TICKETS | NOTES
THIS WEEK: The No. 17 Stanford women's volleyball team (12-6, 6-4 Pac-12) begins the second half of conference play on Wednesday, Oct. 26 against Pac-12 leader No. 7 Washington (18-2, 8-2 Pac-12) at 7 p.m. The Cardinal will also face No. 18 Washington State (17-5, 7-3 Pac-12) on Friday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m.
CATCH THE CARDINAL: Live stats for the matches can be found on the women's volleyball schedule page on GoStanford.com. Wednesday's match will be televised on Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Bay Area and Pac-12 Washington, while Friday's match can be seen on Pac-12 Bay Area and Pac-12 Washington.
PROMOTIONS: In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness, the first 300 fans in attendance on Wednesday night will receive a free pink Stanford volleyball t-shirt. Everyone is encouraged to wear pink to spread awareness. At the 10 minute break, Paralympian and Palo Alto native Katie Holloway will be recognized. On Friday, Coach Dunning will host a Chalk Talk at 4:30 p.m. in Kissick Auditorium in the Arrillaga Family Sports Center.
?? In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness, the first 300 fans in attendance at Wednesday's match vs. Washington receive a free pink t-shirt! pic.twitter.com/w4OXpyTCCD
— Stanford Volleyball (@StanfordWVB) October 25, 2016
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook.com/StanfordWVB
Twitter: @StanfordWVB
Instagram: @stanfordwvb
Snapchat: StanfordWVB
SCOUTING WASHINGTON: The Huskies sit at the top of the conference standings with an 8-2 mark. Washington has won seven in a row heading into this week. The Huskies pace the conference in aces (1.53), rank second in hitting percentage (.274) and third in kills (14.36), blocks (2.97) and opponent hitting percentage (.167). Junior setter Bailey Tanner controls the offense with a Pac-12-best 10.72 assists per set. Junior Courtney Schwan is sixth in the conference with 3.74 kills and seventh with 4.17 points per set, while junior Crissy Jones is sixth in points (4.21) and 10th in kills (3.21). Jones also tops the Pac-12 with 0.38 aces per set.
THE SERIES WITH THE HUSKIES: Stanford leads the all-time series against Washington 52-14. The Cardinal handed the Huskies one of their two losses on the season on Sept. 28. Stanford outlasted Washington in five sets, led by freshman Kathryn Plummer's career-high 18 kills. The Cardinal hit .243 in the match and racked-up a season-high 90 digs.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE: After dropping three straight, Washington State swept the Arizona schools on the road last week. The Cougars are second in the nation behind the Cardinal with 3.41 blocks per set. Washington State leads the Pac-12 with a .145 opponent hitting percentage and ranks third in aces (1.19). Senior outside hitter Kyra Holt leads the team with 3.74 kills, 2.37 digs, 0.28 aces and 4.41 points per set. Sophomore middle blocker Claire Martin is second in the Pac-12 with 1.56 blocks per set, while fellow sophomore middle blocker Taylor Mims is third with 1.53 blocks per set and eighth with a .351 attack percentage.
THE SERIES WITH THE COUGARS: Stanford is 57-4 overall against Washington State. The Cardinal's fourth loss in program history came on Sept. 30 in five sets in Pullman. As a team, Stanford had its worst hitting performance of the season at .117. Inky Ajanaku led the squad with 12 kills and nine blocks, while Audriana Fitzmorris hit .400 with 11 kills and six blocks.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford split its road match at the LA schools last weekend. The Cardinal played without Inky Ajanaku, who was injured in warm-ups, in its four-set loss at UCLA on Friday. Freshman setter Jenna Gray had a career-high 41 assists, four kills and two blocks in the match. At USC, Merete Lutz led all players with 12 kills on a season-high .706 attack percentage. Ajanaku totaled 10 kills and eight blocks in her return.
NATIONAL POLL: Stanford fell three spots to No. 17 in the AVCA top 25 this week, its lowest mark of the season. The top 5 of Nebraska, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and San Diego remained in tact. Seven Pac-12 squads are ranked in the top 25, including No. 7 Washington, No. 12 UCLA, No. 18 Washington State, No. 20 Oregon, No. 21 Utah and No. 24 USC.
IN THE NATION: Stanford leads the country with 3.43 blocks per set, thanks in large part to Inky Ajanaku and Audriana Fitzmorris. Ajanaku (1.60 bps) leads the Pac-12 and is fourth in the nation, while Fitzmorris (1.46) is fourth in the conference and 14th 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 544, passing Jennifer Detmer (1997-00), Jenn Harvey (2000-03), Laura Olesen (1985-89) and Kerri Walsh (1996-99). Ajanaku's 1.30 career average is tied for the sixth-best mark in school history with Foluke Akinradewo (2005-09).
TOP OF HER CLASS: Redshirt senior Inky Ajanaku is one of 30 candidates in the nation for the Senior CLASS Award. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their athletic platforms to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
??? @ajana_WHO is a @SnrCLASSAward candidate #GoStanford https://t.co/8F9xpIW6F8
— Stanford Volleyball (@StanfordWVB) October 14, 2016
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 214-24 at home under head coach John Dunning (16 seasons). Over the past five years, Stanford has gone 65-7 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 32 years as a head coach, John Dunning is 873-184 (.826), giving him a winning percentage that ranks among the top 5 all-time for Division I coaches. He is 436-82 in his 16 seasons on The Farm, leading all active coaches in the conference by winning percentage (.842).