Oct. 13, 2009
- Iowa and the Big Ten Network
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch (2009-10 season)
Complete Release in PDF Format
HAWKEYES HEAD TO INDIANA, PURDUE
The Hawkeyes continue Big Ten play this weekend with trips to Indiana and Purdue. The Hawkeyes travel to Bloomington, IN, to face the Hoosiers Friday at 4:30 p.m. before heading to West Lafayette, IN, for a Saturday contest with the Boilermakers at 6 p.m.
HAWKEYES ONLINE
Fans can follow Hawkeye volleyball on hawkeyesports.com, where play-by-play voice of the Hawkeyes Mike Haberle will call the action live from Indiana and Purdue. This weekend’s action will be broadcast live with audio only via Hawkeye All-Access, a subscription service committed to providing quality coverage of Hawkeye athletic events.
Live stats and live blogging will be available for all Big Ten matches in 2009. A member of the Iowa volleyball staff will offer scoring updates and interactive content from the Official Iowa Volleyball Blog. Visit the Iowa volleyball page at hawkeyesports.com for links to live audio, video, blogging and Gametracker.
HAWKEYES ON THE RADIO
Play-by-play voice of the Hawkeyes Mike Haberle will broadcast the Hawkeyes’ Saturday contest against Purdue live from Halloway Gym on KXIC (AM 800). The Hawkeyes hit the air at 6 p.m. (CT).
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“We approach every match the same (home or away). We do our best to prepare the same – be that how we approach practices, eating times, etc. We are asking our players to be consistent in all they do and as a staff it is our job to do that same thing and to provide the opportunities for them to establish a routine. Playing on the road in the Big Ten is such a challenge and we count on our leaders to make sure the younger players understand the importance of preparation.”
Head Coach Sharon Dingman
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SCHIPPER CLIMBS THE CHARTS
Senior Megan Schipper became the 16th player in program history to record 1,000 career kills in Iowa’s 3-1 win at Wisconsin (9/23). The Hawkeye captain currently ranks 15th on Iowa’s all-time list with 1,053 career kills. She picked up her 200th kill of the 2009 season in Iowa’s 3-0 win over 18th-ranked Michigan State (10/11). Schipper has collected at least 300 kills in each of the previous two seasons, including 2007, when she led the Hawkeyes with 309 kills as a sophomore. The Aplington native tallied a career-high 345 kills in 2008, the second-highest total on the team (Catherine Smale, 380). This season, Schipper leads Iowa with 3.28 kills per set.
MEISTER DIGS DEFENSE
Senior libero Christina Meister leads the Big Ten with 4.42 digs per set. Since 1990, only three Hawkeyes have averaged more than four digs per set through an entire season: Pam Kavadas, 5.22 (`04); Emily Hiza, 4.74 (`06) and 4.52 (`07); Janet Moylan, 4.63 (`90).
KRIEGER KITTLE CLOSES IN ON CENTURY MARK
Freshman Emma Krieger Kittle is seven kills away from reaching the 100-kill plateau. The Iowa City native recorded a career-high 12 kills vs. 11th-ranked Iowa State (9/11) and has collected 41 of her 93 kills in Iowa’s five games vs. ranked opponents.
DINGMAN RETURNS TO PURDUE
Head Coach Sharon Dingman was a member of back-to-back Big Ten Championship teams at Purdue (1979-80) before transferring to Northern Michigan, where she served as team captain and earn MVP honors while finishing her collegiate playing career.
HIT IT AND WIN IT
The Hawkeyes are 10-0 when attacking at a higher percentage than their opponent this season. Conversely, Iowa’s opponent has hit a higher percentage in all eight of the Hawkeyes losses.
INDIANA
The Hoosiers are led by third-year head coach Sherry Dunbar and players Ashley Benson and Jordan Haverly. The front row duo represents the only pair of teammates to rank among the Big Ten leaders in kills per set. Haverly, a freshman OH, leads Indiana with 3.47 kills per set, seventh-best in the Big Ten. Benson, a junior MB, averages 3.46 kills per set, eighth-best in the conference. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series, 32-25. The two teams split the season series a year ago, with each team defending its own home court. The Hawkeyes last defeated Indiana on the road, 3-0, in 2006.
PURDUE
The Boilermakers are led by seventh-year head coach Dave Shondell and OH Carrie Gurnell. The senior leads Purdue and ranks sixth in the Big Ten with 3.48 kills per set. Purdue leads the all-time series, 42-18. The Boilermakers swept the Hawkeyes last season and have won the past 10 meetings. Iowa last defeated the Boilermakers, 3-2, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in 2003. The Hawkeyes have not won at Purdue since sweeping the Boilermakers, 3-0, in 2000.
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Senior Christina Meister leads the Big Ten with 4.42 digs per set. |
HISTORICAL HAWKEYES
The Hawkeyes opened the 2009 campaign with seven straight road wins to become the first team in program history to start 7-0 away from home. Prior to Iowa’s 3-0 record-setting win over Binghamton, the Hawkeyes were one of three Iowa teams to start the season 6-0 away from home (1978, 1988).
HAWKEYES GO DOWN SWINGING
It didn’t end with a `W’ but the Hawkeyes continued their streak-breaking habits at Penn State (Oct. 2). Trailing the nation’s top-ranked team 2-0, Iowa battled to a 26-24 win in set three, ending the Nittany Lions’ streak of 141-straight regular season set victories.
IOWA IN THE ATTENDANCE GAME
Iowa ranks 28th in national attendance, averaging 1,267 fans per game. Iowa opened the season (Sept. 11) vs. Iowa State in front of 2,111 fans, the second-largest crowd in program history (2,191 vs. Wisconsin, 10/13/07).
HAWKEYE CAPTAINS
Senior outside hitter Megan Schipper and junior setter Mara Hilgenberg are Iowa’s team captains for the 2009 season. Schipper leads the Hawkeyes in kills (210) and service aces (23) and ranks second in digs (188). Hilgenberg leads the Hawkeyes with 634 assists and is a third generation Hawkeye captain. Her great-uncle Wally and her uncle Jim were football team captains in 1963 and 1977, respectively.
SECOND GENERATION
Mara Hilgenberg’s father Jay and Emma Krieger Kittle’s father Bruce played football together at Iowa from 1977-1980. Jay was a four-time letterwinner and went on to win Super Bowl XX with the 1985 Chicago Bears. Bruce used a redshirt in 1980 and came back as a team captain for Hayden Fry’s 1981 Big Ten Championship team.
AMONG THE NATION’S BEST
The Big Ten is widely recognized as one of the nation’s premier conferences. Penn State returns as the conference champion, winner of the last two NCAA Championships and ranked atop the 2009 AVCA Coaches Poll. Other Big Ten schools ranked in the top 25 include Minnesota (6), Illinois (10) and Michigan (11).
IOWA ON THE BTN
The 2009 Hawkeyes will make two appearances on the Big Ten Network this season. Iowa opened the Big Ten season on the Big Ten Network with a 3-1 win at Wisconsin, Sept. 23. The rematch between the Hawkeyes and Badgers, Wednesday, Nov. 11, will be broadcast live from Carver-Hawkeye Arena at 7 p.m. CT.
FOLLOW THE TEAM WITH IOWA’S VOLLEYBLOG
Iowa volleyball fans will be able to follow along with senior Megan Schipper, junior Aimee Huffman, sophomore Mallory Husz and freshman Emma Krieger Kittle as they blog about the season. All four student-athletes will discuss things like upcoming matches, road trips and what it’s like being a student-athlete at the University of Iowa. Visit the volleyball home page to check out Iowa’s own VOLLEYBLOG.