DENVER- The University of Denver volleyball team is set to face No. 3 Stanford in the opening round of the 2019 NCAA tournament on Friday in Maples Pavilion (8 PM MT). The match will be broadcast on Pac 12 Networks.
QUICK HITS:
- The Pioneers enter Friday with a 23-8 overall record
- Denver holds a 6-5 record on the road this season
- The Pioneers are entering their sixth consecutive NCAA tournament
- DU is 0-3 against ranked teams this season with losses coming against then-No. 20 Hawai'i (3-1), then-No. 2 Nebraska (3-0) and then-No. 11 Colorado State (3-2)
- The Pioneers haven't beaten a ranked team since 2016 when they defeated No. 20 Loyola Marymount 3-1 in Denver
- DU ranks 13th in the nation in aces per set, averaging 1.75
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY:
- The Pioneers enter their sixth consecutive NCAA tournament after receiving their fifth automatic bid in program history
- The Pios secured their first at-large bid in program history in 2018
- Denver holds an 0-5 record in the tournament, looking for its first set win in an NCAA tournament match
SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS:
- After earning a first-round bye in the Summit League tournament, Denver defeated No. 3 seed Purdue Fort Wayne 3-1 and No. 4 seed Omaha 3-1 to claim the championship and an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament
- Lydia Bartalo was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Bartalo, Tina Boe and Amanda Green were named to the All-Tournament team
SUMMIT LEAGUE HONORS:
- Bartalo was named the first Summit League Player of the Year in program history while also earning a spot on the All-Summit League team
- Boe earned her first All-Summit League honor, while Ellie Anderson was named Honorable Mention All-Summit League for the second consecutive season
- Kalea Fobert and Brianna Green each earned a spot on the Summit League All-Freshmen team
DENVER LEADERS:
- Bartalo leads the Denver offense with 370 kills through 31 matches to compliment a team-best 3.25 kills per set and team-high 48 service aces on the season
- B. Green leads the Pioneers in blocks with 128. The freshman averages a team-high 1.24 blocks per set
- Macy Carrabine leads the DU defense with 408 digs, averaging 3.68 per set
- Anderson enters Friday with a team-high 594 assists, setting up an average of 5.30 per set. Anderson also has a team-best ten double-doubles on the year
SCOUTING NO. 3 STANFORD:
- Stanford enters the tournament on an 11-game win streak, sitting at 24-4 overall
- As a team, the Cardinal ranks fifth in the nation in kills per set, averaging 14.72 and ranks third in the nation in assists per set with 13.79
- Defensively, Stanford has notched 284 blocks and 1521 total digs during their 2019 campaign
STANFORD LEADERS:
- Offensively, Stanford is led by Kathryn Plummer who averages 4.75 kills pet set and has totaled 309 kills through 28 sets while Jenna Gray has chipped in a team-high 11.55 assists per set
- Defensively, Pac 12 Libero of the Year Morgan Hentz leads the Cardinal in digs, averaging 5.0 per set while teammate Madeleine Gates ranks 15th in the nation in blocks per set with an average of 1.40
HISTORY:
- This will be the third meeting between the two teams in program history with the Cardinal leading the series 2-0
- The last matchup came in the first round of the 2016 NCAA tournament. Denver dropped the match to the ninth ranked Cardinal in three sets (25-12, 25-22, 25-20)
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