Iowa To Host Hawkeye-Holiday Inn Challenge

Sept. 11, 2007

IOWA CITY – This Week ? The University of Iowa volleyball team will host the Hawkeye-Holiday Inn Challenge this weekend which includes Texas Arlington, Ball State and the College of Charleston. Below is a full schedule of the Hawkeye-Holiday Inn Challenge.

Friday, September 14
Ball State vs. College of Charleston – 4:30 p.m.
IOWA vs. Texas Arlington – 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, September 15
IOWA vs. Ball State – 10 a.m.
College of Charleston vs. Texas Arlington – 12 p.m.
Ball State vs. Texas Arlington – 5 p.m.
IOWA vs. College of Charleston – 7 p.m.

Challenge Website ? The Hawkeye-Holiday Inn Challenge website can be found under the “Stats and More” section on the volleyball page of hawkeyesports.com.

Gametracker links and box scores for all six matches along with audio and video links for all Iowa matches can be found on the website.

Hawkeyes on the Web ? Fans who can’t make it to North Carver this weekend can follow the action on hawkeyesports.com, where a live video and audio broadcasts along with Gametracker will be available.

Play-by-play from the voice of Iowa volleyball Brian Wilson and a live video broadcast can be found on the volleyball schedule page of hawkeyesports.com.

Live audio will be available for all 31 matches this fall while live video will be available for all of Iowa’s home matches. Both features are free this weekend, but will require a quick registration. All Big Ten matches will require a $9.95 per month subscription.

Web Conference ? Iowa Head Coach Cindy Fredrick will be hosting a weekly “Web Conference” every week this season. She will address a variety of topics, from the state of the team to that week’s opponents.

Third Place in Des Moines ? The Hawkeyes finished in third place at the Hampton Inn State of Iowa College Volleyball Challenge last weekend. Iowa defeated Drake, 3-1, but fell to Iowa State, 3-0 and No. 21 LSU, 3-2.

Taming the Bulldogs ? Iowa opened the tournament with a 3-1 win over host-school Drake.

The Bulldogs took an early 1-0 lead after winning game one, 30-27. The Hawkeyes tied the match with a 30-26 win in game two, led by freshman Megan Eskew and sophomore Megan Schipper, who scored Iowa’s first nine points in the game. Iowa finished on a 5-1 run to win the game.

The Hawkeyes gained an 18-17 lead in game three and never trailed after, winning 30-25 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Game four stayed within two points until Iowa went on a 13-6 run to take an 18-11 lead. Iowa went on another 9-4 run to take a commanding 28-22 lead, but a 6-0 spurt by Drake tied the game at 28. The Hawkeyes had two match points, but Drake fought back and eventually took a 31-30 lead. Iowa responded with two Aimee Huffman kills and took advantage of a Drake error to end the match.

Hawkeyes Fall to Cyclones ? Iowa dropped a 3-0 decision to intra-state rival Iowa State in its first match Saturday.

The Hawkeyes struggled offensively, hitting just .147 as a team and were out-blocked, 15-3.5.

Iowa State won game one, 30-25. The Cyclones took a 12-11 lead and never trailed after gaining the advantage.

Iowa led game two, 9-8, but a 9-1 Cyclone run gave them a 17-10 lead and once again never trailed, taking game two by a 30-22 margin.

The Hawkeyes couldn’t fight back against the Cyclones, dropping game three, 30-23. Iowa tied the match at 1-1, but trailed the entire game after the Cyclones took a slim 2-1 lead.

So Close to the Upset ? The Hawkeyes nearly upset No. 21 LSU Saturday night, but lost in five games.

Game one saw 10 ties and eight lead changes en route to an Iowa win. The Hawkeyes closed game one on an 8-1 run.

LSU took games two and three, but the Hawkeyes battled back to crush the Tigers, 30-19 in game four. The game was tied at 8-8 before Iowa went on a 14-6 run. The Hawkeyes kept between an eight and nine-point lead before closing the game on a 4-1 run.

Iowa stormed out to an early 3-0 lead in the fifth game, but the Tigers battled back to tie the game at 4-4. Both teams traded points until LSU took a slim 8-7 lead as the team’s switched sides.

The game knotted up at 8-8 before LSU took a 10-8 and eventually gained a 12-9 advantage. Three-straight Hawkeye points tied the match at 12-12. LSU had two match points, but Iowa fought back to earn a match point of their own. The Tigers eventually scored three points to gain a 19-17 win.

Scouting Texas Arlington ? The Texas Arlington Mavericks are 5-5 overall.

The Maverick attack is led by Teena Sobczak, who has 118 kills. Torie Dacus also has triple-digit kills with 102. Both Sobczak and Dacus also have triple-digit digs with 114 and 122, respectively.

Texas Arlington’s primary setter is Emily Nedderman with 372 assists.

The Mavericks are coached by Diane Seymour. Iowa leads the all-time series, 2-1.

Scouting Ball State ? The Ball State Cardinals are 1-7 overall.

Elaina Kakatolis leads the Ball State offense with 92 kills while Julie Breivogel has 86 kills.

Angie Parrell has a team-best 216 assists, while Alyssa Rio has 199 digs.

The Cardinals are coached by Dave Boos. Iowa trails the all-time series, 1-0.

Scouting College of Charleston ? The College of Charleston Cougars are 4-3 overall.

Whitney Russell has a team-high 84 kills and Emily Sawin is second with 74 kills.

Lindsey Kane leads the team with 202 assists.

The Cougars are coached by Jason Kepner. Iowa leads the all-time series, 1-0.

Hiza Named to All-Tournament Team ? Junior Emily Hiza was named to the Hampton Inn State of Iowa College Volleyball Challenge all-tournament team. Hiza recorded 60 digs (5.0 digs per game) and had three service aces.

Schipper and Emerging ? Sophomore Megan Schipper has been impressive in the first three weeks of the season. The Aplington, IA, native leads the team in kills (104) and kills per game (3.25). She is also tied for the lead in service aces (14) and service aces per game (0.44) and is second on the team in digs (70).

Kremer and Hiza in Big Ten Stats ? Juniors Laura Kremer and Emily Hiza both rank in the top 10 in different Big Ten statistical categories.

Kremer has a total of 46 blocks (two solo, 44 assists) which is fifth-best in the conference. Hiza’s 132 digs is good enough for seventh place in the conference.

Iowa Ranks High in Attendance ? Iowa’s average home attendance of 1,252 fans is the 16th-highest average attendance in the nation.

In addition, Iowa’s opening night crowd of 1,584 against BYU is the 42nd largest single-game crowd thus far in 2007.

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