Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge Up NextBig Ten/Pac-12 Challenge Up Next
Mike Rasay
Women's Volleyball

Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge Up Next

NOTES

THIS WEEK: The ninth-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team (1-1) travels to Boulder, Colorado this week for the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge. The Cardinal faces No. 17 Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 3 and No. 13 Penn State on Sunday, Sept. 4. Both matches are slated for 2 p.m. PT.

CATCH THE CARDINAL: Live stats for the matches can be found on the women's volleyball schedule page on GoStanford.com. Saturday's match will be live streamed for free (link also available on the schedule page), while Sunday's match will be televised on Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Bay Area.

SOCIAL MEDIA: 
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SCOUTING ILLINOIS: Illinois opened the 2016 campaign at home last weekend, picking up wins over Xavier (3-1) and Arkansas (3-0), but faltered against Missouri State (2-3). A familiar face will be on the sideline for the Illini as former Cardinal assistant coach Jason Mansfield, who spent 14 seasons on The Farm, is now an assistant for Illinois. Freshman outside hitter Jacqueline Quade led the Illini during the opening weekend with 3.58 kills and 2.25 digs per set. Senior outside hitter Michelle Strizak added 3.08 kills and 1.58 digs, while senior middle blocker Katie Stadick turned in 2.74 kills and 1.17 blocks per set. Sophomore setter Jordyn Poulter controlled the offense with 11.17 assists per set. 

THE SERIES WITH THE FIGHTING ILLINI: Stanford is a perfect 6-0 all-time against Illinois. The two teams met last year in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge in University Park, Pennsylvania, where the Cardinal posted a 3-1 win over the Illini.

SCOUTING PENN STATE: The Nittany Lions enter the weekend with a 2-1 record, owning wins over West Virginia and Georgia Southern. Penn State dropped a five-set match at home to then-No. 19 North Carolina last weekend. As a team, the Nittany Lions are hitting .319 and averaging 2.09 blocks per set. Junior outside hitter Simone Lee led the squad with 3.73 kills per set on .372 hitting last week. Junior middle blocker Haleigh Washington recorded 2.55 kills and a team-best 1.18 blocks per set, while junior outside hitter Ali Frantti added 2.36 kills and 1.73 digs per set. Freshman libero Kendall White anchored the defense with 3.45 digs per set.

THE SERIES WITH THE NITTANY LIONS: One of the greatest rivalries in collegiate volleyball, Penn State holds a 10-8 advantage over Stanford in the all-time series. The Nittany Lions, who hosted the 2015 Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge, swept the Cardinal last season. Stanford's most recent win came at home in the inaugural Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge in 2014, a five-set win in Maples Pavilion.

AJANAKU BACK FOR FIFTH YEAR: Stanford played the 2015 campaign without senior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku, the 2014 Volleyball Magazine National Player of the Year, who sat out with an ACL injury. She entered her final season ranked second in program history in career hitting percentage and ninth in total blocks. She has also eclipsed 1,000 career kills.

STARTING FIVE: Stanford's first five matches of the year are against opponents who are either ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Poll. Three of the five were ranked in the top 15, including then-No. 3 Minnesota, then-No. 9 Penn State and then-No. 14 Illinois.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Two collegiate matches, two Pac-12 weekly honors for middle blocker Audriana Fitzmorris. The Overland Park, Kansas native earned Pac-12 Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week on Aug. 29. She posted a conference-best 2.11 blocks per set and a team-high 3.33 points per set against San Diego and No. 3 Minnesota.

CHANGING PLACES: Not one Cardinal player this season is playing the same position as a year ago. Sophomore Hayley Hodson has moved over to the left after playing opposite during her rookie campaign. Merete Lutz and Ivana Vanjak, who both played middle last season, are now playing on the right and left, respectively. Senior Kelsey Humphreys, who was utilized as a serving specialist last season,  is now one of two setters in Stanford's system in 2016, while sophomore Halland McKenna has relinquished her libero duties to freshman Morgan Hentz and is playing in the back row as a DS.

TOP-RANKED RECRUITS: Stanford six-member freshman class was rated No. 1 in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com and Volleyball Magazine. The class features USA Today High School Player of the Year Audriana Fitzmorris (middle blocker), the No. 2 Senior Ace, Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year and No. 14 Senior Ace Jenna Gray (setter), Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year and No. 22 Senior Ace Morgan Hentz (defensive specialist), twins Michaela (outside hitter), the No. 31 Senior Ace, and Caitlin (defensive specialist) Keefe and California Gatorade Player of the Year and No. 3 Senior Ace Kathryn Plummer (opposite/setter).

NATIONAL POLL: Stanford moved up to No. 9 in the AVCA top 25 this week. Nebraska was the unanimous No. 1 this week, while Wisconsin, Texas, Kansas and Washington round out the top 5. Three Pac-12 squads are ranked in the top 10 as No. 8 UCLA joins Washington and Stanford.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Redshirt senior Inky Ajanaku enterd her final season on The Farm ranked ninth in program history in total blocks (435). She neds just 11 to move into eighth place past Jennifer Detmer (1997-00). Ajanaku's 1.26 career average is tied for the seventh-best mark in school history.

HEAD COACH JOHN DUNNING: Head coach John Dunning is one of the most accomplished and decorated coaches in the collegiate volleyball world. Dunning has four national championships under his belt, has taken teams to 10 Final Fours and carried six of his 15 Stanford teams to the national title match.

DUNNING BY THE NUMBERS: In 31-plus years as a head coach, John Dunning is 862-179 (.828), giving him a winning percentage that ranks among the top 5 all-time for Division I coaches. He is 425-77 in his 15 seasons on The Farm, leading all active coaches in the conference by winning percentage (.847).