THIS WEEK: The No. 13 Stanford women's volleyball team (14-6, 8-4 Pac-12) travels to Colorado (12-10, 4-8 Pac-12) on Friday, Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. PT and No. 19 Utah (16-7, 7-5 Pac-12) on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. PT.
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 Saturday's match will be streamed live by the University of Utah.
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SCOUTING COLORADO: Colorado enters with the week in ninth-place in the Pac-12 standings at 4-8. The Buffaloes have dropped four of their last five matches, including road losses at the Los Angeles schools last week. Colorado is fourth in the conference in blocks (2.51) and seventh in hitting percentage (.236). Sophomore Alexa Smith leads the team with 3.19 kills and 2.67 digs per set, while junior Gabby Simpson adds 2.58 kills and 2.24 digs per set. Sophomore middle Naghede is hitting .326 and ranks sixth in the Pac-12 with 1.28 blocks per set.
THE SERIES WITH THE BUFFALOES: Stanford is 16-1 all-time versus Colorado. The lone loss to the Buffaloes came last season in Boulder, 3-1. The Cardinal defeated Colorado 3-1 at Maples Pavilion earlier this season. Freshman Kathryn Plummer led the team with 15 kills, 16 digs and five blocks in the match. Alexa Smith paced Colorado with 11 kills and 13 digs.
SCOUTING UTAH: At 7-5 in the Pac-12 the Utes are in a three-way tie for fifth-place in the conference with Washington State and USC. Utah defeated the Trojans 3-1 in Los Angeles last week before being swept by then-No. 12 UCLA. The Utes are third in the Pac-12 in aces (1.18) and assists (13.41), while ranking fourth in kills (14.18) and hitting percentage (.257). Junior Adora Anae leads the conference in kills (4.73) and points (5.32) and is third in aces (0.32). Junior Tawnee Luafalemana is sixth in the Pac-12 in hitting percentage (.353) and averages 2.12 kills and 1.04 blocks per set.
THE SERIES WITH THE UTES: Stanford holds a 12-2 advantage in the all-time series with Utah. The Utes posted a 3-1 win at Maples Pavilion on Oct. 9, defeating the Cardinal for the first time since 2000. Adora Anae led Utah with 20 kills and 15 digs, while Merete Lutz tallied 13 kills and nine blocks to pace the Cardinal.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford won consecutive home matches in the same week for the first time this season, sweeping then-No. 7 Washington and then-No. 18 Washington State. Redshirt senior Inky Ajanaku hit a team-best .645 in the two matches, averaging 3.50 kills and 4.25 points per set. Freshman outside hitter Kathryn Plummer led the team with 4.67 kills, 3.67 digs and 5.17 points per set. The Cardinal has handed Washington two of its three losses on the season and held the Huskies to a season-low .155 team hitting percentage.
NATIONAL POLL: Stanford moved up four spots to No. 13 in the AVCA top 25 this week after sweeping the Washington schools at home. Nebraska received all 64 first-place votes and was followed in the poll by No. 2 Minnesota, No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 4 Kansas and No. 5 Texas. Seven Pac-12 squads are ranked in the top 25, including No. 8 Washington, No. 9 UCLA, No. 19 Utah, No. 20 Oregon, No. 23 Washington State and No. 25 USC.
IN THE NATION: Stanford leads the country with 3.38 blocks per set, thanks in large part to its middle blockers Inky Ajanaku and Audriana Fitzmorris. Ajanaku (1.57 bps) leads the Pac-12 and is fourth in the nation, while Fitzmorris (1.45) is fourth 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 551, 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).
WEEKLY HONORS: Inky Ajanaku and Kathryn Plummer have been named the Pac-12 Offensive Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively, on Oct. 31. It marks the fifth weekly Pac-12 honor for Ajanaku and the second time Plummer has earned freshman of the week accolades. Stanford now has 99 player of the week awards and 19 freshman of the week, the most in the conference.
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.
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.
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 875-184 (.826), giving him a winning percentage that ranks among the top 5 all-time for Division I coaches. He is 438-82 in his 16 seasons on The Farm, leading all active coaches in the conference by winning percentage (.842).