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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- For all the talk about Stanford volleyballs young guns being goofballs, heres a little secret from freshman Kathryn Plummer:The silliest kid on the Cardinal is fifth-year senior Inky Ajanaku, whose 15 kills and nine blocks in a 3-1 victory over No. 2 Minnesota lifted No. 9 Stanford (26-7) into Saturdays national championship game for the 15th time in program history.Theyll play Texas, which shocked No. 1 Nebraska with a three-set sweep in the Thursday nightcap at Nationwide Arena.Shes the pot stirrer; shes a little kid at heart, said Plummer, one of four freshman starters for the Cardinal. Only when it comes to volleyball, you can tell shes the oldest person on the court.And at the ancient age of 22, Ajanaku doesnt have time to hang around while the Cardinal kids mature -- not that they need to. (Unless, of course, youre talking about the three Instagram accounts they all have or their DMs [direct messages]. I mean, are people still doing that? Ajanaku asks with a playful roll of the eye.)All of us want to win it for her, Plummer said. One of the things Inky always says is next point. That brings a sense of urgency to our game. When we were not doing as well earlier this season, we were focusing on what we did wrong. The second half of the season, weve done better just moving along to the next point.Ajanaku had a sense of a special season right from the go. Preseason, when we had our first practice, we saw what the freshmen could do. We were blown away by the talent.Leading the talent pool is the 6-foot-6 Plummer, whose imposing presence against the Gophers was reminiscent of a WNBA center. You want to duck when she gets the last word. The national freshman of the year finished with 15 kills and 11 digs against the methodical Gophers.Then theres another frosh, setter Jenna Gray, whose two dumps in the fourth set proved critical for a Stanford team that needed to keep its edge in the national semifinal after the Gophers gritted out the third set 25-22.Libero Morgan Hentz?Its really easy to be a great blocker when you only have to take up a certain part of the court, Ajanaku said. And Morgan allows that for us.And then theres 6-6 Audriana Fitzmorris, who had 10 kills -- her last one on match point -- and eight blocks against the Gophers.Ajanaku said Wednesday that she hasnt had much time to reflect on a season that hasnt exactly played out according to plan. Six games in, it became clear that All-American Hayley Hodson, last years AVCA freshman of the year, would not be a go the rest of the way for health reasons. Another injury to Michaela Keefe led coach John Dunning to abandon his 6-2 offense in favor of a 5-1, and even Ajanaku missed time due to an ankle sprain.Weve been through so much and that matures you, Ajanaku said. A lot of people might not think the freshmen could handle the situation, but they handled it. They keep proving to people that they can handle it and can play at a really high level when there are high stakes.This is a team that trailed Wisconsin last weekend only to rally in five, a stunning defeat for the Big Ten powerhouse in its own building.We were playing decent volleyball, but the environment got to us, Ajanaku said. After that locker room talk, we decided nobodys going to fault us for taking the big swings. We said, Lets just cover each other and lets just go for it. Thats what we did.Those are the moments when Ajanku lives up to the Grandma nickname her teammates cajole her with. Most of the time shes the one singing Mr. Brightside or dancing to Caroline (by Amine, by the way, not Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond).But Dunning said when hes needed Ajanku to become the leader, shes become that calming voice in the huddle. Previously, he said, she led by example. But he told her before the season that while shes done a lot, he knew she was capable of more.To have somebody on your team, a player step up and talk to their team and have everybody be glued to it, thats really, really big, he said.Ajanaku embraces that role and is cognizant that this could have all worked out completely different. After all, she really isnt supposed to be here, sweating out her cellular immunology exam while her teammates weather English composition. A torn ACL last season led to the redshirt year and a head start on a masters in biology for the wannabe orthopedic surgeon.Dont think she doesnt know it.My volleyball career didnt go as I expected, but thats life, she said. You go with the opportunities you have.Thanks to her, Stanford has another on Saturday night.Cheap Custom Diamondbacks Jersey .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Authentic Custom Diamondbacks Jersey . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. http://www.customdiamondbacksjersey.com/custom-luis-gonzalez-jersey-large-76d.html . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. Wholesale Custom Diamondbacks Shirts . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Custom Diamondbacks Jersey China . Canada is now down to its 22-player limit, although but players wont be registered until Christmas Day. Changes could still be made as a result of a suspension or injury.Butler coach Chris Holtmann insisted his team didnt linger on the upset victory over then-No. 9 Indiana University on Saturday.We pretty quickly turned the page and are moving on to a pretty good Vermont team, Holtmann said. This is one of the better teams well play in the non-conference and we need to be ready. This is a really solid group. Our focus has been on improving and getting ready for Vermont.The No. 13 Bulldogs (10-1) host Vermont (8-4) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The two teams have never met before.Holtmann said the Catamounts have a well-coached veteran crew.Theyre skilled, they spread you out, Holtmann said. They really make you work. Its going to be a challenge for us. I think our guys are aware of that.The Catamounts beat Eastern Michigan on Saturday without junior forward Payton Henson, who is sidelined with a lower-body injury. Henson, who averages a team-high 13 points per game, will miss the Butler game, too, Vermont coach John Becker said.Anthony Lamb, a 6-6 freshman forward, scored a career-high 25 points in Hensons absence. Lamb is second on the team with an 11.4 scoring average, followed by Ernie Duncan at 10.3 per game. Duncan is from Evansville, Indiana, and is one of four players from Indiana on the roster.So its a game their families can see, said Becker, whose team played at Purdue last season.Vermont returns the majority of its production from last seasons team.Were a more experienced team, Becker said. Here at Vermont, weve had eight consecutive 20-win seasons and eight consecutive postseason tournaments. Were picked to win the league again. We play a very, very competitive schedule. We lost at Providence. We lost to Housston by one point.dddddddddddd We lost at (No. 22) South Carolina. We lost a heartbreaker to Northeastern, who beat Michigan State (Sunday). Were toughening up playing these good teams.The 8-4 start is the best in my six years. Were playing well and we hope we can hang around against a really good Butler team. Theyre very well coached and play the right way. Kelan Martin can score the ball. They shoot the ball well. They make the right play and are unselfish.Becker said he has been watching Butler top scorers Martin (18.6 points per game) and Andrew Chrabascz (11.3 points per game) for a long time.We recruited Chrabascz before he became a high major player because hes from New England, Becker said. I got to see Martin play (in AAU) a lot when we saw Ernie Duncan.Martin was named the Big East Player of the Week after scoring 28 points against Indiana.Kamar Baldwin, a 6-foot guard, was named Big East Freshman of the Week after scoring 14 points against the Hoosiers.Hes got a high basketball IQ and that helps him, Holtmann said of Baldwin. He wants to be good. Hes kind of a natural scorer. What weve seen is hes had some terrific moments and hes had some moments where he looks like a freshman. Ive had to say, He is a freshman. Hes not a junior. Hell continue to have those moments.Guard play has been solid for the Bulldogs in recent games.A lot of people have asked how we moved on after losing (departed seniors) Roosevelt Jones and Kellen Dunham, Holtmann said. Those guys have done a good job handling it by committee. Weve had different guys step up. ' ' '