Pac-12 Play ConcludesPac-12 Play Concludes
Mike Rasay
Women's Volleyball

Pac-12 Play Concludes

TICKETS | NOTES

THIS WEEK: The 12th-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team (19-7, 13-5 Pac-12) wraps up the regular season at home this week, hosting No. 19 Oregon (19-8, 12-6 Pac-12) on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. and Bay Area rival California (9-19, 3-15 Pac-12) on Friday, Nov. 25 at 5 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 also be televised on Pac-12 Bay Area and Pac-12 Oregon, while Friday's match can be seen on Pac-12 Bay Area.

PROMOTIONS: Fans can receive $2 general admission tickets to both matches this week with the donation of a canned food item. On Friday, head coach John Dunning will be hosting a chalk talk from 3:30-4 p.m. in Kissick Auditorium on the first floor of the Arrillaga Family Sports Center, located just north of Maples Pavilion. Friday is also Senior Night for the Cardinal. Inky Ajanaku and Kelsey Humphreys will be recognized in a ceremony prior to the start of the match.

SOCIAL MEDIA: 
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SCOUTING OREGON: The Ducks lead the Pac-12 in hitting percentage (.275), kills (14.32) and assists (13.55), while ranking fourth in aces (1.14) and digs (15.71). Sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Vander Weide paces the squad and is third in the conference in aces (0.29), eighth in kills (3.28) and ninth in points per set (3.86). Freshman middle blocker Ronika Stone is fifth in the Pac-12 with a .350 hitting percentage, while junior Taylor Agost is sixth at .340. Senior libero Amanda Benson averages 5.07 digs per set, good for second in the league.

THE SERIES WITH THE DUCKS: Stanford holds a 56-4 all-time record against Oregon. The Cardinal has won eight in a row over the Ducks, including sweeping the season series in 2015. Wednesday is the lone meeting between the programs in 2016. Oregon's most recent win came on Nov. 18, 2011, a five-setter at Stanford.

SCOUTING CALIFORNIA: The Golden Bears have dropped their last six matches, winning just one set during that span. Cal is eighth in the Pac-12 in kills (13.27) and assists (12.62), and is 11th in hitting percentage at .197. Junior outside hitter Christine Alftin leads the team with 2.95 kills and 2.10 digs per set, while freshman Bailee Huizenga averages 2.54 kills on .219 hitting. Senior setter Alyssa Jensen is third in the Pac-12 with 10.47 assists per set, while senior libero Maddy Kerr is fifth with 3.90 digs per set.

THE SERIES WITH THE GOLDEN BEARS: Stanford is 70-11 overall against California. The Cardinal has won nine in a row over the Golden Bears, including a four-set win in Berkeley on Sept. 20. Freshman Kathryn Plummer led all players with 16 kills on .538 hitting and five blocks in that contest. The last Cal win came on Nov. 25, 2011 in four sets at Maples Pavilion.

LAST TIME OUT: Stanford swept Arizona State and Arizona last week on the road to move into third place in the Pac-12. Freshman outside hitter Kathryn Plummer led the team with 4.67 kills and 5.17 points per set on .333 hitting. For her efforts she was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week and picked up her third Freshman of the Week honors. Freshman libero Morgan Hentz added 5.17 digs per set, racking up 21 against the Wildcats (her most in a three-set match this season).
 


NATIONAL POLL: Stanford remained at No. 12 in the AVCA top 25 this week. No. 1 Nebraska received all 64 first-place votes for a fourth straight week followed by No. 2 Minnesota, No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 4 Kansas and No. 5 Texas. The Cardinal  is one of six Pac-12 squads ranked, joined by No. 7 Washington, No. 8 UCLA, No. 17 Utah, No. 19 Oregon and No. 25 Washington State.

IN THE NATION: Stanford is second in the country with 3.34 blocks per set, thanks in large part to its middle blockers Inky Ajanaku and Audriana Fitzmorris. Ajanaku (1.49 bps) is second in the Pac-12 and eighth in the nation, while Fitzmorris (1.46) is third in the conference and 11th 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 578, passing Jennifer Detmer (1997-00), Jenn Harvey (2000-03), Laura Olesen (1985-89) and Kerri Walsh (1996-99). She needs just two blocks to pass Foluke Akinradewo (2005-09) for fourth place. Ajanaku's 1.30 career average is tied for the sixth-best mark in school history with Akinradewo.

SINGLE-SEASON MARK: Freshman libero Morgan Hentz has collected 465 digs this season, ranking ninth on the Cardinal's single season list. Her 4.65 season average is the fourth-best mark in a single season in program history. Gabi Ailes (2007-10) holds the school's single season records with 617 digs and 5.23 digs per set in 2009.

TOP OF HER CLASS: Redshirt senior Inky Ajanaku is one of 10 finalists 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. Fans can vote daily through Dec. 5 at seniorclassaward.com.
 


HOME SWEET HOME: Traditionally, Stanford has always protected its home court. The Cardinal is 217-25 at home under head coach John Dunning (16 seasons). Over the past five years, Stanford has gone 68-8 at Maples Pavilion.

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 880-185 (.826), giving him a winning percentage that ranks among the top 5 all-time for Division I coaches. He is 443-83 in his 16 seasons on The Farm, leading all active coaches in the conference by winning percentage (.842). He also just past Stanford Hall of Famer Don Shaw (440) to become the winningest coach in Cardinal women's volleyball history.