Iowa Hosts Hawkeye Classic

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Serve it Up
The Hawkeyes open their home slate against Nebraska-Omaha on Friday at noon (CT) at the Hawkeye Classic. Iowa also faces Coastal Carolina on Friday at 7 p.m. before closing out the tournament Saturday with matches against Coastal Carolina and Indiana State at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.
 
Promotions

• Friday, purchase one ticket for both the match against Nebraska-Omaha and the match against Coastal Carolina.
• Saturday is alumni night, with alumni being honored between the second and third set.

 
Listen/Follow Along

• Live audio is available for all matches on Hawkeye All-Access at hawkeyesports.com.
• All matches this weekend will be live streamed on BTNPlus, with links available at hawkeyesports.com.
• Live stats for each contest can be found on the volleyball schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.

 
Follow the Hawkeyes
For an inside look at the Iowa Volleyball program and access to exclusive coverage, “like” University of Iowa Volleyball on Facebook and follow @IowaVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram.
 
Look Out for Louis

• Outside hitter Taylor Louis had a dominant first weekend in Black and Gold with 13 kills and a .545 attack percentage against Wright State, and 16 kills and a .364 attacking percentage at Long Beach State.
• Louis leads the team with 34 kills and a .382 clip. Louis also has six blocks this season.

 
Teammates

• Halle Johnston, Claire Sheehan, and Gabrielle Orr played together on the Northern Lights (Minesota) club team under Dave Manka, Adam Beamer, and Walt Weaver for three years.
• The trio led the 15-1S team to an AAU National Championship and a United States Girls Junior National Championship in the U.S. Junior Olympic division of USA Volleyball.
• The three guided the team to a third-place finish in the AAU National Championship and a fifth-place finish USJNC.

 
Scouting Nebraska-Omaha

• UNO is 0-3 season after playing at the Cyclone Invitational opening weekend. The Mavericks were swept by New Mexico, Iowa State, and Kent State.
• The Mavericks are ranked 22nd nationally with 40.33 attacks per set. Mackenzie Horkey leads the team with 12.33 attacks per set, good for 27th in the nation.
• The Hawkeyes hold a 4-2 all-time record against UNO. The teams last faced on Oct. 6, 1990 when Iowa swept the Mavericks.

 
Scouting Coastal Carolina

• Coastal Carolina is 1-1 this season after topping UTSA in five sets but getting swept by TCU at the TCU Cowtown Classic opening weekend.
• Coastal Carolina averages 1.75 aces per set, which ranks No. 51 in the nation.
• Iowa is 4-0 all-time against the Chanticleers. The teams last squared off on Sept. 19, 2015, with Iowa sweeping Coastal Carolina.

 
Scouting Indiana State

• The Sycamores are 1-2  season after the Indiana Invitational, where they swept DePaul but fell to Ball State (0-3) and Indiana (0-3).
• Laura Gross has 11.44 attacks per set, which ranks No. 62 in the nation.
• Iowa is 3-0 all-time against Indiana State. The teams last played Sept. 22, 1991 with Iowa capturing a 3-1 victory.

 
Orr’s Big Role

• Freshman Brie Orr has taken charge of the Hawkeye offense, amassing 38 assists in her debut and eclipsing that mark with 43 assists at Long Beach State. She has 100 this season.
• In addition to her assists, Orr had 13 kills during opening weekend, including a career-high nine to help lead Iowa over Long Beach State on Aug. 26.

 
Can you Dig It?

• Annika Olsen has reached double-digits in digs in 2-of-3 matches this season, with 14 in the season opener and 19 at Long Beach State.
• With 1,042, Olsen is eight digs away from moving into 15th in all-time career digs.

 
Record Broken

• The Hawkeyes crushed the single-match attendance record as 4,131 fans watched Iowa take on No. 1 Nebraska on Nov. 19. Iowa’s previous single-match attendance record was 3,102 (Nov. 7, 2009 against Penn State).
• Hawkeye fans came out in droves for a combined home attendance of 30,695. The Hawkeyes were 11-5 at home, which included two wins over ranked opponents (No. 17 Purdue and No. 24 Illinois).
• The Hawkeyes have set 11 top 20 attendance marks since head coach Bond Shymansky took the helm in 2014.

 
A Season to Build On

• Iowa finished the 2016 season with a 19-13 overall record and 9-11 mark in Big Ten play. The overall record marks the first winning season for the program since 2000 when Iowa went 15-13 overall.
• The nine conference wins mark the most since 2000, when the Hawkeyes were 11-9 in league action.
• Nineteen wins is the most for the program since 1994 (24-9; 14-6 B1G). That season, Iowa amassed a 24-9 overall mark with a 14-6 record in league play.

 
Challenging Schedule

• 10 Iowa opponents are currently ranked — Stanford (1), Minnesota (2), Penn State (5), Wisconsin (6), Nebraska (12), Michigan (19), Ohio State (20), Purdue, (21), Michigan State (23), and Iowa State (25)
• The Hawkeyes’ schedule features 15 teams that reached the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
• The nonconference schedule includes seven teams that competed at the 2016 NCAA Tournament, including Stanford, Coastal Carolina, Iowa State, Northern Illinois, Howard University, American University, and Princeton.
• Following it’s Big Ten opener at Rutgers, Iowa faces five-straight teams — Penn State (13), Wisconsin (3), Minnesota (1), Michigan (17), and Nebraska (2) — that ended the 2016 season ranked. All five of those teams reached the regional round of the NCAA Tournament, while Nebraska and Minnesota advanced to the Final Four.

 
True Mental Toughness
The Hawkeyes will continue their True Mental Toughness mantra for the 2017 season. Bond Shymansky’s squad defines true mental toughness as having a great attitude, treating others really, really well, being unconditionally grateful regardless of your circumstances, and giving your very, very best.
 
European Adventures
University of Iowa volleyball’s Annika Olsen was one of 14 student-athletes to travel with the Big Ten volleyball foreign team from June 17-28. The group started in Prague, Czech Republic, and traveled to Vienna, Austria, Maribor, Slovenia, and Venice, Italy, before ending the tour in Milan, Italy. The group played against several foreign national teams (including the Czech Republic Senior National team and the Italian Junior National Team, among others). The team also saw several historic cities and sights and participated in community service initiatives during the trip.
 
Returners

• Molly Kelly appeared in all 32 matches in 2016 and led the team with 26 service aces. She also racked up 140 digs and 30 assists.
• Meghan Buzzerio played in all 32 matches in 2016, amassing 255 kills, 187 digs, 25 blocks, and 20 service aces.
• Kasey Reuter appeared in 18 matches in 2016 and racked up 70 kills. She had a career-high .889 hitting percentage (eight kills in nine attempts, no errors) in Iowa’s win over Indiana.
• Reghan Coyle played in all 32 matches in 2016. She registered 239 kills and ranked second on the team with 75 blocks.
• Annika Olsen, the Hawkeye’s libero, appeared in all 32 matches in 2016 and led the team with 445 digs. She also racked up 72 assists and 13 aces.
• Emily Bushman appeared in four matches for the Hawkeyes, including helping guide the team to victory at Rutgers on Nov. 4.
• Cali Hoye played in 18 matches in 2016, registering 34 digs and 21 kills. She had a personal-best six kills and a career-high .556 attacking percentage at Rutgers on Nov. 4.
• Taylin Alm played in three contests in 2016, amassing 10 kills and a .833 attacking percentage.
• Jess Janota appeared in all 32 matches in 2016, collecting 260 kills, a .344 attack percentage, and a team-high 82 blocks. Janota chipped in 54 digs and 18 aces.

 
Newcomers

• Defensive specialist Ashley Smith comes to Iowa after a season at Nebraska-Omaha, where she amassed 396 digs. Smith played two years at Tipton and two years at Iowa City HS. At Tipton, Smith set a school record for most digs in a set with 58.
• Halle Johnston played libero at Lakeview South HS for four years and amassed a school-record 1,487 digs. As a senior, she guided her team to a 26-3 record and a berth in the state tournament.
• Setter Gabrielle Orr joined the Hawkeyes in the spring after four seasons at Eagan HS. Orr amassed 1,271 kills, 1,983 assists, 1,139 digs, 177 blocks, and 116 service aces over her high school career.
• Outside hitter Claire Sheehan played four years at Cambridge Isanti HS where she accumulated 2,350 kills, good for third all-time in Minnesota Class AAA competition. She also had 1,711 digs and 218 blocks.
• Middle blocker Kelsey O’Neill comes to Iowa after two years of competition at Pittsburgh. She tallied 170 kills and 72 blocks in 2016.
• Defensive specialist Paige Franck played four years at Kennedy High School where she collected 324 kills, 158 digs, 44 assists, 26 service aces, and 25 blocks.
• Outside hitter Taylor Louis joins Iowa after three seasons at Marquette. In 2016, Louis racked up 537 kills and 257 digs. Prior to Marquette, she played three years at Niles North High School. 

 
The Premier Conference
The Big Ten Conference has had an NCAA champion in eight of the last 13 years. Eight teams – Penn State, Ohio State, Minnesota, Purdue, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Nebraska – appeared in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
 
On Deck
The Hawkeyes continue their home slate Sept. 8-9, hosting Northern Illinois, Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk series foe Iowa State, and Northern Illinois in the Hawkeye Classic.