Hawkeyes Wrap Up Home Schedule

Nov. 12, 2007

IOWA CITY – This Week ? The University of Iowa volleyball team faces Northwestern and Michigan State in its final home weekend of the 2007 season. The Hawkeyes will play Northwestern Friday and Michigan State Saturday. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m.

Senior Night ? Saturday’s match against Michigan State will be “Senior Night.” Stacy Vitali, the team’s lone senior, will be honored prior to the match.

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 broadcast along with Gametracker will be available.

Live video complete with play-by-play from the voice of Iowa volleyball, Brian Wilson, can be found on the volleyball schedule page of hawkeyesports.com. Gametracker can also be found on the 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. All Big Ten matches require fans to pay a $9.95 per month subscription fee.

Scouting Northwestern ? The Northwestern Wildcats are 16-11 overall and 7-9 in Big Ten play.

Lindsay Anderson leads the team with 369 kills (3.69 kills per game) while Brittany Aldridge ranks fifth in the Big Ten with a .344 hitting percentage.

Kate Nobilio has the second-best digs per game average (5.66) in the Big Ten while Anderson also ranks second in service aces per game (0.37). Elyse Glab is averaging 12.3 assists per game (1,021 total), which ranks sixth in the conference.

Northwestern is coached by Keylor Chan. Iowa trails in the all-time series, 31-23-1.

Last Meeting ? Northwestern swept Iowa (29-31, 22-30, 19-30) Oct. 20, in Evanston, IL.

Sophomore Megan Schipper led the Hawkeyes with 10 kills while freshman Katie Kennedy added nine. Freshman Aimee Huffman put up seven total blocks.

Scouting Michigan State ? The Michigan State Spartans are 16-12 overall and 7-9 in conference action.

Ashley Schatzle leads the team and ranks sixth in the Big Ten with 430 kills (4.48 kills per game). Katie Johnson is seventh in the conference with 4.45 kills per game (427 total).

Lauren O’Reilly has the second-highest assists per game average in the conference (13.23 per game, 1,283 total) and has the fourth-best service ace per game average (0.36 per game, 35 total).

The Spartans are coached by Cathy George. Iowa trails in the all-time series, 31-22.

Last Meeting ? The Hawkeyes were swept by Michigan State (24-30, 26-30, 25-30) Oct. 19, in East Lansing, MI.

Lunior Laura Kremer and sophomore Megan Schipper led the Hawkeyes with 10 kills each. Both Kremer and Schipper finished with impressive hitting percentages at .368 and .310, respectively. Kremer and freshman Aimee Huffman each had four total blocks.

Schipper Leads the Way ? Sophomore Megan Schipper has been a steady performer for the Hawkeyes this season.

Schipper has led the Hawkeyes in kills in 15 of the 27 matches this season. The Aplington, IA, native also has 10 or more kills in 18 matches.

Iron Women ? Juniors Laura Kremer and Emily Hiza have each started and played in all 27 matches and 96 games this season.

Freshman Aimee Huffman has started 25 matches while playing in 94 of the 96 games. Freshman Megan Eskew has also played in all 27 matches and 95 of the 96 games this season. Junior Kiley Fister and sophomore Christina Meister have also played in all 27 matches.

Hawkeyes on the Block ? Iowa has out-blocked 14 of its 27 opponents this season. Five of the 14 opponents were also ranked (BYU, LSU, Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin).

Junior Laura Kremer leads the blocking attack with 125 total blocks (23 solo, 102 assists, 1.30 blocks per game). Freshman Aimee Huffman has 83 total blocks while sophomore Megan Schipper has 61.

Hawkeyes In Big Ten Stats ? Juniors Emily Hiza, Laura Kremer and Kiley Fister each rank in the top 10 of different Big Ten statistical categories.

Hiza is seventh in the Big Ten in digs with 4.60 per game (442 total). Kremer is averaging 1.30 blocks per game (125 total), which is eighth-best in the conference. Fister ranks 10th in the Big Ten with 8.07 assists per game (775 total).

In Big Ten games only, Hiza ranks fourth in digs with 4.91 per game (265 total). Kremer is ninth in blocks with 1.26 per game (68 total), while Fister is ninth in assists with 9.59 per game (518 total).

Climbing the Records Ladder ? Juniors Emily Hiza and Kiley Fister are making their mark on the Iowa volleyball records books.

Fister ranks fourth in career assists (3,261). Fister needs 867 more assists to move past Kathy Griesheim, who is currently third (4,128).

Hiza started the season ranked 12th in career digs, but has tallied 442 so far in 2007 to move her into fourth place (1,459). She needs 77 more digs to pass Pam Kavadas, who is in third place (1,536).

Record Setting Night ? Iowa shattered the single-game attendance record with 2,191 fans against Wisconsin Oct 13. The previous record of 1,690 fans was set last season against Iowa State.

Iowa Ranks High in Attendance ? Iowa’s average home attendance of 1,099 fans is the 36th-highest average attendance in the nation. In addition, Iowa’s record crowd of 2,191 fans against Wisconsin is the 129th-largest crowd in the country so far in 2007.

It’s Been a While ? Iowa’s win over No. 11 Michigan was the program’s first win over a ranked opponent since 2000. The Hawkeyes defeated No. 20 Michigan State, 3-2 Oct 21, 2000. Iowa came back from a two-game deficit to defeat Michigan State, 3-2 as well.

Walters Undergoes Surgery ? Redshirt freshman Becky Walters underwent successful surgery to repair her injured knee, Oct 4.

Walters will miss the rest of the 2007 season after suffering a serious knee injury in Iowa’s match against Indiana, Sept. 21.

Walters was leading the team with a .265 hitting percentage and also had 113 kills along with 52 total blocks (10 solo, 42 assists).

VolleyBlog ? Hawkeye juniors Catherine Smale and Emily Hiza will be blogging throughout the season for hawkeyesports.com. Both student-athletes will be discussing everything from road trips to what it’s like being an athlete at the University of Iowa.

Hawkeyes Fall Last Weekend ? Iowa was swept by both Purdue (31-33, 14-30, 20-30) and Indiana (29-31, 28-30, 22-30) last weekend.

Sophomore Megan Schipper led the Hawkeyes in both matches, recording 10 kills against the Boilermakers and 11 kills against the Hoosiers.

BigTenNtewo%20rk.jpg

spacer.gif

spacer.gif

Click HERE for the Big Ten Network home page.