Stanford junior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku has been tabbed the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week in women’s volleyball, it was announced Monday.
Ajanaku averaged 1.67 blocks and 0.67 digs per set, while hitting .512 (24-2-43) in road wins at Iowa State and then-No. 7 Nebraska.
The Tulsa, Okla., native opened the season with 14 kills and a match-high seven blocks against the Cyclones. She followed up with 10 kills, three blocks and three digs against the Huskers, who were held to a .131 team hitting percentage and lost its third consecutive home match for the first time in program history.
It marks the first career defensive player of the week honor for Ajanaku, and her fourth career weekly honor overall. It is the 89th weekly award for Stanford all-time.
Up next, No. 2 Stanford plays host to top-ranked Penn State on Friday at 6 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks. The defending 2013 NCAA champion Nittany Lions defeated the Cardinal in five sets in the Lexington Regional Final last year. Stanford is 7-8 all-time against Penn State.
Field hockey
Chelsea Gamble, an assistant at Connecticut, has joined the Stanford women’s lacrosse coaching staff, head coach Amy Bokker announced.
Gamble completes a staff that includes Liz Hogan, a U.S. national team goalie and Virginia Tech assistant, who arrived earlier this summer. They replaced Brooke Eubanks, now at Cal, and Lauren Schwarzmann, of Mount St. Mary’s, who each became head coaches at NCAA Division I schools.
Gamble played under Bokker as a freshman midfielder at George Mason and will serve as the team’s offensive coordinator. Gamble spent the past three seasons at UConn, which had unprecedented success during that time, reaching its first NCAA tournament, in 2013.
Women’s soccer
Seniors Taylor Uhl and Alex Doll were selected to be among 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award for women’s soccer.
The award recognizes senior student-athletes in a variety of sports who excel in athletics, academics, character, and community service. The 30 candidates will be whittled to 10 in October through a vote by a national media committee.
Those 10 names will then be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient of the award.
Past finalists have included Stanford players Kelley O’Hara, Christen Press, Teresa Noyola, and Mariah Nogueira.
Softball
Cardinal sophomore Bessie Noll was named to the U.S. Women’s National Baseball Team and is competing at the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup in Miyazaki, Japan.
Noll was one of 20 players named to the team after competing for a spot among a pool of 39 players that pursued roster positions during the Women’s National Team Trials from August 18-21.
Noll and Team USA opened play at the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup on Monday with a 9-0 victory over Chinese Taipei.
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics