THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa volleyball team opens the 2021 season inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday at 3:30 p.m. (CT) and Saturday against Illinois at noon.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
- Live stats for each contest are linked on the team’s schedule page.
- This weekend’s matches will be streamed on B1G Network+ (subscription required).
- Live audio of this weekend’s matches will be available on YouTube vis the Hawkeye Radio Network.
- For live updates, follow @IowaVolleyball on Twitter.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Iowa’s 2021 volleyball schedule features a conference-only, 22-game slate. Iowa will face 11 of the Big Ten’s 14 teams. Four of Iowa’s opponents (No. 13 Purdue, No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 5 Nebraska, and No. 7 Minnesota) are ranked in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll.
- Last season, the Hawkeyes faced the 11th toughest schedule in the nation, going 10-21 (4-16) in head coach Vicki Brown’s first season at the helm. Opponents combined for a .626 win percentage in 2019.
- Iowa will play its first games at Xtream Arena — the new home of Iowa Volleyball — Feb. 5-6 against Indiana.
- The Hawkeyes return 10 of 15 letterwinners from last season and welcome five freshman this season. Eleven of Iowa’s 15 student-athletes are underclassmen.
MOMENTS FROM MEDIA DAY
- Vicki Brown: “Through the adversity of last year, it has matured us, grown our team culture, and solidified our base. We have positioned ourselves to take things to the next level. We are excited to see our hard work that we put into play in the fall show up on the court.”
- Vicki Brown: “Our goal is to find a way to win every single weekend. That’s what we go in with, that mindset, nothing less, and then we adjust accordingly every day.”
- Kyndra Hansen: “We are scrappy. Our defense can touch every ball that comes back at us. We are strategic in our distribution. You can’t anticipate what’s going to come over each time.”
- Courtney Buzzerio: “There’s a lot of excitement. Our coaches have done a great job in practice. We are really excited to get back on the court, feel the game energy, and get back into volleyball and a normal season.”
- Hannah Clayton: “We’re super excited. We love Xtream Arena. It’s going to be a fun atmosphere to play in this season and a little more condensed. Obviously we won’t have fans this season, but in future seasons it will be fund to have that louder atmosphere.”
QUICK HITTERS
- Friday will be Iowa’s first game in 419 days. The Hawkeyes finished the 2019 season with a 3-1 home win over Maryland on Nov. 30, 2019.
- Iowa has won five straight season openers and three straight Big Ten openers.
- Junior Amiya Jones ranks first all-time in attack percentage at Iowa. In two seasons, Jones’ .298 attack percentage (351 kills, 120 errors, 774 total attacks) is atop the Hawkeye record book. Mikaela Gunderson (.294; 2013-15) and Jess Janota (.281; 2014-17) rank second and third.
BEST CONFERENCE IN THE NATION
- Six Big Ten teams are ranked in the preseason AVCA Coaches Poll, including four in the top 10: No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 5 Nebraska, No. 7 Minnesota, No. 9 Penn State, No. 13 Purdue, and No. 24 Michigan.
- Seven Big Ten Schools qualified for the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin was the NCAA runner-up, falling to Stanford, 3-0. Minnesota lost to Stanford, 3-0, in the NCAA Semifinals.
- The Big Ten Conference has crowned an NCAA Champion in nine of the last 15 years and two Big Ten teams have advanced to the Final Four five straight seasons.
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
- Iowa’s 2021 volleyball schedule features a conference-only, 22-game slate. Iowa will face 11 of the Big Ten’s 14 teams. Four of Iowa’s opponents (No. 13 Purdue, No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 5 Nebraska, and No. 7 Minnesota) are ranked in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll.
- Home and away games will alternate weekends. Games will be played on Friday and Saturday, with one game (vs. Nebraska, March 17) on Wednesday.
- The NCAA Tournament will be begin April 8.
- All dates and times are subject to change.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
- The Hawkeyes return 10 of 15 letterwinners from last season and welcome five freshman this season.
- Eleven of Iowa’s 15 student-athletes are underclassmen.
- Brie Orr, Halle Johnston, and Griere Hughes opted out of the 2021 season.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS
- Illinois went 16-14 overall and 11-9 in conference play last season. The Fighting Illini lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to No. 17 Utah.
- The Fighting Illini are coached by Chris Tamas, who is in his fourth season. In Tamas’ first head coaching stint at the Division I level, he owns a 71-29 (40-20) career record.
- Iowa has dropped its last five matches to Illinois, with its last win over the Illini in a five-set match in 2016.
2019 TEAM RECAP
- Last season, the Hawkeyes faced the 11th toughest schedule in the nation, going 10-12 (4-16) in head coach Vicki Brown’s first season at the helm. Opponents combined for a .626 win percentage in 2019.
- Iowa took No. 6 Nebraska to five sets for the first time in school history. The Hawkeyes won the second set, 25-23, and the third set, 27-25, on the road inside the Devaney Center on Nov. 16.
- In Iowa’s home match against Nebraska on Nov. 9, Iowa set a new program attendance record as 4,737 fans watched inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa’s top five most attended matches in program history have all come in the last four years.
- Iowa swept Indiana last season for the second time in the last three seasons.
- Iowa defeated No. 22 Washington State in a 3-0 sweep on Aug. 31 for Iowa’s first win over a ranked opponent on the road since 2012.
2019 INDIVIDUAL RECAP
- Courtney Buzzerio led Iowa with 32 aces last season — the most by a Hawkeye since Ashley Mariani in 2015. Buzzerio’s 0.30 aces per set is the most by a Hawkeye since Becky Walters averaged 0.39 aces per set in 2010.
- Buzzerio also became the first Hawkeye in 14 years to record a triple-double. The Chino Hills, California, native recorded a team-high 18 kills, 20 assists, and 10 digs in five sets against No. 6 Nebraska on Nov. 16, 2019. She joins Kiley Fister (2005) and Fabiana De Abreu (2000) as the only Hawkeyes to accomplish the feat in the last 20 years.
- Middle blocker Amiya Jones had a career day against Indiana on Oct. 26. As a sophomore, Jones recorded a career-high seven aces, including three straight, and a career-high 15 kills in Iowa’s five-set victory. Jones’ seven aces tied for the most in school history in a five-set match and third most overall.
- Blythe Rients’ 11 total blocks (10 BA, 1 BS) against Indiana on Oct. 20 were the most by a Hawkeye since 2011 and tied for sixth in Iowa single-match history. The 11 blocks tied for the most in the Big Ten last season and most among Big Ten players in a four-set match.
- Last season Joslyn Boyer led Iowa freshmen in playing time. The Downers Grove, Illinois, native played in 104 sets, registering 161 digs. She tallied a career-high 14 digs at Indiana on Oct. 26.
NEW HOME FOR THE HAWKEYES
- Xtream Arena powered by Mediacom will serve as the new home for the University of Iowa Volleyball team.
- The 5,100-seat arena is located in the Iowa River Landing in Coralville, Iowa.
- The arena connects to the 53,000 sq. ft, 5-court GreenState Family Fieldhouse.
- Xtream Arena will also be be the home arena for a newly announced ECHL hockey team in 2021-22.
COACHING STAFF ADDITIONS
- Iowa welcomed two new assistants to its staff after the 2019 season.
- Dave Brown joined the Hawkeyes as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator on Jan. 21, 2020. Prior to Iowa, Brown was the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Loyola-Chicago where he helped the Ramblers set a single-season record for conference wins (14) and most total wins (21) since 2004 in 2019. In his first season at Loyola, Brown was one of 11 NCAA Division I women’s coaches Thirty Under 30 Award recepients from the AVCA for up-and-coming young coaches.
- Former Hawkeye Alyssa Klostermann joined the Iowa staff as a volunteer assistant coach in December. As a three-time captain for the Hawkeyes from 2013-16, Klostermann appeared in 103 matches and finished her career No. 11 on Iowa’s all-time assists list (1,006). Klostermann recently coached club and high school volleyball in Minnesota, winning the 5AAA Minneosta state championship at Wayzata High School in 2019.
FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
For an inside look at the Iowa Volleyball program and access to exclusive coverage, follow @IowaVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
