TICKETS | NOTES
THIS WEEK: The No. 7 Stanford women's volleyball team (9-3, 3-1 Pac-12) plays host to No. 19 Colorado (10-4, 2-2 Pac-12) on Friday, Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. and Utah (11-4, 2-2 Pac-12) on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 1 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 Network, Pac-12 Bay Area and Pac-12 Mountain, while Sunday's match will be live streamed for free via pac-12.com.
PROMOTIONS: Fans who bring their Stanford vs. Washington State football ticket to the Utah match on Sunday will receive a $5 general admission ticket. Head coach John Dunning will also be hosting a Chalk Talk from 11:30-12 p.m. on Sunday in Kissick Auditorium in the Arrillaga Family Sports Center.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
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SCOUTING COLORADO: Colorado is 2-2 in the Pac-12 coming off a four-set win over then-No. 12 UCLA last weekend. The Buffaloes are third in the conference with a .270 hitting percentage and rank fourth in blocks (2.82). Sophomore outside hitter Alexa Smith paces the team with 3.25 kills, 2.43 digs and 0.29 aces per set. Junior opposite/setter Gabby Simpson adds 2.45 kills, 2.09 digs and 5.73 assists per set, while senior libero Cierra Simpson holds down the defense with 3.65 digs per set. Sophomore middle blocker Naghede Abu is sixth in the Pac-12 in blocks (1.44) and eighth in hitting percentage (.368).
THE SERIES WITH THE BUFFALOES: Stanford holds a 15-1 advantage in the all-time series with Colorado. The Buffaloes won their first match against the Cardinal last season, posting a 3-1 win in Boulder. Stanford won 3-1 at Maples later that season.
SCOUTING UTAH: The Utes were on a seven-match winning streak before they hosted the LA schools at home last week, falling in three to the 12th-ranked Bruins and in five to No. 23 USC. As a team, Utah is fourth in the conference in hitting percentage (.264), kills (13.95) and assists (13.00). The Utes are led by a trio of juniors, including Adora Anae, Carly Trueman and Tawnee Luafalemana. Anae leads the Pac-12 with 5.42 points and 4.73 kills per set, while ranking fifth with 0.36 aces per set. Trueman adds 2.58 kills, while Luafalemana is 10th in the conference with a .365 attack percentage.
THE SERIES WITH THE UTES: Stanford is 12-1 all-time against Utah. The Cardinal swept both meetings last season. The only Utah win came on Sept. 5, 2000, a 3-2 victory in Salt Lake City.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford closed out a six-match road swing with a split at the Washington schools. The Cardinal defeated the then-No. 7 Huskies (3-2) in Seattle for the first time since 2012. Freshman Kathryn Plummer led the team with a career-best 18 kills. Stanford completed the road trip with a tough five-set loss at No. 17 Washington State. Plummer again led the team with 13 kills and seven blocks.
NATIONAL POLL: Stanford moved up two spots to No. 7 in the AVCA top 25 this week, its highest mark of the season. Minnesota took over the top spot after a Nebraska loss to Ohio State. Wisconsin, Nebraska, Texas and San Diego round out the top 5. Seven Pac-12 squads are ranked in the top 25.
IN THE NATION: Stanford leads the country with 3.39 blocks per set, thanks in large part to its middle blockers Audriana Fitzmorris and Inky Ajanaku. Fitzmorris (1.62) paces the Pac-12 and is fifth in the nation, while Ajanaku (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 511, passing Kerri Walsh (1996-99) and Laura Olesen (1985-89). Ajanaku's 1.28 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 212-22 at home under head coach John Dunning (16 seasons). Over the past four years, Stanford has gone 63-5 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 870-181 (.828), giving him a winning percentage that ranks among the top 5 all-time for Division I coaches. He is 433-79 in his 15+ seasons on The Farm, leading all active coaches in the conference by winning percentage (.846).