Hawkeyes Take 2-Match Win Streak to Purdue

Nov. 6, 2015

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa volleyball team travels West Lafayette, Indiana, for a contest against No. 16 Purdue on Saturday, Nov. 7. First serve is set for 6 p.m. (CT)

WATCH
Saturday’s contest will be streamed live online via BTN Plus. To see if your cable package gives you access to BTN Plus content, sign up for BTN Plus or learn more about it, visit btn2go.com.

LISTEN/FOLLOW ALONG
Saturday’s contest will air live on KXIC. Live audio is also available on Hawkeye All-Access at hawkeyesports.com. Second-year play-by-play announcer Tim Keating will call the action. Live stats are also available. Links can be found on the volleyball schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
For an inside look at the Iowa Volleyball program and access to exclusive coverage, “like” University of Iowa Volleyball on Facebook and follow @IowaVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to follow the team’s live Twitter feed, @IowaVB_Live, for more frequent in-match tweets, statistics and more.

ALUMNI DAY
The University of Iowa volleyball team will host its annual Alumni Day on Saturday, Nov. 21, when the Hawkeyes host Northwestern at 7 p.m. (CT).

Former players who RSVP by Thursday, Nov. 12, will receive free admission to the match as well as a link to tickets for the Iowa football game against Purdue on Nov. 21 (Kickoff TBA). To receive more information and RSVP, contact Bre Payton at breann-payton@iowavolleyball.com.

2 IN A ROW
The Hawkeyes are currently riding a two-match winning streak. Iowa recorded its first Big Ten win of the season on Saturday, Oct. 31, defeating Rutgers in straight sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-20). The Hawkeyes extended the streak on Wednesday, Nov. 4, with a 3-0 sweep at Indiana (25-19, 25-21, 25-20). The victory marked the first true road win for the Hawkeyes this season.

ALL-TIME SERIES
• Purdue leads Iowa, 51-21, all-time.
• The Hawkeyes defeated No. 12-ranked Purdue in four sets (25-16, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena last season. It marked Iowa’s first win against the Boilermakers since 2012, when the Hawkeyes recorded a 3-0 sweep.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
According to the NCAA, the Hawkeyes have the third-strongest strength of schedule in Division I Volleyball — the highest ranking among Big Ten opponents. Northwestern (4th), Ohio State (9th), Wisconsin (11th), Illinois (12th), and Nebraska (13th) also made the top 15.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
Eleven of Iowa’s 2015 opponents appear in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Poll, released on Nov. 2. No. 1 Penn State, No. 4 Minnesota, No. 6 Hawaii, No. 8 Nebraska, No. 9 UCLA, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 13 Wisconsin, No. 16 Purdue, No. 18 Illinois, No. 25 Michigan are ranked within the top 25, while Texas A&M (24) is receiving votes.

A POWERHOUSE CONFERENCE
Eight Big Ten teams are included in the AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll, released on Nov. 2. No. 1 Penn State, No. 4 Minnesota, and No. 8 Nebraska appear in the to 10, while No. 12 Ohio State, No. 13 Wisconsin, No. 16 Purdue, No. 18 Illinois, and No. 25 Michigan also made the list.

SERVE IT UP
The Hawkeyes registered a season-high 11 service aces against Indiana on Nov. 4, marking the most aces in a three-set conference match this season. Junior Loxley Keala registered four — a new career high — while junior Ashley Mariani added three. Freshmen Libby Koukol, Reghan Coyle, and Molly Kelly, and junior Alyssa Klostermann also recorded aces in the contest.

APPROACHING A MILESTONE
Loxley Keala has 997 career assists (at Iowa) — three assists away from 1,000. Her 997 assists currently rank 10th on Iowa’s all-time list. Keala has started every match and every set as Iowa’s setter this season. The Kaneohe, Hawaii, native has registered 50 or more assists six times this season, including a career-high 64 against Michigan on Oct. 7.

QUICK HITTERS
• Freshman Reghan Coyle recorded her first career start against Indiana on Nov. 4. Coyle recorded career highs in kills (6), attempts (25), aces (1), and digs (3).
• Junior Lauren Brobst has registered 11 kills in four of Iowa’s last five matches.
• A pair of freshmen — Molly Kelly and Libby Koukol — led Iowa in digs at Indiana on Nov. 4. The duo recorded 12 digs apiece. Kelly’s performance marked a new career high.
• Sophomore Jess Janota led the team with a .625 attack percentage on 11 kills and just one error against Indiana on Nov. 4.
• Senior Mikaela Gunderson has already surpassed her 2014 kills total. Through 26 matches, Gunderson has 190 kills (2014: 110).

IN THE BIG TEN – TEAM RANKINGS
• Iowa ranks second in the Big Ten conference in team assists with 1,146.
• The Hawkeyes have tallied 1,203 kills this season, the second most in the Big Ten.
• Iowa has registered 115 aces on the season, the third highest total in the Big Ten.
• The Hawkeyes rank third in the Big Ten with a 1.28 aces per set average.
• Iowa ranks third in the Big Ten with1,332 team digs.

IN THE BIG TEN – INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
• Sophomore Annika Olsen leads the Big Ten in total digs (438) and digs per set average (4.87).
• Junior Loxley Keala leads the conference in total assists (997).
• Keala has the fourth-best assist per set average in the Big Ten (11.08).
• Junior Lauren Brobst ranks sixth in the conference in total kills with 302.
• Senior Mikaela Gunderson owns the eighth-highest hitting percentage in the conference (.338).

NATIONALLY SPEAKING
• Junior Loxley Keala‘s 11.08 assists per set average ranks 27th nationally.
• Keala is ranked 32nd nationally in total assists (997).
• Sophomore Annika Olsen ranks 43rd in digs per set average (4.87).

FRESHMEN MAKE AN IMPACT
• Freshman Molly Kelly is currently ranked third among league freshmen in service aces per set average (0.25). Kelly has 22 service aces this season. She has registered three aces in a single match three times (Pacific, NIU, Wisconsin).
• Freshman Reagan Davey is fourth among conference freshmen in kills per set average (2.43).
• Freshman Libby Koukol (2.24) and Davey (2.17) are ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, among Big Ten freshmen in digs per set average.

8 STRAIGHT
The Hawkeyes won eight straight matches from Sept. 6-19 — the longest streak for the program since 2006. Iowa defeated American, 3-1, at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic on Sept. 6. The following weekend (Sept. 11-12), the Hawkeyes went 3-0 at the Comfort Suites Challenge with wins over Milwaukee (3-0), Iowa State (3-1), and No. 25 Texas A&M (3-1). Iowa continued its streak on Sept. 18-19, sweeping the Holiday Inn Hawkeye Challenge tournament field with wins over Gardner-Webb (3-0), Coastal Carolina (3-0, 3-0) and Drake (3-0).

HAWKEYES DOWN CYCLONES IN HISTORIC FASHION
In front of the fifth-largest crowd in program history (2,488), the University of Iowa volleyball team trumped the Cyclones, 3-1, for the first time since Sept. 13, 1997. The Hawkeyes used a .379 attack percentage and a season-high 66 kills to defeat Iowa State in four sets. Sophomore Jess Janota paced the Hawkeye offense with a career-high 20 kills, while freshman Libby Koukol led the team with a career-high 18 digs.

DOWN GOES NO. 25
Iowa’s 3-1 victory over No. 25 Texas A&M on Sept. 12 marked the first ranked win for the Hawkeyes since defeating No. 12 Purdue, 3-1, on Nov. 8, 2014. Junior Loxley Keala led the Hawkeye offense with a career-high 57 assists, while junior Lauren Brobst paced the team in kills (17). Freshman Reagan Davey and senior Mikaela Gunderson each contributed four blocks.

B1G SETTER OF THE WEEK
University of Iowa junior Loxley Keala was named Big Ten Conference Setter of the Week for her performance at the Comfort Suites Challenge on Sept. 11-12. It is the first conference honor of Keala’s career. The Kaneohe, Hawaii, native is the first Hawkeye to earn a Big Ten weekly award since Bethany Yeager was named defensive player of the week on Sept. 2, 2013. Keala is the first Hawkeye in program history to win a weekly setter award.

Keala posted 40-plus assists in all three matches that weekend, including a career-high 57 against No. 25 Texas A&M. She led the offense to back-to-back matches with a .300 or better attack percentage, including a season-high .379 against Iowa State and .303 versus Texas A&M. Keala tallied 154 assists and averaged 14 assists per set on the weekend.

ATTENDANCE RECORDS
Iowa has set two top-10 attendance marks this season. The Hawkeyes downed the Cyclones in front of the fifth-largest crowd in program history (2,488) on Sept. 11, before hosting the nationally ranked Huskers on Sept. 23 in front of 2,447 fans — the sixth-largest crowd in program history.

ON THE RADIO
Ten of Iowa’s 20 Big Ten Conference matches will air live on KXIC Radio this season. Second-year play-by-play announcer Tim Keating will call the action. Audio for all of Iowa’s home and away matches is available online as part of the premium content package on Hawkeye All-Access at hawkeyesports.com.

BIG TEN NETWORK COVERAGE
The University of Iowa volleyball team competes live on the Big Ten Network (BTN) or BTN Plus 16 times this season.

Fifteen Iowa matches will be shown via live stream online through BTN Plus. To see if your cable package gives you access to BTN Plus content, sign up for BTN Plus or learn more about it, visit btn2go.com.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 11, hosting No. 1 Penn State at 7 p.m. (CT).

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