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THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa volleyball team hosts its final nonconference tournament of the season with the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series Tournament this weekend. The Hawkeyes host Lipscomb and Coastal Carolina on Friday at 11 a.m. (CT) and 7 p.m., respectively. Iowa and Iowa State battle in the Cy-Hawk Series Saturday at 7 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
- Live stats for each contest can be found on the team’s schedule page or on hawkeyesports.com/vblive.
- A live stream of Iowa’s matches are available on Hawkeye All-Access (subscription required).
- Live audio of this weekend’s matches are available on the team’s schedule page with John Evans on the call.
HAWKEYES TAKE 2 IN SOUTH DAKOTA
- The Hawkeyes took two of three matches at the South Dakota tournament last weekend.
- Iowa defeated Wyoming and UC Davis, 3-1, on Friday before falling to South Dakota in five sets, 3-2.
- Juniors Brie Orr and Griere Hughes were named to the all-tournament team. Orr tallied 140 assists in three matches and Hughes added 48 total kills, including a career-high 24 against South Dakota.
IOWA CORN CY-HAWK SERIES
- Iowa and Iowa State battle this weekend in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.
- Iowa leads the 2019 series, 5-0, after wins by soccer and football.
- The Hawkeyes defeated the Cyclones, 3-1, in Ames last season. It was Iowa’s first win in Ames since 1997.
- The Hawkeyes are looking to win their second straight match against Iowa State for the first time since 1996-97 seasons.
HIT IT!
- Iowa is among the nation’s best in hitting percentage.
- The Hawkeyes rank 4th in the Big Ten with a .279 team attack percentage (415-122-1052).
BLOCKING OUT THE HATERS
- Sophomore Amiya Jones leads the Hawkeyes in the middle with 28 total blocks.
- Jones has one solo block and 27 block assists through eight matches, including a season-high six blocks against James Madison.
NEW LIBERO, NO PROBLEM
- Halle Johnston took over as Iowa’s libero entering her junior season.
- Johnston continues the trend of effective Iowa liberos with 5.32 digs/set to currently rank second in the Big Ten.
- The Lakeville, Minn., native set a career-high 30 digs against Wyoming on Sept. 13. It is Iowa’s first 30+ dig performance since Nov. 23, 2018.
SISTER ACT
- Senior Meghan Buzzerio and sophomore Courtney Buzzerio have provided Iowa a potent spark on offense.
- The Buzzerio sisters have combined for 45% (188-501) of Iowa’s kills and 49% (20-41) of Iowa’s service aces.
COURTNEY BUZZERIO STEPPING UP
- Sophomore Courtney Buzzerio had her most productive match as a Hawkeye in Iowa’s 3-1 win over Wyoming on Sept. 13.
- Buzzerio tallied a career-high 15 kills and added two service aces.
- Buzzerio ranks third on the team with 69 kills and leads Iowa with 13 service aces.
BOYER LEADING FRESHMEN PLAYING TIME
- Freshman Joslyn Boyer is leading Iowa freshmen in playing time this season.
- Boyer, a Downers Grove, Ill. native, has played in 19 sets this season with 21 digs.
- Boyer added a career-high six digs against South Dakota on Sept. 14.
HAWKEYES SWEEP NO.22 WASHINGTON STATE
- Iowa defeated No. 22 Washington State on Aug. 31 for the team’s first win over a ranked team this season and second win overall.
- The victory is Iowa’s first win over a ranked opponent on the road since Oct. 12, 2012, when Iowa downed the Boilermakers in West Lafayette.
- Iowa held the edge in kills (46-28), blocks (6-5), assists (37-26), and digs (49-43).
- Senior Meghan Buzzerio and junior Griere Hughes led Iowa with 12 kills each.
- Junior Brie Orr added a match-high 32 assists.
- Junior Halle Johnston tallied 21 digs.
WE’RE THE CAPTAINS NOW
Heading into the 2019 season, Iowa has three team captains: seniors Emily Bushman and Meghan Buzzerio, and junior Brie Orr.
24TH-RANKED RECRUITING CLASS
- The Hawkeyes’ 2019 recruiting class was ranked 24th in the nation by FloVolleyball last spring.
- Iowa is bringing in eight new faces, including Joslyn Boyer, Emma Lowes, Kyndra Hansen, Blythe Rients, Emma Grunkemeyer, Grace Tubbs, Edina Schmidt, and Jaedynn Evans.
- Of Iowa’s eight newcomers, two are from Iowa (Evans, Tubbs), while Hansen and Rients are from Minnesota, Boyer is from Illinois, Grunkemeyer is from Nebraska, Lowes is from Texas, and Schmidt is from Germany.
NEW HEAD HAWKEYE
- Vicki Brown was named interim head coach on May 20, 2019, after serving as associate head coach for two seasons, when she was in charge of Iowa’s defense and recruiting efforts.
- Under Brown’s guidance, Iowa brought in the 24th-ranked recruiting class in the nation in 2019.
FACING THE BEST
- Iowa faces seven teams currently ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Week one poll – Nebraska (1), Penn State (4), Minnesota (7), Wisconsin (9), Washington (10), Illinois (19), and Purdue (21).
- In each of the last three years, the Big Ten has been represented by two teams in the NCAA Final Four.
- 14 of Iowa’s 31 matches are against ranked teams, 12 against teams inside the Big Ten.
- Seven of Iowa’s final 10 matches this season are against teams ranked inside the top-25.
ORR CAREER ASSIST TRACKER
- Junior Brie Orr enters her junior year as team captain.
- Orr has amassed 2,755 assists in her career to rank seventh in program history. She trails Barb Zvonek for sixth all-time.
- Orr’s 1,242 assists in 2018 are the second most in program history since the 25-point scoring format was implemented in 2008.
- Orr has played in every match in her career, averaging 10.34 assists per set.
HOW’S THE WEATHER UP THERE?
- With the addition of eight freshman, the Hawkeyes got taller in the offseason.
- Of Iowa’s eight newcomers, four are 6-2 or taller, including Grace Tubbs (6-4), Emma Grunkemeyer (6-3), Blythe Rients (6-2), and Kyndra Hansen (6-2).
THE PREMIER CONFERENCE
The Big Ten Conference has had an NCAA champion in nine of the last 15 years.
Seven teams – Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Purdue, – appeared in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
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.
SCOUTING LIPSCOMB
- Lipscomb is 3-5 overall and has won three of its last four matches heading into the Cy-Hawk Series Tournament
- Offensively, Lipscomb is led by Lanie Wagner, who is averaging 2.87 kills/set.
- Maddie Phillips is Lipscomb’s biggest defensive threat with 24 blocks on the season and 72 kills.
- This is the second meeting all-time between Iowa and Lipscomb. Lipscomb defeated Iowa in five sets in 2018.
- Lipscomb is coached by Brandon Rosenthal, who is in his 17th season as head coach.
SCOUTING COASTAL CAROLINA
- Coastal Carolina is 9-0 on the season with five of its seven victories ending in 3-0 sweeps.
- Setter Brigitta Bozdeva leads Coastal Carolina with 364 assists and 11.03 assists/set.
- Iowa is 6-0 against the Chanticleers, last defeating them in three sets in 2017.
- Coastal Carolina is led by Jozsef Forman, who is in his eighth season.
SCOUTING IOWA STATE
- The Cyclones are 6-3 overall and on a four-match winning streak.
- The Coyotes have swept four of their six wins, including their last three matches.
- Eleanor Holthaus is Iowa State’s biggest weapon, amassing 104 kills through nine matches.
- Iowa defeated Iowa State in Ames in four sets in 2018.
- The Hawkeyes trail the all-time series 23-27.
