Sep 2, 2013
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — After clinching the Chanticleer Invitational title and posting a 3-0 start to the 2013 season, the University of Iowa volleyball team collected another award. Senior libero Bethany Yeager received the first Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honor of her Hawkeye career.
Yeager helped UI to a trio of victories over Wofford (3-2), Youngstown State (3-2), and Coastal Carolina (3-1) in season-opening action. She paced the Hawkeyes in digs in each match and her effort on the court was a key component in each win.
She averaged 5.6 digs per set in the three match stretch for a total of 79 digs. In the opener against Wofford on Friday evening, Yeager tallied 26 digs and three assists. She improved to 30 digs and six assists in the team’s second match of the weekend against Youngstown State on Saturday afternoon, and capped the weekend with 23 digs, five assists, and her first kill of the season in the finale against Coastal Carolina on Saturday night.
After opening weekend action, Iowa leads the Big Ten in digs (248) and digs per set (17.71). Yeager’s 79 digs and 5.64 digs per set average top the Big Ten.
Yeager is the first Hawkeye volleyball player to receive a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week nod since Christina Meister was honored on Sept. 7, 2009. She is also the 16th to receive a Big Ten weekly award since 1977.
Iowa returns to the court at the Valparaiso Popcorn Classic on Sept. 6-7. The Hawkeyes challenge Rhode Island on Friday night and conclude the weekend with matches against Eastern Michigan and host Valparaiso on Saturday.