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SERVE IT UP
The University of Iowa volleyball team hosts #6 Wisconsin on Saturday at 7 p.m. (CT) inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The match will serve as Iowa’s Dig Pink match.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats for each contest can be found on the Iowa volleyball schedule page at hawkeyesports.com/vblive.
A live stream of Saturday’s match against Wisconsin is available on FloVolleyball or BTN Plus (subscriptions required).
DIG PINK
The Hawkeyes’ match against Wisconsin will serve as the team’s “Dig Pink” match for breast cancer awareness. The team will be giving out pink pom poms and wear pink jerseys.
MIDWEEK REWIND
- The Hawkeyes’ 25-23 second-set victory over the third-ranked Huskers marked the first time since 1987 that Iowa has taken a set from Nebraska.
- Iowa fell in four sets and was led by senior Taylor Louis’ 12 kills. Sophomore Brie Orr tallied 26 assists and senior Molly Kelly had 16 digs.
HAWKEYES DEFEAT NORTHWESTERN IN FIVE SETS
- The Hawkeyes capped their first Big Ten road trip with a five-set victory against Northwestern on Sept. 30.
- Senior Taylor Louis led Iowa with 20 kills, the third time Louis has eclipsed the 20 kill mark this season.
- The Hawkeyes set a new season-best with 23 blocks – nine more than their previous best
- The Hawkeyes’ victory marks the team’s fourth straight win over the Wildcats.
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.
IT’S A HAWKEYE BLOCK PARTY
- As a team, the Hawkeyes rank atop the Big Ten in blocks per set with 3.21.
- Iowa leads the Big Ten with 16 solo blocks and is second in the conference with 106 total blocks.
DIGGING FOR GOLD
- Senior Molly Kelly ranks among the best Liberos in the conference.
- After five Big Ten matches, Kelly ranks third with 4.74 digs per set.
- Her 29 digs against No. 18 Michigan on Sept. 23 set a new career high.
- Overall, Kelly’s 308 digs rank first in the Big Ten and 5.05 digs per set ranks second.
HERE COMES JONES
- Freshman Amiya Jones has been a staple among the Hawkeye lineup this season. Jones is the only freshman to start in every match this season.
- Defensively, Jones is seventh in the Big Ten with 1.16 blocks per set against conference foes.
- Jones set a career-high with eight blocks against No. 18 Michigan on Sept. 23.
IOWA’S 1-2 PUNCH
- Junior Cali Hoye and senior Taylor Louis have been Iowa’s deadliest weapons on the court this season.
- Hoye (3.37) and Louis (3.26) rank 10th and 12th in the Big Ten in kills per set against conference opponents.
- The duo has helped an Iowa attack that is ninth in the Big Ten in kills per set with 12.93.
ORR SETTING IT UP
- Sophomore setter Brie Orr leads Iowa with 611 assists through 16 matches and averages 10.02 assists per set, which is eigth in the Big Ten.
- Nationally, Orr leads a group that is 77th in the NCAA with 12.44 assists per set.
- Orr returns to Iowa as the team’s premier setter after recording 1,201 assists in 2017 – the second most assists in single-season program history since the 25-point scoring format was implemented in 2008.
- Orr ranks ninth all-time in career assists (1,812), trailing Jitka Stehnova (2,159) for eighth all-time.
FOLLOW THE LEADER
- Senior Taylor Louis continues to pace the country in active career kills. Louis’ 1,777 career kills leads the NCAA by 170 (Jaali Winters; Creighton) and is 169 kills ahead of the country’s third leading player (Carlisa May, Arkansas State).
- Louis ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 4.05 kills per set and is second in the Big Ten with 243 total kills.
- Louis’s 4.05 kills per set places her 47th in the NCAA and her 4.47 points per set is good for 55th.
IT’S STILL A HAWKEYE STATE
- The Hawkeyes broke a 21-year old road drought Sept. 14, defeating Iowa State in four sets (25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 25-20) at the Cyclone Classic in Ames, Iowa.
- It is the first time Iowa has won in Ames since Sept. 13, 1997.
THESE HAWKEYES ARE HANDY WITH BROOMS
- The Hawkeyes are 5-1 this season in games that have gone three sets.
- Iowa has swept Belmont, South Dakota State, Drake, Eastern Illinois, and Michigan State.
- Iowa recorded two sweeps at the Drake Invitational on Sept. 8, defeating South Dakota State and Drake before sweeping Eastern Illinois in its home opener on Sept. 9. The last time Iowa swept three different teams in the span of two days was Sept. 19-20, 2008 (Portland, DePaul, Tulsa).
SCOUTING #6 WISCONSIN
- Wisconsin is 11-2 overall and 4-1 in Big Ten play.
- Wisconsin’s lone loss came at the hands of Minnesota.
- Iowa is 20-53-1 all-time against the Badgers.
- The Badgers defeated #7 Illinois, 3-1, on Wednesday night.
- Dana Rettke is second in the Big Ten with 1.63 blocks per set and ranks third in the country.
- The Hawkeyes’ last win over Wisconsin was Nov. 11 2009.
SHYMANSKY APPROACHING WINS MILESTONES
- Head coach Bond Shymansky’s 73 wins at Iowa is third in program history. He passed former head coach Sharon Dingman earlier this season (66).
- Shymansky passed Rita Buck-Crockett for third on Iowa’s all-time Big Ten wins list with his 26th victory over Northwestern on Sept. 30.
- Shymansky trails Linda Shoenstedt for second in Iowa history with 85 wins and trails Sandy Stewart’s 136 wins for most in program history.
FACING THE BEST
- Iowa faces eight teams currently ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) week 5 poll – Nebraska (3), Minnesota (5), Wisconsin (6), Illinois (7), Penn State (9), Purdue (14), Washington (15), Michigan (16).
- The Hawkeyes’ schedule features 11 teams that reached the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
- The nonconference schedule included three teams that competed at the 2017 NCAA Tournament, including Iowa State, Colorado, and Washington.
- Iowa will play all eight Big Ten NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago. Those teams combined to go 206-64 in 2017.
TRUE MENTAL TOUGHNESS
The Hawkeyes continue their True Mental Toughness mantra in 2018. 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.
THE PREMIER CONFERENCE
The Big Ten Conference has had an NCAA champion in nine of the last 14 years.
Eight teams – Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Purdue, and Michigan State – appeared in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
BIG TEN NETWORK
Iowa plays on the Big Ten Network one more time in 2018. Northwestern will visit Iowa City on Oct. 24 for the second televised game of the season at 8 p.m. Iowa’s previously televised game was Oct. 3 at Nebraska.
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE
Season tickets and general admission tickets for Iowa’s home matches are on sale at the UI athletics ticket office and online at hawkeyesports.com/tickets. Season tickets for reserved seating is $45 and general admission season tickets are $30.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes travel to Piscataway, N.J., for the team’s second mid-week matchup of the season againt Rutgers on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. (CT). Live results of the match are available on hawkeyesports.com/vblive.
