Naperville, Ill.—The Dominican University Women's Volleyball team prepares for North Central Tri-Match after their home opener on Thursday night.
The Stars will play Ripon College and North Central College in the NCC Tri-Match.

Series History vs. Ripon:
All-Time Record/Streak: 2-0/W2
-The first time these two schools played was on September 13^th, 2014, at Oshkosh, Wis. for a neutral site match. The Stars won 3-0.
-Dominican won the second matchup at Ripon College to the score of 3-0.
 
Series History vs. North Central:
All-Time Record/Streak: 4-5/L3
-The first time these two schools played was on November 1^st, 2003, at a neutral site, and the Stars won 3-0.
-Every single match has been a sweep in this series.
-Last season these two teams played at North Central, with the Cardinals winning 3-0.
-The last win for DU was 10/31/2014 on a neutral site in Lisle, Ill.
-Dominican is 0-2 on the road against the Cardinals.
-All 4 Dominican wins have been on a neutral site.


DU in Review:  
-DUWVB is 0-11 in the 2026 season. They recently lost to MSOE in their first match inside the Igini Sports Forum.
-Dominican completed the 2025 season with a 2-21 record, including going 1-12 in conference and 1-9 at home.  
-The Stars missed out on the 2025 NACC Tournament. DU's last conference tournament appearance came in the shortened 2020 season.  
-Head Coach Oliva Kofie starts her 3rd season as Dominican's Head Coach.  
 
Familiar Faces:  
-Senior Kathryn Ksiezak started in 23 matches last season and was 3rd in kills with 66 while also leading her team in blocks with 38 in her junior campaign.   
-Senior Jillian Ross looks to finish her senior year strong. In the 2025 season, Ross started in 23 matches where she collected 42 kills and 18 blocks.   
-Sophomore Karolina Stonkus led her team with 411 assists and 29 service aces. Stonkus also had 34 kills.   
-Junior Fabianna Pizzo looks to continue to be a rock for DU. Last season she played in 23 matches while collecting 255 digs.   

Last Time Out:
-Dominican University hosted MSOE for their home opener, and the Stars fell 3-0 in front of their home crowd.
-Senior Katie Ksiezak played well in tonight's match, earning 4 kills and a dig.
-Sophomore Olivia Pollak collected 4 kills, 6 assists, and 4 digs.
-Senior Jaylynn Miller earned 3 kills in the match.
-Freshman Kaitlyn Stanek earned a solo block in the match while recording a kill.
-Senior Cassandra Thawley earned an ace, an assist, and 3 digs.
-Freshman Gracelynn Perry led the team in digs with 9. She also collected an ace.

Shining Stars:
-Sophomore Karolina Stonkus leads her team with 44 kills while also tallying 28 assists, 8 service aces and is tied for most block assists on her team with 2.
-Sophomore Olivia Pollak is making an impact after being injured last season. Pollak has collected 38 kills, she leads her team with 78 assists and 70 digs.
-Junior Ella Murray showed off on the offensive side for her season in a Stars uniform with 29 kills.
-Senior Kathryn Ksiezak has been solid on both offense and defense, she leads her team in blocks with 4 and ties for most block assists with 2 while also having 25 kills.
-Freshman Kaitlyn Stanek has the highest hitting percentage on her team with .208. Stanek has had 17 kills on 48 attacks.
-Freshman Mawedda Abu-Shukhaidem has been solid to start out her Dominican Volleyball career, tallying 71 assists.

Scouting Report vs. Ripon:  
-Ripon is 4-10 overall and 0-1 on a neutral site.
-The Red Hawks won their last match and are 3-1 in their last four matches, beating Alverno, Mount Mary, and Hamline University. The loss came from UW-Stout.
-Ripon had an 8-game losing streak from September 4^th to September 18^th.
-The Red Hawks have played 10 home matches.
-Ripon has 405 kills on the season, while their opponents have 582 kills against them.
 
  Scouting Report vs. North Central:  
-North Central is 5-4 on the season with a 1-0 record on their home court.
-The Cardinals have won back-to-back matches with sweeps against Millikin and Macalester.
-Before winning two straight matches, NCC lost to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (#23), Aurora, and Edgewood.
-North Central traveled to the Pacific Coast Classic hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, where they went 2-2 in the four matches at this tournament.
-The Cardinals have 366 kills on the season, while their opponents have 370 kills against them.
 
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