Hawkeyes Host Wisconsin on the Big Ten Network

Nov. 10, 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

BORDER RIVALS AWAIT HAWKEYES
The Hawkeyes will host the Wisconsin Badgers and Minnesota Golden Gophers this week at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa will host Wisconsin Wednesday at 7:07 p.m. The game will be televised on Big Ten Network with Jay Wilson handling play-by-play and Jim Stone adding color commentary. The Hawkeyes host Minnesota Friday at 7 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live via Hawkeye All-Access with Iowa volleyball voice of the Hawkeyes Mike Haberle calling the action. Visit hawkeyesports.com to follow Iowa volleyball on Hawkeye All-Access.

HAWKEYE PROMOTIONS
Iowa volleyball is going green Wednesday vs. Wisconsin. The first 250 fans through the ticket gates will receive a reusable Iowa volleyball tote bags. The Hawkeyes will also welcome the Big Ten Network to Carver-Hawkeye Arena by giving away a free Big Ten Network GO HAWKS t-shirt to the first 300 fans that visit the Hawks Nest table. Iowa students may also register for a chance to win season tickets to Iowa men’s basketball. Iowa High School and Club volleyball coaches receive free admittance to Friday’s contest vs. 13th-ranked Minnesota.

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 Carver-Hawkeye Arena. This weekend’s live video broadcast is provided by Hawkeye All-Access, a subscription service committed to providing quality coverage of Hawkeye athletic events.

OFFICIAL IOWA VOLLEYBALL BLOG – LIVE STATS
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.

IOWA ON THE BTN
The 2009 Hawkeyes are making their second and final appearance 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 Hawkeyes recorded a season-high 15 blocks vs. the Badgers. Junior Becky Walters led Iowa at the net with a career-best eight total blocks and a season-high 12 kills.

IOWA IN THE ATTENDANCE GAME
Since Head Coach Sharon Dingman’s arrival prior to 2008 season, Hawkeye fans have been flocking to Carver-Hawkeye Arena in record numbers. Four of the top-five all-time attendance figures have been set during the Dingman era. The Hawkeyes set a school attendance record Nov. 7 vs. Penn State when 2,802 fans witnessed the Hawkeyes host the nation’s top-ranked team. The record announced crowd broke the old mark of 2,191 set against Wisconsin on Oct. 13, 2007.

HAWKEYES DIG DEFENSE
Iowa ranks third the Big Ten averaging 15.16 digs per set. Senior libero Christina Meister ranks second in 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).

HUFFMAN AND SCHIPPER BALANCE HAWKEYES
Senior OH Megan Schipper and junior OH Aimee Huffman have kept conference defenses guessing in 2009. Attacking from opposite ends of the net, Schipper and Huffman have totaled 118 and 117 kills, respectively, in Big Ten play. This season, Schipper leads Iowa with 269 total kills while Huffman has amassed a career-high 233.

SCHIPPER CONTINUES HER CLIMB
Senior Megan Schipper currently ranks 13th on Iowa’s all-time list with 1,112 career kills. She needs nine kills to pass Jenny Rees (1,120) for 12th all-time. On October 23rd, the Hawkeye captain was honored for becoming the 16th player in program history to record 1,000 career kills. The Aplington, IA, native passed the elusive number in Iowa’s 3-1 win at Wisconsin (9/23). She needs 31 kills in Iowa’s six remaining games to reach the 300-kill mark for the third straight season. In 2007, she led the Hawkeyes with 309 kills as a sophomore. She tallied a career-high 345 kills in 2008, the second-highest total on the team (Catherine Smale, 380). This season, Schipper leads Iowa with 269 kills (3.02 kills per set).

KRIEGER KITTLE REACHES CENTURY MARK
Freshman Emma Krieger Kittle reached the 100-kill plateau Oct. 17 at Purdue. The freshman has totaled 138 kills this season and averages 2.08 kills per set in conference play, third best among Hawkeyes. Other current Hawkeyes to record at least 100 kills as freshmen include Megan Schipper (189, `06), Aimee Huffman (192, `07) and Megan Eskew (163, `07).

SCHIPPER AMONG ALL-TIME LEADERS
Senior Megan Schipper is the 11th player in program history to amass 1,000 career kills and 200 career blocks. Iowa’s senior captain recorded block No. 200 in Iowa’s five-set loss to Michigan (10/9). She picked up her 1,000th career kill in Iowa’s 3-1 win at Wisconsin (9/23).

WISCONSIN
The Badgers are led by 11th-year Head Coach Pete Waite and senior OH Brittney Dolgner, a 2007 second-team all-American. The Hawkeyes trail the all-time series 40-19-1. The teams split the season series a year ago, with each team defending its own home floor. Iowa’s 3-0 win over the Badgers in the 2008 Big Ten opener snapped the Hawkeyes’ 26-match losing streak to Wisconsin. Iowa topped the Badgers, 3-1, in the 2009 Big Ten opener in Wisconsin (Sept. 23). The Hawkeyes have not defeated the Badgers on consecutive occasions since sweeping the season series in 1994.

MINNESOTA
Ranked 14th nationally by the AVCA Coaches Poll, the Golden Gophers are led by 14-year Head Coach Mike Hebert and MB Lauren Gibbemeyer. The junior leads Minnesota with 275 kills and 120 blocks. The Gophers own a 28-game winning streak vs. Iowa and lead the all-time series, 54-12. Iowa’s last win vs. Minnesota came in 1995, a 3-1 win in Iowa City.

KRIEGER KITTLE VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
Freshman Emma Krieger Kittle has picked up her play vs. ranked opponents this season. Iowa’s outside hitter picked up career highs in digs (3) and total blocks (3) vs. eighth-ranked Illinois (10/23). The Iowa City native recorded a career-high 12 kills vs. 11th-ranked Iowa State (9/11) and has collected 52 of her 138 kills in Iowa’s seven games vs. ranked opponents, averaging 2.1 kills per set.

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 (269) and service aces (26) and ranks second in digs (263). Hilgenberg leads the Hawkeyes with 863 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.

HIT IT AND WIN IT
The Hawkeyes are 11-0 when attacking at a higher percentage than their opponent this season. Conversely, Iowa’s opponent has hit a higher percentage in each of the Hawkeyes’ 15 losses.

AMONG THE NATION’S BEST
Four Big Ten squads are ranked in the top 15 of the latest coaches poll, while the same four teams are ranked in the top 10 of the latest NCAA RPI report, leading all 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 Illinois (5), Minnesota (13) and Michigan (14).

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.