Oct. 3, 2012
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FIRST SERVE
The University of Iowa volleyball team continues Big Ten action on the road this weekend. The Hawkeyes (8-9, 0-4) play at Indiana (8-8, 0-4) on Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) in University Gym in Bloomington, Ind. Iowa and Purdue (13-2, 4-0) meet on Saturday at 7 p.m. (CT) on Belin Court at Holloway Gymnasium in West Lafayette, Ind.
HAWKEYE VOLLEYBALL – ON THE AIR
Fans can follow Hawkeye volleyball at hawkeyesports.com, where play-by-play voice of the Hawkeyes Ian Martin will call the action throughout the season. Hawkeye All-Access, a subscription service committed to providing quality coverage of Hawkeye athletic events, will air every Big Ten contest this season. Friday’s match at Indiana will be available at hawkeyesports.com, while fans can listen to Saturday’s match online or at AM-800 KXIC.
OFFICIAL IOWA VOLLEYBALL BLOG/LIVE STATS
Live blogging and live stats (Gametracker) will be available for both matches this weekend. Hawkeye manager Libbie Hillmer hosts the live blog, providing scoring updates and interactive content from the Official Iowa Volleyball Blog. Visit the Iowa volleyball page at hawkeyesports.com for links to Gametracker and the live blog.
LAST TIME OUT
After 11-straight matches away from Iowa City, Iowa opened its Big Ten home schedule last weekend on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes fell to Michigan on Friday night, 3-0, before losing in straight sets to 24th-ranked Michigan State on Saturday night. Junior Nikki Dailey registered a double-double in both matches, pushing her season total to 12. She has turned in a double-double in 10 of Iowa’s last 11 contests.
BIG TEN, BIG TIME
Friday’s match at Indiana marks the fifth contest of Iowa’s 20-match conference slate, and third of 10 conference road contests. Five of the last six national championships have been claimed by current members of the Big Ten. Nebraska won the title in 2006 before Penn State captured four straight (2007-10). Illinois finished as the national runner-up to UCLA a year ago. Seven league teams are currently ranked in the top 25 (out of 328 Division I programs) and another is receiving votes. Big Ten teams finished with a combined 114-25 nonconference record.
at INDIANA (Oct. 5)
Head Coach: Sherry Dunbar (89-93, 6th season) 2012 Record/Home/Conference: 8-8 overall; 4-4; 0-4 Series Record/Last Meeting: IU leads, 37-26/2011, split both in 5 sets Take Note: Teams have split the last four meetings
at #12 PURDUE (Oct. 6)
Head Coach: Dave Shondell (191-108, 10th season) 2012 Record/Home/Conference: 13-2 overall; 8-0; 4-0 Series Record/Last Meeting: Purdue leads, 47-19/2011, Purdue (3-0, 3-2) Take Note: Purdue hosts No. 4 Nebraska on Friday; 3-2 vs. ranked foes
LIVE ACTION ON BTN
Iowa’s contest against Michigan last Friday marked the second of 10 Hawkeye matches that will be available via live coverage during the season. The contest was shown live on BTN.com. The Hawkeyes’ matches at Northwestern on Oct. 21 and against Penn State on Oct. 24 will be shown on BTN, while six remaining contests will be streamed on BTN.com.
2012 Iowa Live Coverage Schedule:
Sept. 21 – at Ohio State (BTN.com)
Sept. 28 – vs. Michigan (BTN.com)
Oct. 12 – vs. Minnesota (BTN.com)
Oct. 13 – vs. Wisconsin (BTN.com)
Oct. 17 – vs. Nebraska (BTN.com)
Oct. 21 – at Northwestern (BTN)
Oct. 24 – vs. Penn State (BTN)
Nov. 3 – at Michigan (BTN.com)
Nov. 8 – vs. Purdue (BTN.com)
Nov. 17 – at Minnesota (BTN.com)
IN GOOD COMPANY
Bethany Yeager became the 14th Hawkeye in program history to surpass 1,000 career digs in Iowa’s season-opening sweep of Chicago State. The junior registered a match-high 21 digs in the win. She leads the Big Ten with 327 total digs and ranks first in digs per set (4.88). The Brenham, Texas, native stands sixth at Iowa in career digs (1,316). Fellow junior Nikki Dailey ranks seventh in career assists (2,094) and stands eighth in league assists (9.49/set).
ROAD WARRIORS
The Hawkeyes hit the road again this weekend for two matches, marking a stretch of 13-of-15 contests away from home. Iowa hosted Michigan and Michigan State last weekend in its Big Ten home opener. Prior to last weekend, the Hawkeyes played 11-straight contests away from Iowa City, marking the longest road stretch of any conference team this season. Iowa traveled to the Golden Grizzly Invitational, the Iowa State Challenge and the Marquette Invitational before opening league play on the road at Ohio State and Penn State. Iowa is 5-1 in neutral site matches and 0-5 in true road matches.
A LOOK BACK – CONFERENCE OPENER
Iowa opened its Big Ten slate (Sept. 21-22) at No. 23 Ohio State and No. 4 Penn State. The Hawkeyes fell to the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio, 3-0, before dropping a 3-1 decision to the Nittany Lions in State College, Pa. Entering the contest, the Nittany Lions had only dropped six sets in 12 matches. Penn State has dropped sets to No. 9 Stanford (W, 3-2), Oregon State (L, 2-3) and No. 3 Nebraska (W, 3-1). The Nittany Lions swept second-ranked Texas. Penn State moved to No. 1 in the national rankings the following week.
HAWKEYE IRONWOMEN
Juniors Bethany Yeager and Nikki Dailey have started every match since the start of the 2011 season. Dailey has not missed a set since last season, while Yeager, an Academic All-Big Ten honoree, has only missed one set in her first three seasons at Iowa (295-of-296).
DOUBLE THE FUN
Three Hawkeyes have registered a double-double in 2012. Junior Nikki Dailey leads the way with 12 double-doubles. Sophomore Alex Lovell has turned in six and junior Rachael Bedell has notched four. Dailey has recorded a double-double in 10 of the last 11 matches, dating back to Iowa’s match at Oakland on Sept. 1.
BIG TEN GOES BIG IN POLLS
The Big Ten is represented by seven teams in the AVCA top 25 poll, including the nation’s top-ranked team, Penn State. The seven teams marks the most of any conference. Defending league champion Nebraska is No. 4 overall. Minnesota ranks 10th and Purdue sits at No. 12. Other top 25 residents include Ohio State (No. 19), 2011 national runner-up Illinois (No. 21) and Michigan State (No. 25). Michigan is receiving votes.
GIANT SLAYERS
The Hawkeyes have defeated a ranked team in three of Dingman’s four seasons. Iowa will have plenty of opportunities to continue that trend, as seven of its remaining 2012 opponents appear in this week’s AVCA top 25 poll. 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 0-3 against ranked foes this season, falling at No. 18 Iowa State (3-2), at No. 23 Ohio State (3-0) and at No. 4 Penn State (3-1). Iowa has another chance this weekend to defeat a ranked foe (No. 12 Purdue).
HAWKEYE SCHEDULE
The Hawkeyes hosted the Hawkeye Challenge and made three weekend road trips before beginning their 20-match Big Ten schedule. The entire 33-match schedule includes 18 contests against teams that appeared in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Iowa will play a home-away series with every Big Ten team except Illinois and Northwestern for the second-straight season. The Hawkeyes face the Illini once (at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Nov. 24) and the Wildcats once (at Northwestern, Oct. 21).
SEASON TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets remain on sale through the UI Ticket Office. Season tickets are 2-for-$30 and include a complementary Hawkeye t-shirt. Contact the UI Ticket Office at 1-800-IA-HAWKS or visit hawkeyesports.com to place your season ticket order.
FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
Become fans of the official Iowa Volleyball fan page by going to facebook.com/iowavolleyball to follow the Hawkeyes on Facebook. Fans can also follow the Black and Gold on Twitter (@IowaVolleyball) and YouTube (youtube.com/uiowavolleyball).
NEXT UP
Iowa continues league action next weekend in Iowa City, hosting No. 10 Minnesota on Oct. 12 and Wisconsin on Oct. 13. Fans can watch both contests on BTN.com and listen to both on hawkeyesports.com.