Cardinal Hosts Stanford InvitationalCardinal Hosts Stanford Invitational
Al Chang/Stanford Athletics
Women's Volleyball

Cardinal Hosts Stanford Invitational

NOTES | TICKETS

THIS WEEK: The No. 9 Stanford women's volleyball team plays host to No. 20 Purdue and Cal Poly for the Stanford Invitational, held Sept. 9-11 in Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal takes on the Boilermakers on Friday at 8 p.m. and the Mustangs on Sunday at 1 p.m. Purdue and Cal Poly meet on Saturday at 4 p.m. (Admission is free on Saturday).

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

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CLEAR BAG POLICY: Stanford has implemented a clear bag policy to provide a safer environment for the public and expedite fan entry into Maples Pavilion. This policy does not change what you can bring in, only how it can be brought into the facility. For more information visit gostanford.com/allclear. 

PROMOTIONS: Kids Free! One paid adult ticket can admit up to four kids for free to this Sunday's match versus Cal Poly using the promo code KIDSFREE. Also, head coach John Dunning will host a chalk talk from 11:30-12 p.m. on Sunday before the Cal Poly match in Kissick Auditorium in the Arrillaga Family Sports Center just north of Maples Pavilion.

SCOUTING PURDUE: Purdue enters the week with a 5-1 overall record with its lone loss a five-set heart breaker to Kentucky, falling 20-18 in the fifth. The Boilermakers are hitting .282 as a team and holding their opponents to a .178 clip. Junior Danielle Cuttino paces the squad with 4.09 kills per set, while junior outside hitter Azariah Stahl adds 3.77 kills and 2.77 digs per set. Redshirt junior setter Ashley Evans controls the offense with 11.55 assists per set along with 1.45 kills and 2.36 digs per set.

THE SERIES WITH THE BOILERMAKERS: Stanford is 2-0 all-time against Purdue. The Cardinal and Boilermakers haven't met since 1984 when the Cardinal posted a 3-1 victory at home.

SCOUTING CAL POLY: Cal Poly is 4-2 overall with wins over Rice, Utah Valley, then-No. 19 Western Kentucky and Saint Louis. The Mustangs are hitting .233 as a team and averaging 1.39 aces per set. Setter Taylor Nelson runs the offense, averaging 11.00 assists per set, while sophomore libero Katherine Brouker anchors the defense with 4.09 digs per set. Sophomore outside hitters Adlee Van Winden and Alexis Clewis are posting 3.35 and 3.17 kills per set, respectively.

THE SERIES WITH THE MUSTANGS: The Cardinal is 9-4 overall against the Mustangs. The most recent meeting was a 3-0 Cardinal sweep on Sept. 18, 2013 in Maples Pavilion. Cal Poly's last win came on Oct. 28, 1986 in San Luis Obispo.

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. Four of the five were ranked in the top 20, including then-No. 3 Minnesota, then-No. 9 Penn State, then-No. 14 Illinois and No. 20 Purdue.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Middle blocker Audriana Fitzmorris has played in four collegiate matches and racked up five weekly honors. The Overland Park, Kansas native earned Pac-12 Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week on Aug. 29, Pac-12 Offensive and Freshman of the Week on Sept. 5 and AVCA National Player of the Week on Sept. 6. She leads the Pac-12 and ranks eighth in the country with 1.76 blocks per set, while hitting .412 (eighth in the conference).

CHANGING PLACES: Compare Stanford's lineup with its 2015 lineup and no Cardinal player is in the same position. 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.

BY THE NUMBERS: 2015 marked Stanford's 35th consecutive NCAA postseason appearance. The Cardinal is one of only two programs in the nation to have appeared in every NCAA Tournament since the NCAA Championship began in 1981 (Penn State is the other). Stanford has won more NCAA Tournament matches (109), made more Final Four appearances (19) and been in the national championship match (14) more times than any other program in the nation.

NATIONAL POLL: Stanford remained at No. 9 in the AVCA top 25 this week. Nebraska was the unanimous No. 1 again this week, while Wisconsin, Texas, Kansas and Minnesota round out the top 5. Five Pac-12 squads are ranked in the top 10 as No. 6 Washington, No. 7 UCLA, No. 18 Colorado and No. 24 USC join the Cardinal.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Redshirt senior Inky Ajanaku enterd her final season on The Farm ranked ninth in program history in total blocks (435). She needs just two 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.

HOME SWEET HOME: Traditionally, Stanford has always protected its home court. The Cardinal is 211-21 at home under head coach John Dunning (15+ seasons). Over the past four years, Stanford has gone 62-4 at Maples Pavilion.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Hayley Hodson became the first Stanford player to be named the AVCA Freshman of the Year and was the 11th Cardinal player to be named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year (first since Alix Klineman in 2007). She led the Cardinal in kills (3.82), aces (0.34) and points (4.52) per set in 2015, the first freshman to lead the team in kills since Klineman.

PAC-12 CONFERENCE FINISHES: The Cardinal finished third in the Pac-12 this season for the first time in program history. It marked the 28th top-3 standing in conference play in the past 30 seasons. Stanford has won 16 conference championships in the Pac-10/12 era, and 19 overall in program history. Stanford has claimed seven of the past 10 Pac-12 titles and eight overall under head coach John Dunning. 

FAMILIAR FACE: Former Cardinal All-American and U.S. National Team member Cassidy Lichtman joined the coaching staff as an assistant in June. She was a member of four Pac-10 championship teams from (2007-10), reaching the NCAA finals twice (2007, 2008). A versatile athlete, Lichtman played multiple positions during her career (setter, outside hitter, opposite and defensive specialist), racking up 51 career double-doubles, including 14 triple-doubles. 

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).