Nov. 3, 2008
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- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
- Iowa volleyball wallpaper
- Iowa `Volleyblog’
IOWA CITY – This Week ? The University of Iowa volleyball team hosts a pair of nationally-ranked opponents this weekend. The Hawkeyes are scheduled to face No. 16 ranked Illinois Friday and 18th-ranked Purdue Saturday. Both matches are slated for a 7 p.m. start at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Keep Your Ticket Stubs ? Fans who presents a ticket stub from the football game against Penn State at Saturday’s volleyball match against Purdue will be admitted free.
Hawkeyes on the Web ? Fans can follow Hawkeye volleyball on hawkeyesports.com, where Gametracker, live audio and video will be available throughout the season.
Live audio coverage will be available for the remainder of the season. Live streaming video can be found on hawkeyesports.com for all 13 home matches. Gametracker will be available for all 13 home matches and for select road matches. Check hawkeyesports.com for live stats availability.
Audio, video and Gametracker links can be found on the volleyball schedule page of hawkeyesports.com.
Scouting Illinois ? The No. 16 ranked Illinois Fighting Illini are 18-5 overall and alone in second place in the Big Ten standings with a 9-3 record.
Laura DeBruler leads the team with 395 kills and Abby Nelson has a team-high .302 attack percentage. Hillary Haen has 566 assists and Ashley Edinger has 390 digs. Johannah Bangert has a team-best 140 total blocks.
Iowa trails the all-time series, 44-13.
Last Meeting ? Iowa managed to take a set off of Illinois, but fell 23-25, 17-25, 25-19, 15-25.
Junior Megan Schipper led the way with 11 kills, with senior Catherine Smale close behind with 10. Senior Kiley Fister had 26 assists and senior libero Emily Hiza had 18 digs.
Scouting Purdue ? The 18th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers are 19-5 overall and tied for third in the Big Ten with an 8-4 conference mark.
Stephanie Lynch leads the team with 328 kills with a .424 attack percentage and also has a team-high 117 total blocks. Danita Merlau has 279 kills. Jaclyn Hart is the team’s primary setter, with 912 assists. Kelli Miller has a team-best 383 digs.
Iowa trails, 41-18, in the all-time series.
Last Meeting ? Iowa dropped a hard-fought, three-set match (22-25, 23-25, 22-25) at Purdue Oct. 3. The loss snapped Iowa’s seven-match winning streak and was the team’s first road contest during Big Ten play.
Senior Catherine Smale led the Hawkeyes with 13 kills. Junior Megan Schipper added a double-double, with 12 kills and 12 digs. Senior Kiley Fister led the way with 29 assists.
Top Ranked Penn State Sweeps Iowa ? The defending National Champion and No. 1 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions swept Iowa last Saturday in University Park, PA.
Junior Megan Schipper led the Hawkeyes with 11 kills, with senior Catherine Smale chipping in six. Sophomore Mara Hilgenberg had a team-best 15 assists and senior Kiley Fister added eight. Senior libero Emily Hiza had a team-high nine digs.
Heartbreaker In Bloomington ? The Hawkeyes dropped a five-set match at Indiana Friday. Iowa led the match 2-0 and 14-11 in the fifth set, but couldn’t come away with the win.
Both senior Catherine Smale and junior Megan Schipper had double-doubles in the loss. Smale tallied 16 kills and 13 digs, while Schipper had 14 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore Katie Kennedy added nine kills and six total blocks. Senior Kiley Fister once again led the team in assists with 52. Senior Emily Hiza had a team-best 17 digs.
Hawkeyes Pick Up Win at Ohio State ? Iowa improved to .500 in the Big Ten (5-5) with a four-set win at Ohio State Saturday.
Senior Catherine Smale led the Hawkeyes with a double-double, recording 13 kills and 14 digs along with four service aces. Senior Kiley Fister also tallied a double-double with 33 assists and 12 digs. Junior Megan Schipper had a solid all-around performance with 10 kills, nine digs, two solo blocks and five block assists. Senior Emily Hiza chipped in a team-best 16 digs and also had three service aces. Senior Laura Kremer had nine total blocks (two solo, seven assists).
Dingman Closing in on Milestone ? Head Coach Sharon Dingman enters this weekend just one win away from career win No. 350.
Dingman tallied 22 wins in one year at Auburn, 167 wins in eight years at Butler, 147 wins in eight years at Illinois State and 13 wins so far in her first season at Iowa.
Home Court Advantage ? Iowa currently has a record of 7-1 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. With only five home matches remaining, the Hawkeyes have guaranteed themselves a winning record in Iowa City.
The last time a Hawkeye team had a winning record at home was in 2000, when the team finished with an 8-6 record inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Hawkeyes Rank High in Attendance ? Iowa currently ranks 33rd nationally in attendance, averaging 1,078 fans per match. The Hawkeyes have drawn a total of 8,629 fans for their seven home matches.
In addition, three of the top five crowds in school history have been set this season. Iowa drew 1,746 fans against Michigan State Oct. 18, which is the second-largest in school history. The Hawkeyes drew 1,701 against Penn State Oct. 10, which ranks third in the record books. Carver-Hawkeye Arena also saw a crowd of 1,598 against Indiana Oct. 11, which is the fifth-largest crowd in school history.
Hiza Nearing Record ? Senior libero Emily Hiza needs just 124 more digs to become Iowa’s all-time leader in the statistical category.
Hiza currently has 1,808 digs and needs to average 15.5 digs per match in order to set the record. Former Hawkeye Janet Moylan holds the record at 1,931 digs from 1987-90.
Climbing the Records Ladder ? Below is a list of where current Hawkeyes rank in different career school records. The number in parenthsees is the next place.
Kiley Fister
Assists: 4,150, 3rd, (2nd, 4,737)
Service Aces: 93, 12th, (11th, 99)
Catherine Smale
Kills: 1,216, 9th, (8th, 1,266)
Digs: 1,003, 13th, (12th, 1,076)
Becky Walters
Attack Percentage: .256, 4th, (3rd, .260)
Emily Hiza
Digs: 1,808, 2nd, (1st, 1,931)
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