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Serve it Up
The University of Iowa volleyball team closes out its home slate on Saturday against Ohio State at 8 p.m. (CT). Saturday is Senior Day, and the Hawkeyes will honor the seniors prior to the match.
Promotions
Senior Night – help us honor and celebrate our five seniors prior to the match; first 500 fans receive an Iowa volleyball phone wallet.
Listen/Follow Along
- Live audio is available for all matches on Hawkeye All-Access at hawkeyesports.com.
- Live stats can be found on the schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.
- Live streaming links for BTNPlus can be found on the schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.
In the Nation (as of Nov. 6)
- The Hawkeyes rank No. 60 in the nation with 12.76 assists per set.
- Iowa ranks No. 49 in the nation with a .250 attack percentage.
- Iowa’s 13.64 kills per set rank No. 61 nationally.
- Brie Orr is No. 42 in the nation in assists (1,027) and in assists per set (10.81).
Around the League (as of Nov. 6)
- Iowa leads the Big Ten in assists (1,212) and kills (1,296), and is second in digs (1,408).
- Annika Olsen leads the conference in total digs (467) and digs per set (4.92).
- Brie Orr is second in the conference in assists (1,027) and eighth in assists per set (10.81).
- Taylor Louis is fifth in the league in kills (325).
Look Out for Louis
- Outside hitter Taylor Louis has been dominant in Black and Gold with 21 double-digit kill matches, including a personal-best 20 kills at No. 10 Michigan State on Oct. 28.
- Louis leads the team with 333 kills and a .262 attack percentage. Louis also has 46 blocks this season.
- Louis has 11 matches with above a .300 attack percentage, six matches with above a .400 attack percentage, five matches with above a .500 attack percentage, and two matches with above a .600 attack percentage.
Scouting Ohio State
- The Buckeyes are 14-12 overall and 7-8 in Big Ten action after sweeping Rutgers on Wednesday night.
- Ohio State ranks No. 48 in the nation in kills per set with 13.76. Overall they have 1,252.
- Hannah Gruensfelder is third in the Big Ten with 4.45 digs per set.
- Ohio State leads the all-time series, 60-9, against the Hawkeyes. The teams last played on Oct. 15, 2016, when the Buckeyes secured a 3-0 victory against Iowa.
Orr’s Big Role
- Freshman Brie Orr has taken charge of the Hawkeye offense, amassing 38 assists in the season opener and eclipsing that mark with 59 assists against No. 22 Michigan on Oct. 4. She has 1,049 assists this season.
- Orr hit the 1,000 career assist milestone against No. 22 Purdue on Nov. 5.
- After registering 117 assists, 13 kills, and a .500 attack percentage in three matches at the American Volleyball Classic on Sept. 15-16, Orr was named B1G co-Freshman of the Week.
- Orr has three matches with 50 or more assists, 12 matches with 40-or-more assists, and 20 matches with 30-or-more assists.
- Orr has four career double-doubles, the most recent coming in the form of 52 assists and 12 digs against Illinois on Oct. 20.
Can you Dig It?
- Annika Olsen has reached double digits in digs in 25 matches, including a career-high 29 digs twice, at Indiana on Oct. 11 and against Illinois on Oct. 20.
- Olsen has nine matches with 20-or-more digs this season.
- Olsen ranks No. 6 in all-time digs (1,480) in program history.
Sheehan’s Groove
- Claire Sheehan had a monster match at American on Sept. 16, amassing a personal-best 19 kills, a .429 attack percentage, eight digs, and a career-best three blocks.
- Sheehan followed up the match at American with 11 kills against Princeton. The freshman has 11 double-digit kill matches this season.
- Sheehan has recorded four double-doubles this season, the most recent coming from 15 kills and 13 digs against No. 22 Purdue on Nov. 5.
- Overall, Sheehan has 224 kills and averages 2.64 kills per set.
Jiving Janota
- Jess Janota ranks second on the team with 232 kills and a .301 attack percentage. She recorded a personal-best .833 attack percentage against Indiana on Nov. 3.
- Janota collected her 1,000th career kill against Northwestern on Oct. 21.
- Overall, Janota has 1,038 career kills, a mark which ranks No. 18 in the record books.
- Janota has 10 matches with double-digit kills, 13 matches with above a .300 attack percentage, and 10 matches with over a .400 attack percentage.
The Attendance Game
- The Hawkeyes shattered their all-time attendance record as 4,729 fans watched Iowa take on No. 4 Nebraska on Oct. 7.
- 3,136 Hawkeye faithful came out to watch Iowa take on Iowa State on Sept. 8, a mark that ranks No. 3 in program history in single match attendance.
- As of Nov. 6, the Hawkeyes ranked No. 12 in the nation for overall attendance with 26,690.
- For the first time in program history, Iowa had back-to-back matches with 2,000-or-more fans in attendance (2,169 against Wisconsin on Sept. 29; 2,165 against Minnesota on Sept. 30).
- The Hawkeyes have set 12 top 20 attendance marks since head coach Bond Shymansky took the helm in 2014, with four of those occurring this season.
- Hot Start
- Iowa opened the season 12-3, its best start since 1994 (12-3).
- The Hawkeyes swept Rutgers, 3-0, in their conference opener Sept. 22, 2017. It was the first time Iowa won its conference opener since a 3-1 victory over Wisconsin on Sept. 23, 2009.
Challenging Schedule
- Eight Iowa opponents are currently ranked – Penn State (1), Stanford (2), Minnesota (5), Nebraska (6), Michigan State (8), Wisconsin (10), Purdue (21), and Iowa State (23).
- The Hawkeyes’ schedule features 15 teams that reached the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
- The nonconference schedule included seven teams that competed at the 2016 NCAA Tournament, including Stanford, Coastal Carolina, Iowa State, Northern Illinois, Howard University, American University, and Princeton.
- Following it’s Big Ten opener at Rutgers, Iowa faced five straight teams — Penn State (2), Wisconsin (7), and Minnesota (3), Michigan (22), and Nebraska (4) — that were ranked in the AVCA poll at the time of the match.
Teammates
- Halle Johnston, Claire Sheehan, and Brie Orr played together on the Northern Lights (Minnesota) club team under Dave Manka, Adam Beamer, and Walt Weaver for three years.
- The trio led the 15-1S team to an AAU National Championship and a United States Girls Junior National Championship in the U.S. Junior Olympic division of USA Volleyball.
- The three guided the team to a third-place finish in the AAU National Championship and a fifth-place finish USJNC.
True Mental Toughness
The Hawkeyes will continue their True Mental Toughness mantra for the 2017 season. Bond Shymansky’s squad defines true mental toughness as having a great attitude, treating others really, really well, being unconditionally grateful regardless of your circumstances, and giving your very, very best.
Returners
- Molly Kelly appeared in all 32 matches in 2016 and led the team with 26 service aces. She also racked up 140 digs and 30 assists.
- Meghan Buzzerio played in all 32 matches in 2016, amassing 255 kills, 187 digs, 25 blocks, and 20 service aces.
- Kasey Reuter appeared in 18 matches in 2016 and racked up 70 kills. She had a career-high .889 hitting percentage (eight kills in nine attempts, no errors) in Iowa’s win over Indiana.
- Reghan Coyle played in all 32 matches in 2016. She registered 239 kills and ranked second on the team with 75 blocks.
- Annika Olsen, the Hawkeye’s libero, appeared in all 32 matches in 2016 and led the team with 445 digs. She also racked up 72 assists and 13 aces.
- Emily Bushman appeared in four matches for the Hawkeyes, including helping guide the team to victory at Rutgers on Nov. 4.
- Cali Hoye played in 18 matches in 2016, registering 34 digs and 21 kills. She had a personal-best six kills and a career-high .556 attacking percentage at Rutgers on Nov. 4.
- Taylin Alm played in three contests in 2016, amassing 10 kills and a .833 attacking percentage.
- Jess Janota appeared in all 32 matches in 2016, collecting 260 kills, a .344 attack percentage, and a team-high 82 blocks. Janota chipped in 54 digs and 18 aces.
Newcomers
- Defensive specialist Ashley Smith comes to Iowa after a season at Nebraska-Omaha, where she amassed 396 digs. Smith played two years at Tipton and two years at Iowa City HS. At Tipton, Smith set a school record for most digs in a set with 58.
- Halle Johnston played libero at Lakeview South HS for four years and amassed a school-record 1,487 digs. As a senior, she guided her team to a 26-3 record and a berth in the state tournament.
- Setter Brie Orr joined the Hawkeyes in the spring after four seasons at Eagan HS. Orr amassed 1,271 kills, 1,983 assists, 1,139 digs, 177 blocks, and 116 service aces over her high school career.
- Outside hitter Claire Sheehan played four years at Cambridge Isanti HS where she accumulated 2,350 kills, good for third all-time in Minnesota Class AAA competition. She also had 1,711 digs and 218 blocks.
- Middle blocker Kelsey O’Neill comes to Iowa after two years of competition at Pittsburgh. She tallied 170 kills and 72 blocks in 2016.
- Outside hitter Taylor Louis joins Iowa after three seasons at Marquette. In 2016, Louis racked up 537 kills and 257 digs. Prior to Marquette, she played three years at Niles North High School.
The Premier Conference
The Big Ten Conference has had an NCAA champion in eight of the last 13 years. Eight teams – Penn State, Ohio State, Minnesota, Purdue, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Nebraska – appeared in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
On Deck
Iowa travels to Maryland on Nov. 17 for a 6 p.m. (CT) matchup with the Terrapins. The Hawkeyes then face Ohio State on Nov. 18 in Columbus, Ohio, at 6 p.m.