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THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa volleyball team begins a four-match homestand this weekend against No. 7 Penn State and Rutgers. The Hawkeyes battle the Nittany Lions on Friday and the Scarlet Knights on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. (CT) inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
- Live stats for each contest are linked on the team’s schedule page or on hawkeyesports.com/vblive.
- Listen to this weekend’s matches on Hawkeye All-Access with John Evans on the call.
- A live stream of this weekend’s matches are available on BTN+ or FloVolleyball (subscriptions required).
ACED IT
- Sophomore middle blocker Amiya Jones enjoyed a career day against the Hoosiers on Oct. 26.
- Jones recorded a career-high seven aces, including three consecutive, and a career-high 15 kills in Iowa’s five-set victory.
- The Indianapolis, native is tied for first in the Big Ten for the most aces in a single match this season. Her effort is seventh in the NCAA.
HOOSIER SWEEP
- The Hawkeyes defeated Indiana, 3-2, on Oct. 26 to complete a season sweep of the Hoosiers for Iowa’s second season sweep in three seasons.
- Iowa came back in the fifth set after trailing 12-14 thanks to a kill from freshman Kyndra Hansen and ace by junior Halle Johnston to tie the score at 14. Sophomore Amiya Jones gave Iowa the lead on a cross-court kill and a Hoosier net violation awarded the Hawkeyes the victory.
- Freshman Joslyn Boyer notched a career-high 14 digs.
- Sophomore Amiya Jones tallied a career-hig seven aces and 15 kills.
- Sophomore Courtney Buzzerio registered a career-high 51 assists.
- Sophomore Hannah Clayton added a season-high seven blocks.
- The win was Iowa’s first five-set win of the year.
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 921 assists for fourth all-time.
- Orr is third the Big Ten with 767 assists in 2019 and is eighth with 10.09 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 is averaging 10.31 assists per set in her career.
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.
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 70 sets this season with 106 digs.
- Boyer added a career-high 14 digs at Indiana on Oct. 26.
- Boyer has set career highs in two of her last three matches.
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 4.72 digs/set to currently rank second in the Big Ten.
- Johnston is second in the conference with 373 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 .242 team attack percentage (1066-396-2765).
- Nationally, the Hawkeyes rank 45th in hitting percentage.
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
- Iowa has three team captains: seniors Emily Bushman and Meghan Buzzerio, and junior Brie Orr.
FACING THE BEST
- Iowa faces seven teams currently ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Week nine coaches poll – Wisconsin (4), Minnesota (6), Penn State (7), Nebraska (8), Washington (12), Purdue (16), and Illinois (19).
- 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 NO. 7 PENN STATE
- Penn State is 16-3 overall and 9-1 in conference.
- The Nittany Lions are on a seven game winning streak.
- Offensively, Jonni Parker leads Penn State with 235 kills and 4.25 kills per set.
- Defensively, Serena Gray’s 53 blocks paces the team, while Kendall White leads Penn State with 268 digs.
- Iowa trails the all-time series 54-0.
- Penn State is coached by Russ Rose, who is in his 40th season.
SCOUTING RUTGERS
- Rutgers is 7-14 overall and 1-9 in Big Ten play.
- The Scarlet Knights are coming off of a five-set victory over Northwestern on Oct. 27.
- Rutgers faces Nebraska on Nov. 1 before facing Iowa.
- Tali Marmen paces Rutgers with 154 kills and 23 aces.
- Rutgers is fourth in the Big Ten, averaging 2.56 blocks per set.
- Iowa leads the all-time series 8-0.
- Rutgers is led by CJ Werneke, who is in his 12th season.
