Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
THIS WEEK: The No. 2 Stanford women's volleyball team (2-0) travels to University Park, Pennsylvania for the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge, featuring No. 1 Penn State, No. 6 Illinois and No. 21 Colorado. The Cardinal takes on the Fighting Illini on Friday, Sept. 4 at 2 p.m. PT and the top-ranked Nittany Lions on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 5 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 streamed on BTN Plus (subscription required) or fans can access a live audio feed from fightingillini.com. Saturday's match against Penn State will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
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SCOUTING ILLINOIS: Sixth-ranked Illinois opened the season with sweeps over Louisville, Miami (OH) and Creighton last week. The Illini hit .289 as a team while holding its opponents to a .154 clip. Pin hitters Michelle Strizak, Jocelynn Birks and Katie Roustio all averaged at least 4.00 kills per set during the opening weekend. Freshman setter Jordyn Poulter controlled the offense with 11.44 assists per set, while sophomore libero Brandi Donnelly anchored the defense with 5.44 digs per set.
THE SERIES WITH THE FIGHTING ILLINI: Stanford is 5-0 all-time versus Illinois. Most recently, the Cardinal outlasted the Fighting Illini in a five-set victory in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge in Maples Pavilion last season.
SCOUTING PENN STATE: Coming off the program's seventh national title, Penn State opened the season with sweeps over Buffalo, Stony Brook and Villanova. Under the guidance of 37th-year head coach Russ Rose, the Nittany Lions hit .325 as a team while holding their opponents to an .089 attack percentage. Redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher replaced Micha Hancock, the AVCA National Player of the Year, at setter. Senior outside hitter Megan Courtney led the team with 3.89 kills on a.353 hitting, while redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney added 3.44 kills and 1.11 blocks per set.
THE SERIES WITH THE NITTANY LIONS: Penn State holds a 9-8 edge over Stanford in the all-time series. The Nittany Lions bested the Cardinal in four sets in the 2014 national semifinals. Stanford's most recent victory was a five-set thriller in the 2014 Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge last year when both teams held the same No. 1 and No. 2 national rankings.
PRESEASON ALL-PAC-12: Stanford led all Pac-12 teams with three selections to the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team. Seniors Madi Bugg and Jordan Burgess are repeat selections, while redshirt sophomore Merete Lutz is being recognized for the first time in her career.
STARTING SIX: Stanford's first six matches of the year are against opponents who are either ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Poll. Three of the six teams ranked in the top 10 to start the season, including top-ranked Penn State, No. 7 North Carolina and No. 8 Illinois, and five of the six teams appeared in last year's NCAA Tournament.
AJANAKU OUT: Senior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku, the 2014 Volleyball Magazine National Player of the Year, will miss the 2015 season after having surgery for an injury suffered playing with the U.S. National Team over the summer.
A BUGG'S LIFE: Senior Madi Bugg was tabbed the Pac-12 Setter of the Year for the second straight season in 2014. The Apex, N.C., native led the nation with 12.10 assists per set last season and enters this year ranked fifth on the Cardinal's career assists list with 3,852.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB: Senior outside hitter Jordan Burgess racked up 19 double-doubles to lead the team in 2014. The human biology major became just the ninth Cardinal player to accumulate more than 1,000 career kills and digs. Burgess now has 1,061 kills and 1,125 digs.
THE HOWARD FILE: Senior outside hitter Brittany Howard, a three-year starter and all-conference selection, is looking to become just the 10th Cardinal player to reach the 1,000 career kill and dig marks. She currently has registered 890 kills and 913 digs.
TOP RECRUIT: Freshman opposite Hayley Hodson begins her career at Stanford after being tabbed the No. 1 overall recruit in the nation in 2015 by Volleyball Magazine. Hodson already has national team experience, most recently winning a gold medal at the 2015 Pan America Cup in Lima, Peru.
HOME SWEET HOME: Stanford's senior class is 49-1 at Maples Pavilion and is currently on a 25 match-winning streak on its home court. Traditionally, Stanford has always protected its home court. The Cardinal is 198-18 at Maples Pavilion under head coach John Dunning.
NATIONAL POLL: Stanford remains at No. 2 in the AVCA poll this week after sweeping both Texas A&M and Minnesota at home. Defending national champion Penn State holds the top spot, while No. 3 Texas, No. t-4 Florida, No. t-4 Nebraska round out the top 5. Eight Pac-12 squads are ranked in the top 25, the most of any conference in the nation.
BY THE NUMBERS: The Stanford women's volleyball program has won more NCAA Tournament matches (108), made more Final Four appearances (19) and been in the national championship match (14) more times than any other team in the nation. The Cardinal has captured 19 conference championships and produced 30 or more wins on 17 occasions. Stanford has six NCAA titles and has competed in all 34 NCAA Tournaments, having won all 34 of its first-round matches.
TAKING ON THE BEST: Once again, head coach John Dunning has lined up one of the most challenging schedules in the nation for the Cardinal. Stanford is slated to play 17 regular-season matches against teams ranked in the preseason poll, and 21 against teams that appeared in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
HEAD COACH JOHN DUNNING: Now in his 15th season at the helm of the Cardinal program, head coach John Dunning is one of the most accomplished 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 14 Stanford teams to the national title match.
DUNNING BY THE NUMBERS: In 30 years as a head coach, John Dunning is 840-171 (.831), giving him a winning percentage that ranks amongst the top 5 all-time for Division I coaches. He is 403-69 in his 14 sesons on The Farm, leading all active coaches in the conference by winning percentage (.854).