Nov. 29, 2016 SCOUTING STANFORD • The Cardinal (21-7, 15-5 PAC-12) are ranked ninth in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll and enter the 2016 NCAA Tournament as the sixth-seed
• Denver last faced Stanford on Aug. 30, 2009, at the Shamrock Invitational and lost in straight sets by scores of 25-22, 25-23 and 25-20
• The Cardinal feature some of the best players in the country, let by Pac-12 Freshman of the Year opposite Kathryn Plummer with 343 kills at 3.24 per set with a .260 clip
• A total of four Stanford players made the All-Conference teams with Plummer joined by redshirt-senior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku on the All-Pac-12 team, while freshman defensive specialist Morgan Hentz took honorable mention status with freshman middle blocker Audriana Fitzmorris joining Hentz and Plummer on the All-Freshman team
• Five different Cardinal members have recorded over 200 kills, with Ajanaku following Plummer with 271 at 2.66 per set, with Fitzmorris third at 258 with 2.43 per set, redshirt-junior opposite/middle hitter Merete Lutz fourth at 246 kills and 2.32 per set and redshirt-junior outside hitter/middle blocker Ivana Vanjak rounding out the quintet with 207 kills at 1.99 per set
• Freshman setter Jenna Gray utilizes every last one of her options, getting 891 assists at 8.41, with senior setter Kelsey Humphreys filling in the secondary role behind 362 assists at 3.42 per set
• Hentz anchors a tough back line behind 492 digs at 4.64 per set, while Ajanaku and Fitzmorris spearhead the top blocking tandem on the net in the NCAA as Ajanaku owns 154 total, 11 solo and 143 assisted, at 1.51 per set (ranked 8th in the NCAA), to Fitzmorris' 151 total, 19 solo and 132 assisted, at 1.42 per set (ranked 17th in the NCAA)
• Stanford is averaging 3.35 blocks per set, tops in the nation, and limits opponents to a .179 clip, ranked 68th
• The Cardinal offense operates at a .274 efficiency, 14th in the NCAA, led by Ajanaku's 18th-best .395 clip and Fitzmorris' 133rd-best .323
LAST TIME ON TOURNEY MADNESS... • This will be the third year in a row that Denver reaches the NCAA Tournament by way of winning the Summit League Championship at Hamilton Gymnasium on Nov. 20
• The Pioneers' previous opponents included five-seeded Washington in 2015 and 15-seeded Colorado State in 2014
• DU fell in three sets to Colorado State despite getting 10 kills from then-sophomore
Nola Basey and 8 kills from then-sophomore
Moni Corrujedo •
Piyusha Boteju, a freshman at the time, tallied 17 assists while
Monique Domme recently transferred to Denver for the season and finished with 11 assists
• The Pioneers also lost in three sets to Washington after being limited to a .068 hitting as a team
•
Cassie Baird and
Ruth Okoye both finished with four kills in the match, while Domme added nine assists to Boteju's seven
• Okoye also added three block assists while
Cassidy Rooke tallied seven digs as DU's go-to backrow stopper
TALE OF THE TAPES • While Stanford has plenty to boast on both sides of the net, Denver also features top-tier offensive and defensive looks as they are ranked 24th in offensive efficiency at .266 and 26th in defensive efficiency at .166
• The Pioneers were ranked as high as 19th in blocking efficiency earlier in the year, but have maintained a constant pace for the 42nd-best look in the NCAA
• Okoye and
Emma Willis spearhead the offense, as Okoye is ranked 47th with a .360 clip and Willis sits 50th with a .358 mark
• The duo also rank 1-2 on the team in blocks and blocks per set, with Willis 93rd in the NCAA with 1.14 per set average and 69th with 129 blocks, while Okoye sits 130th with a 1.08 per set average and 99th with 122 blocks
• Rooke has quietly turned into a force at the service line, ranked 101st in the NCAA with 37 aces and 115th with 0.33 per set, while DU is ranked 61st as a team with 1.43 aces per set and 62nd with 162 points from the service line
HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS • Denver hasn't fared as well away from Hamilton Gymnasium in 2016 but are still a force to be reckoned with as they average 13.23 kills per set at a .259 mark with 2.20 blocks per set while limiting foes to a .200 swing percentage behind 12.17 kills and 1.73 blocks per set
• DU is 30-32 on the road since
Tom Hogan first joined the staff in 2012 and finished above .500 in one other season outside of 2016 (9-6 in 2014)
• The Pioneers' .200 opponent hitting percentage is the best it's been since Hogan joined the staff as the previous low was .204 back in 2013 when DU finished 5-5 in road contests
• 2013 also happens to be Denver's best season on the road in terms of hitting efficiency as the team averaged .278 on attacks during the season with 14.18 kills per set
EXPERIENCE WHERE IT MATTERS • Though DU has yet to win a set in the NCAA Tournament, this will be the third go-around for eight prominent members of the team as Baird, Basey, Boteju, Corrujedo, Domme, Okoye, Rooke and Principato all saw action in Denver's loss to Colorado State in 2014 and appeared in the match against Washington in 2015
• Meanwhile, Willis and
Becca Latham both made an appearance in Denver's loss to Washington and will see their second NCAA Tournament match
MEMORABLE MOMENTS • Corrujedo became the 13th member of DU's 1,000 kill club and currently owns 1,155 kills in her career and is ranked eighth all-time in school history
• Domme became the 14th member of 1,000 assist club and currently sits at 1,427 in her career, ranked 12th all-time
• Rooke became the 15th member of the 1,000 career digs club and currently sits at 1,321 in her career and is currently seventh all-time in school history
• Boteju became the 15th member of the 1,000 assist club and owns 1,222 while 205 behind Domme on the all-time list
• Okoye became the 13th member of the 300 blocks club and is sitting at 348 in her career, eighth all-time in school history
• Basey became the 14th member of the 1,000 kills club and owns 1,051 in her career, 19 away from breaking into the top 10
• The Lyons, Colo., native also became the 16th member of the 1,000 digs club, currently with 1,011 and six away from the next spot on the list
• The senior outside hitter, who has been an key component in DU's rotation for the past four years, is one of five Pioneers to surpass 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career, last accomplished in 2008
