Nov. 10, 2003
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This Week: The Iowa volleyball team (5-19) hosts Indiana (10-15) Friday and Purdue (12-13) Saturday. Both competitions are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Hoosiers: Indiana is 10-15 overall and 3-11 in conference play after a loss to Penn State and a win over Ohio State. The Hoosiers are averaging 15.25 kills, 13.61 assists and 2.3 blocks per game. Junior Christina Archibald is sixth in the conference, averaging 4.15 kills per game. Senior Beth Heimann is eighth with 3.32 digs per game. Senior Melissa Brewer is averaging 1.14 blocks and is hitting at a .300 clip. Junior setter Victoria Zimmerman is averaging 12.5 assists.
Iowa-Indiana Series: Indiana leads the series over Iowa, 27-19. In matches played in Iowa City, Indiana holds a 13-9 advantage. Earlier this season, Iowa fell to the Hoosiers, 3-0, in Bloomington.
The Boilermakers: Purdue is 12-13 overall and 5-9 in the Big Ten after losses at Ohio State and Penn State. The Boilermakers are averaging 15.69 kills, 14.43 assists, 2.29 blocks and 1.41 service aces per game. Junior Kim McConaha is averaging 3.79 kills and 1.19 blocks. Junior Daren Poe ranks third in the conference with 3.52 digs per game. Sophomore setter Renata Dargan is averaging 12.08 assists.
Iowa-Purdue Series: Purdue leads the series, 32-17. In matches played in Iowa City, Iowa leads 11-9. Earlier this season, Iowa fell to Purdue, 3-0, in West Lafayette.
Game Three Hex: Iowa dropped its 13th and 14th conference matches of the season in 3-0 losses at Northwestern and at Illinois. In each match, Iowa rallied in game three but lost by 30-28 decisions.
Iowa Blocks Illini: The Hawkeyes produced their best blocking performance of the season at Illinois with 13 total team blocks. Senior Abby Tjaden led the way with one solo block and six block assists, a season best. Senior Jitka Stehnova had a career-best effort with one solo block and four assists. Junior Carolyn Giese collected one solo and three assists. Freshman Jacqueline Huguelet registered a career-best three assists and freshman Lastascia Granger collected a personal-best one solo and one assist.
Costanzo Leads Attack: Freshman Tiana Costanzo collected a double-double against Illinois with 11 kills and 12 digs. It marked the first time this season that Costanzo has led the team in digs.
Granger Sees Action: After competing in only one game this season, Lastascia Granger saw playing time in both the Northwestern and Illinois matches. Granger played in two games at Northwestern and one game at Illinois. Against the Illini, Granger collected a career-high two kills.
Success as a Starter: Jacqueline Huguelet has provided a solid impact for the Hawkeyes, starting as an outside hitter in Iowa’s last four matches. In those contests, Huguelet has averaged 2.08 kills, 2.42 digs and .75 assists per game. At Minnesota, Huguelet narrowly missed a double-double with nine kills and 11 digs, both career highs.
Simpson Continues Attack: Junior Laura Simpson has continued her steady attack leading the Hawkeyes in kills in 11 of the last 15 matches. Simpson currently leads the Hawkeyes with 3.86 kills per game. In conference matches, Simpson is averaging 3.86 kills per game. In Iowa’s home match against Minnesota, Simpson tied a team best with 22 kills. In Iowa’s home match against Wisconsin, Simpson registered her first double-double of the season with 13 kills and 14 digs.
Giese Attacks Competition: Junior Carolyn Giese currently ranks second on the team with 2.99 kills per game. Earlier this season, Giese posted a career-high 22 kills in Iowa’s victory over Duke.
Mech Makes Her Mark: In only her first year of collegiate competition, freshman April Mech has made an instant impact for the Hawkeyes appearing in the starting lineup for the majority of the season. Mech is currently averaging 1.41 kills and 1.76 digs per game. She has missed the last four matches due to injury.
Digging Away: Iowa currently ranks fourth in the conference with 15.46 digs per game. Junior Pam Kavadas leads Iowa with a 3.41 digs per game average. Against Michigan State, Kavadas collected a season-best 21 digs.
Start Me Up: Iowa has used 17 different combinations in its starting lineup this season and 14 Hawkeyes have appeared in the starting lineup in at least one match.
Double the Fun: Senior Jitka Stehnova leads the team with seven double-doubles this season. Stehnova also leads the team with 18 service aces.
Match Breakdown: The Hawkeyes have played four five-game matches this season. Iowa only played one five-game match last season (at Purdue 11/1/02). Iowa is 2-2 in five-game matches. The Hawkeyes have competed in three four-game matches and have a 1-2 record. Iowa has played 17 three-game matches and is 2-15.
In Big Ten Rankings: The Hawkeyes are fourth in the conference in overall matches with 15.46 digs per game. Junior Pam Kavadas is fourth in overall matches with 3.41 digs and ranks third in conference matches with 4.02 digs. In conference matches Laura Simpson is eighth with 3.86 kills per game.
In Iowa Rankings: Jitka Stehnova is currently fifth on Iowa’s all-time assist list with 1,900. Pam Kavadas is 14th in career digs (860). Carolyn Giese is 24th in all-time attack percentage at .186 (508-245-1417).
International Experience: Assistant Coach Chris Gonzalez served as an assistant coach for the USA women’s national team that won the bronze medal match of the Pan American Games. Tiana Costanzo competed for the USA youth squad that spent the summer competing in Montreal. Laura Simpson competed for the Australian national team against Japan and participated in the Thang Long championship against Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Kazakhstan and Thailand.
Home Grown Hawkeyes: The Iowa roster features five Hawkeyes from the state of Iowa. Abby Tjaden is from Eldora, Carolyn Giese Dubuque, Lastascia Granger Waterloo and April Mech and Betsy Cordt Davenport.
The Long Beach State Connection: Head Coach Rita Buck-Crockett and assistant coaches Chris Gonzalez and Melissa Ohta all have ties to the Long Beach State program. Buck-Crockett served as an assistant coach from 1986-88. Gonzalez served as the 49ers’ assistant coach from 1997-2002 and was part of three final four teams, including the 1998 national champion squad that went undefeated (36-0). Ohta was a competitor on each of the final four teams as one of the nation’s top defensive specialists from 1997-2000.