Hawkeyes Ready for Purdue, Indiana on BTN

Nov. 9, 2011

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FIRST SERVE
The University of Iowa volleyball team travels to West Lafayette, Ind., to face No. 10 Purdue on Thursday at 6 p.m. (CT) inside Holloway Gymnasium. The Hawkeyes then travel to Bloomington, Ind., to face Indiana on Saturday at 6 p.m. (CT) inside U-Gym.

ON THE BTN
Saturday’s contest at Indiana will be televised on a tape delay by BTN. Mike Wolf and Audrey Flaugh will have the call from the U-Gym. The match will air on the BTN Sunday, Nov. 13, at 3 p.m. CT.

ON THE AIR – AM-800 KXIC
Thursday’s match vs. Purdue will air locally on AM-800 KXIC. The voice of Iowa volleyball, Ian Martin, will have the call live from Halloway Gymnasium beginning at 6:45 p.m. CT.

ON YOUR COMPUTER – HAWKEYE ALL-ACCESS
Both the matches will be streamed live via Hawkeye All-Access, a subscription service committed to providing quality coverage of Hawkeye athletic events. The voice of Iowa volleyball, Ian Martin, will provide an audio broadcast live from both locations beginning at 6 p.m. CT.

HAWKEYE SERVICE CENTER
Live stats and live blogging are available this weekend at the Hawkeye Service Center at hawkeyesports.com. The Hawkeye Service Center is a one-stop webpage that features live stats, Gametracker, and inside information and interactive content via the Official Iowa Volleyball Blog. Former Hawkeye Katie Kennedy and manager Melissa Brockway are the official hosts of the 2011 blog.

No. 10 PURDUE (Nov. 10)
Head Coach: Dave Shondell (9th season, 184-106)
2011 Record/Conference: 22-3, 11-3 (tied for 2nd)
Top Performers: Ariel Turner, Jr., OH, leads the Big Ten with 428 kills (4.86 per set), her 5.52 ppg leads the Big Ten; Tiffany Fisher, Sr., MB, leads the conference with a .410 attack percentage.
Series Record/Last Meeting: PU leads 46-19/PU 3-0 (2011)
Streak: Purdue, 3
Iowa’s last win: Nov. 27, 2009; Iowa 3-2 (Iowa City)
Iowa’s last win at Purdue: Nov. 11, 2000, 3-0

INDIANA (Nov. 12)
Head Coach: Sherry Dunbar (5th season, 193-101)
2011 Record/Conference: 8-18, 0-14
Top Performers: Caitlyn Cox, Sr., L, Indiana’s all-time leader in digs. Her 4.05 average ranks No. 8 in the conference this season.
Series Record/Last Meeting: IU leads 36-26/Iowa, 3-2 (2011)
Streak: Iowa, 1
Iowa’s last win: Oct. 7, 2011; Iowa 3-0 (Iowa City)
Iowa’s last win at Indiana: Oct. 28, 2006, 3-0

YOUTH MOVEMENT
Through 27 matches, the Hawkeyes’ freshmen and sophomores have combined for 62-percent of Iowa’s starts. Sophomores Bethany Yeager and Nikki Dailey have started every match this season. Chante’ Thompson (9), Rachael Bedell (5) and Grace Burns have also cracked the starting seven. Iowa’s freshmen starters include Alex Lovell (22), Emily Yanny (13), Erin Leppek (9) and Kari Mueller (5).

YANNY IN THE MIDDLE
Freshman Emily Yanny earned her 13th start of the season Nov. 15 against No. 23 Michigan. It was her first start since she started each of Iowa’s first 12 matches. She answered the call with 10 kills, a career-high vs. Big Ten opponents, and a career-best nine total blocks. Yanny has 101 kills this season, the second highest total among Hawkeye freshman (Lovell, 238).

SENIOR APPRECIATION
Iowa’s three seniors, Megan Eskew, Mallory Husz and Tiffany Nilges, combined for 35 kills, 40 digs and 11 blocks in Iowa’s five-set loss to No. 23 Michigan. Eskew and Nilges finished with identical lines of 10 kills and 19 digs. The dig totals marked career bests for both student-athletes.

YEAGER MISSES SET
Sophomore Bethany Yeager missed the first set of her career against Michigan State (11/4). Yeager was battling back pain and did not play in the third set. Junior Allison Straumann served as Iowa’s libero in Yeager’s absence. Yeager returned the following night and played all five sets vs. No. 23 Michigan (11/5). She has started every one of Iowa’s 56 matches since arriving on campus in 2010.

BIG BLUE BLOCK PARTY
The Hawkeyes recorded 16 blocks vs. No. 23 Michigan on Nov. 5. The total was Iowa’s season best and the highest total since Iowa stuffed 18 blocks vs. Southern Illinois on Aug. 28, 2010. It was Iowa’s highest total vs. a Big Ten opponent since Iowa stuffed 16.5 blocks vs. Wisconsin on Nov. 11, 2009.

DIGGING 101
The Hawkeyes picked up 101 digs in a five-set loss to Michigan (11/5) Only one other Big Ten team has recorded 100-plus digs in a match this season — Michigan — the Wolverines picked up 102 digs in the same match.

HAWKEYES IN THE TOP 10
Two Hawkeyes are ranked in the conference top 10 in three categories. Sophomore Nikki Dailey ranks eighth in service aces per set (0.29) and ninth in assist per set (9.24). Sophomore Bethany Yeager ranks sixth averaging 4.30 digs per set.

LOOKING FOR THE FIRST K.O. OF GOLIATH
The Hawkeyes will have another shot at a ranked opponent Thursday night vs. No. 10 Purdue. The Hawkeyes have defeated at least one top 25 team in each of Sharon Dingman’s three seasons. Iowa’s top 25 victories since 2008 include: vs. No. 18 Wisconsin (3-0, 2008); vs. No. 18 Michigan State (3-0, 2009); vs. No. 16 Michigan (3-1, 2010). The Hawkeyes are 0-4 vs. ranked opponents so far this year (No. 19 Iowa State, No. 24 Ohio State, No. 5 Penn State, No. 17 Michigan).

I LOVELL THIS PLACE
Freshman Alex Lovell has made a home in Iowa City and on top of Iowa’s box scores. Lovell leads the Hawkeyes with 238 kills, averaging a team-high 2.56 kills per set. Her 19 kills vs. Ohio State (9/23) were the most by a Hawkeye freshman vs. a Big Ten opponent since Catherine Smale totaled 21 kills vs. Michigan State in 2005. Lovell has recorded double-digit kills in nine matches, the second highest total on the team (Eskew, 10). She also leads Iowa iwth 108 kills in conference play (2.35 average).

FIVE ALIVE
Iowa fell to 3-2 in five set matches following a 3-2 loss to No. 23 Michigan on Nov. 5. All five 5-set matches have been at home. They include wins over Central Michigan (8/26), Oakland (9/10) and Indiana (10/7), and losses vs. Saint Louis (8/27) and Michigan (11/5).

YEAGER DIGS THE D
Sophomore Bethany Yeager ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 421 total digs. Her 4.30 average leads the Hawkeyes and ranks No. 6 in the conference. Yeager picked up 4.36 digs per set last season, the fourth highest total in the Big Ten.

LEADING THE DAILEY-DOUBLE
Sophomore Nikki Dailey has 11 double-doubles this season, three more than senior Megan Eskew. Eskew’s double-doubles come in the form of kills-digs, while Dailey uses the assist-dig combination to accomplish the feat. Eskew’s most impressive effort came in Iowa’s five-set win over Oakland when she recorded a career high 19 kills and a career best 18 digs. Dailey had a career-high 60 assists in the same match. Mallory Husz (1), Alex Lovell (3) and Tiffany Nilges (5) have also recorded double-doubles this season.

HAWKEYE IRONWOMEN
Three Hawkeyes have started all 27 of Iowa’s matches. They include Megan Eskew, Bethany Yeager and Nikki Dailey. Eskew and Yeager started all 29 matches last season, extending their streak of consecutive starts to 56. Yeager has not missed a start in her collegiate career.

BIG TEN GOES BIG IN AVCA POLL
The Big Ten has seven teams ranked in the Oct. 31 AVCA top 25 poll, more than any other conference. Nebraska (2), Illinois (7) and Penn State (9) find themselves in the top 10, while Purdue (10), Minnesota (16), Ohio State (22) and Michigan (24) round out the top 25. Michigan State is receiving votes.

ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Seven Hawkeyes earned all-tournament honors following Iowa’s four preseason tournaments. They include Bethany Yeager (Hawkeye Challenge, Iowa State Challenge, Iowa Invitational); Nikki Dailey (Hawkeye Challenge, Iowa Invitational); Alex Lovell (Iowa Invitational, Columbia Invitational); Megan Eskew (Iowa State Invitational); Mallory Husz (MVP Columbia Invitational); Tiffany Nilges (MVP Iowa Invitational); Chante’ Thompson (Columbia Invitational).

TEAM CAPTAINS
Seniors Megan Eskew and Mallory Husz have been voted team captains for the 2011 season. Husz leads the Hawkeyes in total blocks (64) and Eskew ranks second in both kills (189) and digs (228).

BLACK & GOLD REPRESENTING THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE
Sophomores Rachael Bedell and Bethany Yeager each earned the opportunity to compete for USA Volleyball during the 2011 summer. Bedell helped lead the Women’s Junior A2-Europe Program to a gold medal at the European Global Challenge July 14-22. Yeager helped Team USA grab bronze in the International Junior Division of the USA High Performance Championships in Tucson, Ariz., July 26-29.