NOTES | TICKETS
THIS WEEK: The No. 12 Stanford women's volleyball team (10-4, 4-2 Pac-12) welcomes Arizona (12-6, 4-2 Pac-12) and Arizona State (7-11, 0-6 Pac-12) to The Farm. The Cardinal will face the Wildcats on Friday, Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. and the Sun Devils on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.
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 Bay Area, while Saturday's match will be live streamed for free via pac-12.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
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SCOUTING ARIZONA: Arizona is coming off road wins at USC and UCLA last week, the first time in program history it had defeated both LA schools on the road in the same season. The Wildcats are second in the Pac-12 in aces (1.46), rank fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.170) and fifth in digs (15.32). Senior setter Penina Snuka controls the offense with 9.69 assists per set, ranking third in the conference. She also collects 3.02 digs per set, second on the squad. Sophomore outside hitter Kendra Dahlke leads the team and is third in the Pac-12 with 4.02 kills and 4.48 points per set, while senior outside hitter Kalei Mau is eighth in kills (3.39) and 10th in points (3.80).
THE SERIES WITH THE WILDCATS: Stanford holds a 65-6 overall record against Arizona. The Cardinal has won 19 straight versus the Wildcats, including a 3-1 win last year at Maples Pavilion. Arizona's most recent win came during the 2005 season, defeating Stanford in five sets both at home and on the road that year.
SCOUTING ARIZONA STATE: The Sun Devils are still searching for their first Pac-12 win of the season as they vist the Bay Area this weekend. ASU is hitting .187 as a team, while posting 12.34 kills and 2.23 blocks per set. The Sun Devils run a 6-2 system with sophomore setters Kylie Pickrell (6.69 aps) and Caroline Pearson (6.02 aps), who rank eighth and 10th in the Pac-12 in assists, respectively. Junior middle blocker Oluoma Okaro is second in the conference in aces (0.39) and ninth in blocks (1.23), while also averaging 2.66 kills per set. Junior outside hitter Cassidy Pickrell leads the team with 2.82 kills and 2.10 digs per set.
THE SERIES WITH THE SUN DEVILS: Stanford is 66-5 all-time against Arizona State . The teams split the season series in 2015, with the Sun Devils earning their first win over the Cardinal, 3-1 in Tempe, since 2000. Stanford swept ASU during its visit to Maples Pavilion a year ago.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford split its matches last week at home, defeating then-No. 19 Colorado in four on Friday before falling ot Utah in four on Sunday. Freshman Kathryn Plummer recorded her first career double-double (15 kills, 16 digs) against the Buffaloes, while Merete Lutz had 12 kills on .407 hitting. Utah's win was its first over the Cardinal since 2000. The Utes had never won in Maples Pavilion.
NATIONAL POLL: Stanford dropped to No. 12 in the AVCA top 25 this week, its lowest mark of the season. Wisconsin took over the top spot, followed by Nebraska, Minnesota, Texas and San Diego. Six Pac-12 squads are ranked in the top 25, while Arizona, Colorado and USC sit at 26, 27 and 28, respectively.
IN THE NATION: Stanford leads the country with 3.52 blocks per set, thanks in large part to Inky Ajanaku and Audriana Fitzmorris. Ajanaku (1.59 bps) paces the Pac-12 and is sixth in the nation, while Fitzmorris (1.52) is third in the conference and 13th in the country.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Redshirt senior Inky Ajanaku began her final season on The Farm ranked ninth in program history in total blocks (435). She is currently in fifth place with 527, passing Jennifer Detmer (1997-00), Jenn Harvey (2000-03), Laura Olesen (1985-89) and Kerri Walsh (1996-99). Ajanaku's 1.29 career average is the seventh-best mark in school history.
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.
HOME SWEET HOME: Traditionally, Stanford has always protected its home court. The Cardinal is 213-23 at home under head coach John Dunning (16 seasons). Over the past four-plus years, Stanford has gone 64-6 at Maples Pavilion.
PAC-12 CONFERENCE FINISHES: The Cardinal finished third in the Pac-12 for the first time in program history in 2015. 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.
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 871-182 (.827), giving him a winning percentage that ranks among the top 5 all-time for Division I coaches. He is 434-80 in his 15+ seasons on The Farm, leading all active coaches in the conference by winning percentage (.844).
