Volleyball Preview: Stout off to River Falls Wednesday to take on Falcons, then a pair of matches at St. Norbert

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THIS WEEK'S MATCHES: The Blue Devils (9-7, 1-2 WIAC) will be at UW-River Falls (10-10, 0-3 WIAC), Wednesday, Oct. 6, then will travel to St. Norbert College to take on the Green Knights (10-10, 2-2 NACC) and Rockford University (2-12, 0-4 NACC), Friday, Oct. 8.

2021 UW-STOUT BLUE DEVILS: Sidney Hoverman is third in the WIAC in kills, averaging 3.61 kills over 59 sets played.  Out of 16 matches, Hoverman has had 14 matches in double digit kills. Lexie Nelson is seventh in the league in hitting percentage (.294) and is third in the league in assists (7.90). She trails only Hoverman and Jessica Barr (1.78 k/s) in kills with 1.75. Barr leads Stout in blocks with three solo blocks and 39 block assists for a 0.74 blocks/set average.   |  Statistics 

BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: The Blue Devils dropped a 3-0 conference contest to 19th ranked UW-Stevens Point, Oct. 1. Sidney Hoverman had 10 kills to lead Stout. | Game Story and Statistics 


UW-RIVER FALLS:  Katie Koerper is leading the Falcons in kills with 2.53/set and Kameri Meredith is averaging 2.38. Meredith is fourth in the WIAC in service aces, averaging 0.51 per set. Brooke Voight leads the league in digs at 5.11 per set.  |  2021 Statistics

LAST TIME OUT: The Falcons lost a 3-0 decision at UW-Whitewater, Oct. 1, then competed in the Elmhurst Invitational, Oct. 2, downing Augustana University, 3-2, and Elmhurst College, 3-1.  |  Whitewater Game Story and Stats | Elmhurst Tournament Game Story and Stats

LAST TIME THEY MET: In a match that featured 32 tied scores, UW-River Falls came back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat UW-Stout, 3-2, Oct. 23, 2019, at Johnson Fieldhouse in a WIAC contest. The Falcons won the first set 25-20, but the Blue Devils took the next two, 25-23, 25-19. The Falcons rallied back for the final two sets and the win, 25-18, 15-12. The Falcons' Katie Koerper led all players with 16 kills. Dakotah Poitra had 13 and Sarah Langlois 11. Stout was led by Lydia Knuebuehl with 12 kills and Lexie Nelson with 10 kills. Stout's Steph Cannon finished the night with 34 digs. The Falcons' Hannah Robb had 32 digs.  |  Game Story and Statistics

THE SERIES: Since the 2000 season, River Falls holds a 24-12 advantage in the series. Stout has won four of the last five matches, but the Falcons won the teams' last meeting. | History


ST. NORBERT COLLEGE:  Since the 2000 season, the teams have split six games evenly, with St. Norbert taking the last three match-ups. The teams met earlier this season, with the Green Knights taking a 3-1 win at the UW-Oshkosh Politos Invitational. Stout lost the first two sets, but bounced back in a close third set. The Green Knight's took a hard fought fourth set to win the match. Nelson had another 28 assists to go along with Sidney Hoverman's 13 kills. St Norbert's Grace Baumann finished the game with 21 kills. Baumann leads the Knights in kills at 3.88 per set, while Brooke Clement is averaging 2.85 per set. Clement has 13 solo blocks.   |  2021 Statistics

ROCKFORD UNIVERSITY:  The team's last met at the Wheaton College Invitational in 2013, their only meeting in at least the last 20 years, with Stout taking a 3-2 win. Della Crain is averaging 3.64 kills per set and recently collected a season-best 22 kills against Concordia-Chicago. |  2021 Statistics


CONFERENCE & NATIONAL POLLS: The Blue Devils were picked to finish seventh in the WIAC, according to a preseason poll by conference coaches and sports information directors. | 2021 WIAC Preseason Poll | AVCA Top 25 Poll

UW-STOUT COACH MANDY TRAUTMANN: Coach Mandy Trautmann (44-31) is in her fourth season as the head coach of the Blue Devils in 2021. In her first season as head coach in 2018, Trautmann led the Blue Devils to a 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. 


BLUE DEVIL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: Week Four: Offensive athlete of the week: Lexie Nelson, Sr, St. Michael, Minn. (St. Michael-Albertville); Week Three: Offensive player of the week: Sidney Hoverman, So, St. Croix Falls, Wis. Defensive player of the week: Staci Meyer, Jr, Rice, Minn. (Sauk Rapids-Rice) Week Two: Offensive athlete of the week: Lexie Nelson, Sr St. Michael, Minn. (St. Michael-Albertville); Week One: Offensive athlete of the week: Lexie Nelson, Sr St. Michael, Minn. (St. Michael-Albertville); Defensive athlete of the week: Terrah Moshier, So, Oakdale, Minn. (Tartan).


AWARDS: 2021: Lexie Nelson and Sidney Hoverman were selected to the all-tournament team at the UW-Oshkosh Polito's Invitational...Lexie Nelson and Jessica Barr were selected to the all-tournament team at the Grinnell College/Central College Invitational..

DOWN THE ROAD: Stout will be at the University of Northwestern, Wednesday, Oct. 13, then will host UW-Oshkosh, Friday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.