Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | Hawk Talk Monthly — October | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2019-20 | Match Notes (PDF)
THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa volleyball heads to Indiana to face No. 20 Purdue and Indiana this weekend. The Hawkeyes square off against the Boilermakers on Friday and then plays Indiana on Saturday. Both games are slated for a 7 p.m. (CT) start.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
- Live stats for each contest are linked on the team’s schedule page or on hawkeyesports.com/vblive.
- A live stream of this weekend’s matches are available on BTN+ or FloVolleyball (subscriptions required).
GOLDEN GIRLS
- Donning gold jerseys for their alumni match, the Hawkeyes defeated Indiana, 3-1, on Oct. 20.
- Iowa recorded season highs with 82 total digs and 13 total blocks.
- Freshman Blythe Rients is tied for sixth in program history after notching a career-high 11 total blocks during the contest.
- Junior Brie Orr moved into fifth on Iowa’s all-time assist leaderboard with a 40-assist performance.
- Junior Halle Johnston tied her career-high with 30 digs.
RIENTS’ BLOCK PARTY
- Freshman Blythe Rients’ 11 total blocks (10 BA, 1 BS) against Indiana on Oct. 20 ties her for sixth in Iowa single-match history.
- The Eagan, Minnesota, native’s 11 blocks are tied for the most in the Big Ten this season and most among Big Ten players in a four set match.
- Nationally, Rients joins nine other players who have reached 11 total blocks in a match.
- Rients’ 11 blocks are the most by a Hawkeyes since Sept. 2, 2011.
- In Rients three starts in her career, she has amassed at least three blocks in each contest.
ORR MILESTONE WATCH
- Junior Brie Orr moved into fifth on Iowa’s all-time career assists list following Iowa’s victory over Indiana on Oct. 20.
- Orr surpassed Barb Zvonek (1995-98) and Nikki Dailey (2010-13) for sixth and fifth all-time with a 40-assist night.
- Orr now trails Kathy Griesheim by 956 assists for fourth all-time.
- Orr is second the Big Ten with 732 assists in 2019 and is eighth with 10.17 assists per set.
- 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 of her career, averaging 10.31 assists per set.
JOHNSTON GOES FOR 30 AGAINST INDIANA
- Junior Halle Johnston led an Iowa backline that finished with a season-high 82 digs against Indiana on Oct. 20.
- Johnston tied a career high with 30 digs.
- The Lakeville, Minn., native’s performance is tied for ninth in Iowa single-match history and is the most digs by a Hawkeye in a match since Molly Kelly recorded 34 against Maryland on Nov. 23, 2018.
HANSEN HAS CAREER DAY AGAINST MSU
- Freshman Kyndra Hansen recorded career-highs in five categories against Michigan State on Oct. 13.
- Hansen’s career day against the Spartans included a career-high 13 kills on 41 attempts, three blocks, one service ace, and four digs.
- Hansen’s 13 kills marks the first time she has reached double-digit kills in her career.
- The White Bear Lake, Minn., native’s four total blocks give her nine during conference play, which ranks third on the Hawkeyes.
INTERIM NO MORE
- Vicki Brown was named Iowa’s permanent head coach on Sept. 26, removing the interim tag she has had since May 20.
- Brown agreed to a five-year contract to remain in Iowa City through the 2024 season.
- Brown joined Iowa’s staff as associate head coach in 2017, taking charge of Iowa’s defensive and recruiting efforts.
- Brown helped Iowa bring in the nation’s 24th-ranked recruiting class for the 2019 season.
- Brown is the youngest coach in the Big Ten at 33 years old.
- The Toledo, Ohio, native graduated from Illinois in 2008 with a degree in communications.
B1G OPENER
- Iowa defeated Northwestern, 3-1, on Sept. 27 for its third-straight Big Ten opening victory. Iowa defeated Rutgers in 2017 and Michigan State in 2018.
- The Hawkeyes are now 16-27-2 all-time in Big Ten openers.
- Head coach Vicki Brown is the second coach in program history to win her first Big Ten opener, joining Sharon Dingman in 2008.
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 4.80 digs/set to currently rank second in the Big Ten.
- Johnston is tied for second in the conference with 336 total digs.
- Johnston can become the third straight Iowa libero to lead the conference in total digs and digs per set (Olsen, 2017; Kelly, 2018).
HIT IT!
- Iowa is in the top half of the Big Ten in hitting percentage.
- The Hawkeyes rank sixth in the Big Ten with a .249 team attack percentage (963-344-2484).
- Nationally, the Hawkeyes rank 45th in hitting percentage.
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 61 sets this season with 86 digs.
- Boyer added a career-high 10 digs against Indiana on Oct. 20.
HAWKEYES SWEEP NO. 22 WASHINGTON STATE
- Iowa defeated No. 22 Washington State on Aug. 31 for the team’s first win over a ranked opponent this season and second win overall.
- The victory was 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.
FACING THE BEST
- Iowa faces seven teams currently ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Week seven poll – Nebraska (5), Wisconsin (6), Minnesota (7), Penn State (8), Washington (9), Illinois (17), and Purdue (20).
- 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.
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 PURDUE
- Purdue is 12-5 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten.
- The Boilermakers have won three of their last four games, including downing Ohio State in five sets during their last outing on Oct. 19.
- Purdue ranks second in the Big Ten with 2.82 blocks per set and leads the Big Ten with 340 total blocks.
- Iowa trails the all-time series, 22-56, but split last season’s series with the home team winning each matchup.
SCOUTING INDIANA
- Indiana is 12-9 overall and 1-7 in the Big Ten.
- Iowa defeated Indian in four sets on Oct. 20 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
- Indiana is coached by Steve Aird, who is in his second season.
- Indiana leads the all-time series, 39-35.
