Nov. 25, 2008
- Iowa and the Big Ten Network
- 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 wraps up the 2008 regular season this week. The Hawkeyes will host 12th-ranked Minnesota Wednesday at 7 p.m. before traveling to East Lansing to take on Michigan State Friday at 5:30 p.m. (CT).
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.
Audio, video and Gametracker links can be found on the volleyball schedule page of hawkeyesports.com.
Scouting Minnesota ? The No. 12 Minnesota Golden Gophers are 24-6 overall and are currently in second place in the Big Ten with a 14-4 mark.
Brook Dieter leads the team with 367 kills, while Lauren Gibbemeyer has a team-best .328 attack percentage and 153 total blocks. Rachel Hartmann is the team’s primary setter with 1,126 assists and Hailey Cowles has 271 digs.
Iowa trails, 52-12, in the all-time series.
Last Meeting ? Iowa was swept, 11-25, 17-25, 23-25, in a Wednesday matchup in Minneapolis Oct. 15.
Junior Megan Schipper had 10 kills, and senior Catherine Smale had nine. Senior Kiley Fister led the team with 16 assists, with sophomore Mara Hilgenberg adding 13. Senior Emily Hiza led the squad with 16 digs.
Scouting Michigan State ? The Michigan State Spartans are 14-15 overall and are currently tied with Iowa for eighth place in the Big Ten at 6-12.
Vanessa King leads the squad with 307 kills, a .362 attack percentage and 130 total blocks. Natalie Emro has a team-best 1,151 assists, while Allyson Karaba has 479 digs.
Iowa trails, 32-23, in the all-time series.
Last Meeting ? Iowa knocked off Michigan State in four sets, 25-17, 25-19, 16-25, 25-18, Oct. 18 in Iowa City. The win gave Iowa four Big Ten victories, which tied for the most for a Hawkeye team since 2000.
Senior Kiley Fister eclipsed the 4,000 assist mark against the Spartans, recording a team-high 36 helpers to put her at 4,027 career assists.
Sophomore Aimee Huffman tallied a team-best 14 kills with an impressive .429 attack percentage. Senior Catherine Smale was one dig shy of a double-double, with 13 kills along with nine digs. Junior Megan Schipper did notch a double-double, putting up 11 kills and 12 digs. Sophomore Katie Kennedy added a career-high eight block assists.
First Year a Success ? Iowa’s new coaching staff has led the Hawkeyes to their most successful Big Ten campaign in recent memory.
Iowa has guaranteed itself at least a ninth place finish in the Big Ten, which would be the highest finish for a Hawkeye squad since 2000. Iowa ended the 2000 season tied for fifth with an 11-9 record (two wins awarded by forfeit). Iowa’s six conference wins this season are already the most for a Hawkeye team since 2000 as well.
Winning at Home ? The Hawkeyes will finish the 2008 season with a winning record inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which hasn’t happened since the 1998 team went 9-7. Iowa currently is 7-5 at home with one match remaining inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Hiza Nearing Record ? Senior libero Emily Hiza needs a total of 43 digs in the final two matches to become Iowa’s all-time career digs leader.
Former Hawkeye Janet Moylan holds the record at 1,931 digs from 1987-90.
Dingman Reaches Milestone ? Head Coach Sharon Dingman picked up career win No. 350, with Iowa’s five-set victory at Northwestern Nov. 14.
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 14 wins so far in her first season at Iowa.
Smale in Impressive Company ? Senior Catherine Smale is just the seventh player in school history to amass both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. Smale currently has 1,269 kills and 1,029 digs.
Smale joins former Hawkeyes Jenny Rees, Kari Hamel, Jennifer Webb, Toni Zehr, Barb Willis and Ellen Mullarkey as the only players to reach that plateau.
Hawkeyes Rank High in Attendance ? Iowa currently ranks 36th nationally in attendance, averaging 1,134 fans per match. The Hawkeyes have drawn a total of 13,602 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.
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: 4,333, 3rd, (2nd, 4,737)
Service Aces: 96, 12th, (11th, 99)
Catherine Smale
Kills: 1,287, 8th, (7th, 1,368)
Digs: 1,051, 13th, (12th, 1,076)
Becky Walters
Attack Percentage: .217, T-17th, (16th, .218)
Emily Hiza
Digs: 1,889, 2nd, (1st, 1,931)
Laura Kremer
Blocks: 278, 11th, (10th, 295)
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