Volleyball Prepped For Rutgers on Wednesday Night

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SERVE IT UP
The University of Iowa volleyball team travels to Rutgers for a mid-week match in Piscataway before returning home to face No. 17 Purdue on Saturday at 7 p.m. (CT) inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena

FOLLOW ALONG

  • Live stats for each contest can be found on the Iowa volleyball schedule page at hawkeyesports.com/vblive
  • Live audio of Wednesday’s match are available via Hawkeye All-Access.
  • A live stream of Saturday’s match against No. 17 Purdue is available on FloVolleyball or BTN Plus (subscriptions required).

PROMOTIONS
The Hawkeyes’ match against Purdue will serve as Girl Scout Night and Camper Reunion night.

34537HAWKEYES TAKE DOWN NO. 6 WISCONSIN

  • The Hawkeyes defeated No. 6 Wisconsin in five sets on Saturday night for the team’s first win over a ranked opponent this season. 
  • It is Iowa’s first win over Wisconsin since Nov. 11, 2009.
  • Junior Cali Hoye led Iowa with a career-high 30 kills and sophomore Brie Orr tied a career-high with 59 assists.

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.

HAWKEYES RECEIVE VOTES IN NATIONAL POLL

  • The Hawkeyes are receiving votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I Coaches Poll release on Oct. 8. 
  • Iowa received seven votes after defeating No. 6 Wisconsin on Oct. 6. 
  • This marks the first time since Sept. 14, 2015 that Iowa has received votes in the AVCA poll.

ATTA HOYE

  • Junior Cali Hoye has been Iowa’s deadliest weapon during Big Ten play.
  • Hoye recorded a career-high 30 kills to become the first player in the Big Ten this year to reach 30 kills.
  • Hoye’s 30 kills are the most from a Hawkeye since Julie Williams in 1997.
  • Hoye ranks third in the Big Ten with 3.92 kills per set and 94 kills overall.
  • Hoye has helped an Iowa attack that is eight in the Big Ten in kills per set with 12.08.

DIGGING FOR GOLD

  • Senior Molly Kelly ranks among the best Liberos in the conference.
  • Kelly ranks second in the Big Ten with 5.00 digs per set. 
  • Her 29 digs against No. 18 Michigan on Sept. 23 set a new career high.
  • Overall, Kelly’s 330 digs rank first in the conference.

ORR SETTING IT UP

  • Sophomore setter Brie Orr leads Iowa with 670 assists through 17 matches and averages 10.15 assists per set, which is seventh in the Big Ten.
  • Nationally, Orr leads a group that is 67th in the NCAA with 12.52 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 (1,871), 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’ 1,801 career kills leads the NCAA by 155 (Jaali Winters; Creighton) and is 168 kills ahead of the country’s third leading player (Carlisa May, Arkansas State). 
  • Louis leads the Big Ten with 267 kills and is second with 4.11 kills per set.
  • Louis’s 4.11 kills per set and 4.58 points per set places her 41st in the NCAA.

HAWKEYE HISTORY
The Hawkeyes’ 25-23 second-set victory over the third-ranked Huskers on Oct. 3 marked the first time since 1987 that Iowa has taken a set from Nebraska.

IT’S A HAWKEYE BLOCK PARTY

  • In conference play, Iowa has stepped up its defensive efforts at the net.
  • As a team, the Hawkeyes rank second the Big Ten in blocks per set with 2.92 against conference opponents.
  • Iowa is second in the Big Ten in solo blocks and total blocks with 19 and 102, respectively.

HAWKEYES DEFEAT NORTHWESTERN IN FIVE SETS

  • The Hawkeyes capped their first Big Ten road trip on Sept. 30 with a five-set victory against Northwestern.
  • Senior Taylor Louis led Iowa with 20 kills and sophomore Brie Orr added 51 assists.
  • 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.

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 RUTGERS

  • Rutgers is 6-13 overall and 0-6 in Big Ten play.
  • The Scarlet Knights are led by senior Sahbria McLetchi who has 180 kills and 3.16 kills per set.
  • Rutgers is currently on a six-game losing streak.
  • Iowa is 6-0  all-time against Rutgers.

SCOUTING #17 PURDUE

  • Purdue is 14-3 overall and 3-3 in Big Ten play.
  • The Boilermakers are coming of a 3-1 victory over Michigan State on Oct. 6.
  • Defensively, Purdue is led by Brooke Peters who has 307 digs and 4.80 digs per set to rank third in the conference.
  • Iowa is 22-54 all-time against Purdue with the Hawkeyes last win coming Oct. 7, 2016 in five sets.

SHYMANSKY MILESTONE WATCH

  • Head coach Bond Shymansky’s 74 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 7 poll – Minnesota (3), Nebraska (5), Illinois (7), Wisconsin (7), Penn State (9), Michigan (13), Purdue (17), Washington (18).
  • 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 host No. 17 Purdue on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. (CT). The match will serve as Girl Scout Night. Iowa is 3-1 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season. Tickets for Saturday’s match are available on hawkeyesports.com/tickets or over the phone at 800-IA-HAWKS.

 

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