THIS WEEK'S MATCHES: The Blue Devils (7-6, 0-1 WIAC) return to conference play by traveling to UW-La Crosse, Sept. 21, for a 7 p.m. contest. Stout will be at the Wartburg College Invitational, Sept. 23. The Blue Devils will meet host Wartburg College, Friday, Sept. 23 at 5 pm., followed by Coe College at 7 p.m. Stout will close out the tournament Saturday, Sept. 24 at 10 a.m. against Concordia-Moorhead.
LOOKING AT UW-STOUT: The Blue Devils return 10 letter winners from last year's squad and five starters from 2021. Top hitters
Sidney Hoverman, a 2021 all-WIAC honorable mention selection, and
Jessica Barr return. Hoverman averaged 3.53 kills per contest and Barr 2.22. Barr and McCayla Thompson were Stout's top blockers, with Thompson averaging 0.55 and Barr 0.53 blocks per set. The Blue Devils will be looking to replace leading setter
Lexie Nelson, who provided 80 percent of the assists, averaging 8.21 assists, put down 1.55 kills, averaged 2.94 digs and 0.47 blocks.
Staci Meyer and
Terrah Moshier alternated at the libero position and were among the team leaders in digs. Meyer led the team with 3.30 digs per set and Moshier averaged 2.90 digs.
Anna Hansen saw action in 91 sets and
Caroline Braun saw action in 62 sets. After a two-year absence, middle hitter
Lydia Kneubuehl returns. Kneubuehl earned WIAC honorable mention selection in 2019 when she averaged 0.74 blocks per set and 2.45 kills per set.
THE BLUE DEVILS THIS YEAR: After dropping the first four matches of the season at the Trinity University Invitational over Labor Day weekend, the Blue Devils have won seven of their last nine matches including a perfect 3-0 weekend at the Sandy Schumaer Memorial Tournament in Eau Claire last week. Junior
Sidney Hoverman and
Caroline Braun have been leading Stout on the attack; senior
Jessica Barr has been solid on the block and the Blue Devils have been good at the service line. Hoverman is currently second in the WIAC in kills, averaging 4.09, while Braun is averaging 2.32. Hoverman has been good off the serve, ranking ninth in service aces with 0.45. Freshman
Maja Anderson has stopped up on the serve, leading Stout with 15 service aces and averaging 0.65, good for fourth in the WIAC. Barr is seventh in the conference in blocks, averaging 0.66 and
Anna Hansen is eighth, averaging 0.65.
BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: Stout opened WIAC play with a four set loss to the 24th ranked Pointerd of UW-Stevens Point. Stout hit .345 and
Sidney Hoverman led the Blue Devils with 20 kills to lead Stout to a four set win over Lakeland to open the Sandy Schumacher Memorial Tournament. Hoverman continued her dominate weekend leading the Blue devils to two more wins, a sweep of Finlandia and a four set win over the College of Saint Benedict. Hoverman recorded 27 kills in the win over CSB which is one short of the school record for kills in a match. She averaged 5.0 kills a match for the tournament.
UW-LA CROSSE: The Pointers, ranked 24th in the AVCA Top 25 poll, are off to a 7-1 overall record, with their only loss of the season coming at the hands of 12th ranked University of Northwestern during the opening weekend. The Pointers have one of the top hitters in the country in 2021 AVCA All-America honorable mention selection Ashley Kopp, who is ranking second nationally in kills, averaging 5.04 per set. The Pointers top the WIAC in kills as a team, averaging 13.96. Kopp ranks fifth in the WIAC in service aces, averaging 0.54 per set. Grace Michalske is tops in the league in assists, averaging 10.96. Emma Peterson is second in the WIAC in digs at 5.43 and Katie Larson is sixth in hitting percentage at .278.
THE EAGLES LAST TIME OUT: UW-La Crosse picked up two more wins on Saturday in Mitchell Hall in the UWL Invitational to finish the weekend 4-0. The Eagles defeated Bethany Lutheran College (Minn.) 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-9) and Hamline University (Minn.) 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20). UWL improves to 5-7 on the season and have now won five in a row. Against Bethany Lutheran UWL hit .244 (40, 20, 86) and were led by Korducki with 12 kills while Johnson added 11.
Megan Adams finished the match with 19 assists while
Summer Schwenn had a team high 14 digs. Against Hamline the Eagles hit .330 (49, 16, 100) and were led by Korducki with 11 kills and Johnson with 10. Adams finished the match with a double-double as she had 26 assists and 10 digs.
Jackie Oetterer finished with 15 assists while Schwenn chipped in 10 digs.
LAST TIME THEY MET: UW-Stout fell to UW-La Crosse in four sets (25-19, 13-25, 25-21, 25-14). After a close first set, the Blue Devils kept the pressure and energy high against the nationally-ranked Eagles, winning a strong 25-13 second set. With that same momentum, the Blue Devils kept the third set tight, only losing by four. The Eagles used their own momentum from winning the third set, and closed the match with a 25-14 fourth set. La Crosse was led by Emma Lawrence with 18 kills. On Stout's end,
Sidney Hoverman had 15 kills along with
Lexie Nelson's 30 assists.
Jessica Barr also chipped in with eight kills of her own.
THE SERIES: Since the 2000 season, the Eagles hold a 19-12 lead in the series. The Eagles have won six of the last seven matches. Stout's last win against La Crosse came Sept. 29, 2018, in Menonomie.
WARTBURG VOLLEYBALL INVITATIONAL: The Blue Devils will meet host Wartburg College, Friday, Sept. 23 at 5 pm., followed by Coe College at 7 p.m., and will close out the tournament at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24 against Concordia College (Minn.)
THE SERIES VS WARTBURG COLLEGE: Stout will face Wartburg for just the third time and first time since 2015. The Blue Devils are 0-2 against the Knights.
THE SERIES VS COE COLEGE: The Blue Devils are 1-2 all-time against Coe College and meet for the first time since 2015.
THE SERIES VS CONCORDIA COLLEGE: Stout is 3-1 against the Cobbers. They meet for the first time since 2015 when the Blue Devils won in four sets on a neutral court.
CONFERENCE & NATIONAL POLLS: The Blue Devils were picked to finish eighth in the WIAC, according to a preseason poll by conference coaches and sports information directors
UW-STOUT COACH BEN STAUPE: Coach Ben Staupe (23-94) is in his first year as the Blue Devil head coach, coming to Stout after four seasons as the head coach at NCAA Division I Western Illinois University, which was preceded by eight seasons as the associate head coach at Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) member UW-Whitewater. Before joining the Whitewater staff, Staupe was the head coach at Rock Valley College, a junior college in Rockford, Ill. A UW-La Crosse graduate, Staupe also served a stint as an assistant coach at NAIA Viterbo University, as well as coaching club volleyball and high school volleyball. (Staupe was 16-88 at the start of the season).
BLUE DEVIL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK:
Week Three
Offensive athlete of the week: Sidney Hoverman, Jr, St. Croix Falls, Wis.
Defensive player of the week: Staci Meyer, Sr, Rice, Minn. (Sauk Rapids-Rice)
Week Two
Offensive athlete of the week: Sidney Hoverman, Jr, St. Croix Falls, Wis.
Defensive player of the week: Terrah Moshier, Jr, Oakdale, Minn. (Tartan)
Week One
Offensive athlete of the week: Sidney Hoverman, Jr, St. Croix Falls, Wis.
Defensive player of the week: Jessica Barr, Sr, Bloomer, Wis.
WIAC PRESEASON POLL: The Blue Devils were picked to finish eighth in a WIAC preseason poll conducted by league coaches and sports information directors.
AWARDS: 2022:
Sidney Hoverman and
Staci Meyer were selected to the UW-Eau Claire Sandy Schumacher Memorial all-tournament team...
Sidney Hoverman was named the UW-Stout Athlete of the Week after leading Stout to a 4-1 overall record in the second week of the season...
2021:
Lexie Nelson and
Sidney Hoverman were selected all-WIAC honorable mention...
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..
