digs. The Blue Devils have four players in the top 15 in the WIAC in service aces. Nelson is second with 33 (0.46), Amber Ripley is seventh with 26 (0.36), Emily Makina is 12th with 24 (0.33) and Cannon is 15th with 23 (0.32). The Blue Devils lead the league in service aces with 144 (2.00).
THE BLUE DEVILS IN 2018: The Blue Devils finished the conference season in a three-way tie for third place with UW-La Crosse and UW-Stevens Point and earned the No. 4 seed in the WIAC Tournament, hosting a home tournament game for the first time since the 2004 season.
MILESTONE MARKERS: Every time Steph Cannon collects a dig this season, she will break her own career school record.. Last season, Cannon shot down the school career digs record, collecting 1564 digs over three seasons, 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. She finished the 2018 season with a school record 675 digs, breaking the school record of 657 by Peyton Schultz in 2015. Twelve times last season, Cannon had more than 25 digs in a single match. Senior setter Jessica DuVal had 2770 career assists coming into the 2019 season. The three year starter had 867 assists her freshman year, 923 as a sophomore and 980 as a junior.
UPDATED MILESTONE MARKERS: Steph Cannon now has 1978 career digs and 414 digs this season. Jessica DuVal now has 3160 career assists.
UW-EAU CLAIRE: Five starters are back from the 2018 campaign that reached the NCAA semi-finals, including junior middle hitter Krista Meyer, who topped the WIAC with 154 blocks and placed sixth with a .258 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Arianna Barrett was third in the league with a .303 hitting percentage and sixth with 315 kills. The program reached the semifinals of the NCAA Division III championship for the first time in program history and posted 33 victories, which were the most since the 1989 squad had 37 wins. The Blugolds have been ranked nationally throughout the season and were ranked 18th in the October 1 poll.
THE BLUGOLDS LAST TIME OUT: The Blugolds split a pair of home matches to a pair of Eagles, falling to the University of Northwestern Eagles 3-1 Oct. 5. A day earlier, the Blugolds defeated the UW-La Crosse Eagles, 3-2, in a WIAC matchup.
LAST TIME THEY MET: UW-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 Oct. 24, 2018, at Johnson Fieldhouse. The Blue Devils captured the first two sets, 26-24, 25-22, but Blugolds (26-2, 6-0 WIAC) bounded back win the final three and the match, 25-18, 25-20, 15-11.
FONTBONNE UNIVERSITY: Maura Rabun is the team's leader in kills, averaging 2.21 kills per set. Jill Reando is averaging 4.87 assists and Jessica Molden 4.00. Stout and Fontbonne have never met in volleyball.
LAKELAND UNIVERSITY: Shannon Bishop is averaging 3,49 kills per set and Abby Baumgartner is tossing down 2.75 kills, Neenah Primas is averaging 9.57 assists per set. Erin Iwanski has recorded 11 solo blocks and 37 block assists, The Blue Devils hold a 3-0 lead in the series. The teams met in the 2019 season opening tournament at UW-Whitewater where Stout took a 3-0 win (25-14, 25-19, 32-30).
UNIVERSITY OF DALLAS: The University of Dallas is coached by Kelli Trautmann, the older sister of Blue Devil coach Mandy Trautmann. The Crusaders went 2-2 at the Schreiner University Crossover Tournament. Abigail Porras leads the Crusaders with 2.71 kills per set and Dayjah Whyte is right behind with 2.62 kills. Whyte has 13 solo blocks and Ellise Anable has 12 solo blocks. The Blue Devils have never played the University of Dallas in volleyball.
CONFERENCE & NATIONAL POLLS: The Blue Devils were picked to finish fifth in the WIAC this season, according to a preseason poll conducted by WIAC head coaches and sports information directors. UW-Eau Claire was projected to finish first, followed by UW-Whitewater; UW-La Crosse; UW-Stevens Point; UW-Stout; UW-Oshkosh; UW-River Falls; and UW-Platteville.
UW-STOUT COACH MANDY TRAUTMANN: Coach Mandy Trautmann (30-19) is in her second season as the head coach of the Blue Devils. in her first season as head coach in 2018, Trautmann led the Blue Devils to home WIAC playoff berth, the first for the Blue Devils since 2004. 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. (Trautmann started the season with a 16-13 overall record)
QUICK HITS: The Blue Devils have six seniors, two juniors, six sophomores and seven freshmen on the 2019 roster...the team is made up of 11 players from Minnesota, six from Wisconsin and one each from Iowa and Illinois...assistant coach Pam Schroeder begins her 16h season with the Blue Devils, matching hockey assistant coach Greg Slupe as holding the longest active consecutive assistant coaching tenure with a Stout program.
BLUE DEVIL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: Week Five: Offensive athlete of the week: Lexie Nelson, So, St. Michael, Minn. (St. Michael-Albertville); Defensive athlete of the week: Steph Cannon, Sr, Mora, Minn.; Week Four: Offensive athlete of the week: Lexie Nelson, So, St. Michael, Minn. (St. Michael-Albertville); Defensive athlete of the week: Steph Cannon, Sr, Mora, Minn.; Week Three: Offensive athlete of the week: McKylie Hoff, Sr, Barron, Wis. (Prairie Farm); Defensive athlete of the week: Steph Cannon, Sr, Mora, Minn.; Week Three: Offensive athlete of the week: Jessica DuVal, Sr, Logan, Iowa (Harlan Community); Defensive athlete of the week: Steph Cannon, Sr, Mora, Minn.; Week Two: Offensive athlete of the week: Lydia Knuebuehl, Fr, Cottage Grove, Wis. (Monona Grove); Defensive athlete of the week: Steph Cannon, Sr, Mora, Minn. Week One: . Offensive athlete of the week: Lexie Nelson, So, St. Michael, Minn. (St. Michael-Albertville); Defensive athlete of the week: Steph Cannon, Sr, Mora, Minn.
AWARDS: 2019: McKylie Hoff and Steph Cannon were selected to the UW-Stevens Point all-tournament team, Sept. 21...Steph Cannon was selected as the WIAC Kwik Trip Athlete of the Week Sept. 17...Jessica DuVal was selected to the Bethel University all-tournament team after tallying 108 assists over four matches...Steph Cannon was selected as the Kwik Trip WIAC Athlete of the Week, Sept. 10...Lydia Kneubuehl and Steph Cannon were named to the UW-Oshkosh Pizza Hut Classic all-tournament team...Lexie Nelson was named the UW-Stout/Toppers Athlete of the Week, Sept. 2...Lexie Nelson was selected to the UW-Whitewater all-tournament team after collecting 27 kills and 29 assists as Stout won a pair of 3-0 wins to open the season, Aug. 31...
DOWN THE ROAD: The Blue Devils will be at UW-Oshkosh, Friday, Oct. 18 for a 7 p.m. WIAC contest.
