THIS WEEK
The Hawkeyes host the Cy-Hawk Series Tournament taking on Syracuse on Thursday at 6 p.m (CT), Ball State on Friday at 7 p.m. (CT), and Iowa State in an Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series contest on Saturday at 6 p.m. (CT).
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
- Live stats for each contest if available can be found on the team’s schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.
- All three games will be streamed on BTN+ (subscription required).
- The radio call for each game can be heard on the Hawkeye Radio Network YouTube page. John Evans will call the action.
SCOUTING SYRACUSE
- Syracuse is coached by Leonid Yelin, who is in his 10th season.
- The Orange are 6-0, after defeating Quinnipiac, Yale, and Hartford last weekend.
- Marina Markova leads the team in kills with 90.
- Elena Karakasi leads the squad in assists with 191.
SCOUTING BALL STATE
- The Cardinals are 7-0 after defeating Wright State, DePaul, and Marshall.
- Ball State is coached by Kelli Miller Phillips, who is in her sixth season.
- Natalie Mitchem leads the team in kills with 78. Jaclyn Bulmahn is second with 71 kills.
- Megan Wielonski leads the squad in assists with 264.
- Kate Vinson was named the MAC West Division Defensive Player of The Week on Sept. 6.
SCOUTING IOWA STATE
- The Cyclones are 4-1 after, defeating LSU and Oregon State and losing to Penn State last weekend.
- Iowa State is coached by Christy Johnson-Lynch, who is in her 17th year at the helm.
- Eleanor Holthaus and Annie Hatch lead the team with 49 kills each.
- Jaden Newsome is the team’s leading facilitator with 177 assists.
IOWA CORN CY-HAWK SERIES
- The Cy-Hawk Series is in its 17th season in 2021-22, being sponsored for the 10th time by Iowa Corn.
- Iowa’s corn farmers are proud to sponsor the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series to celebrate our great state and the sports rivalry that unites us all. The Iowa Corn Growers Association and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board partner with Learfield on behalf of both Iowa State University and University of Iowa Athletic Departments for the title sponsorship of the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.
- The Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series tracks the head-to-head match-ups between the Cyclones and Hawkeyes with each victory earning points toward the overall series championship.
- The series awards two points (except football, which is worth three) to the winning school in each head-to-head match-up between the two institutions. Additionally, one point is awarded to an institution if the graduation rate of its student-athletes is greater than the national average as reported each fall by the NCAA.
BUZZ KILL
- Senior right-side hitter Courtney Buzzerio ranks 16th in the nation, averaging 4.62 kills per set.
- Buzzerio ranks third in the Big Ten in points per set (4.84).
- Buzzerio ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 74 kills.
CAREER DAY
- Multiple Hawkeyes set career highs against Duke to open the season.
- Buzzerio recorded a career-high 28 kills against the Blue Devils, tied for 13th most in a single game in school history. The last Hawkeye to record at least 25 kills was her sister Meghan Buzzerio in 2019.
- Sophomore Bailey Ortega recorded a career-high 45 assists.
- Three Hawkeyes recorded a career high in digs. Mari Hinkle (11), Bailey Ortega (15), and Maddie Slagle (22).
BEST CONFERENCE IN THE NATION
- Six Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 25 of the AVCA Coaches Poll: No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 6 Purdue, No. 13 Minnesota, and No. 18 Penn State.
- The Big Ten Conference has crowned an NCAA Champion in nine of the last 15 years and at least one Big Ten team has advanced to the Final Four in six straight seasons.
OFFENSIVE ATTACK
- Five Hawkeyes — Courtney Buzzerio (184), Edina Schmidt (183), Hannah Clayton (146), Audrey Black (142), and Blythe Rients (107) — recorded at least 100 kills last season.
- Schmidt led the team with 587 total attacks, followed by Buzzerio’s 498 and Black’s 471.
- Schmidt was the only Hawkeye to record 20 or more kills in a match last season. In Iowa’s 3-1 win over Rutgers on Feb. 19, Schmidt recorded a career-high 21 kills on a career-best .395 hitting percentage.
STRONG IN THE MIDDLE
- Iowa’s trio of middle blockers shined offensively and defensively a season ago.
- Clayton led Iowa in total blocks (67) and hitting percentage (.349). She ranked 10th in the Big Ten in hitting percentage and 13th in total blocks and 20th in blocks per set (0.91). Clayton attacked .300 or better in 14 matches this season, including a string of five straight matches above .333.
- Amiya Jones ranked second on the team in attacking percentage (.254).
- Rients ranked second on the team in blocks (48)and blocks per set (0.6).
RECORD BOOK UPDATE
- Jones ranks second all-time in school history with a .289 hitting percentage, while Clayton ranks sixth with a .277 hitting percentage.
- Clayton currently ranks 18th all-time in program history with 250 career blocks. She is one block away from tying Becky Walters for 17th.
ALL THE BUZZ
- Buzzerio turned in the best season of her career and one of the best in Hawkeye history in 2021.
- The Chino Hills, California, native played in every rotation of Iowa’s 6-2 system to lead Iowa in kills (184) and aces (20), ranked second in assists (323) and total attacks (498), and third in digs (127) and total blocks (46). She finished the season averaging 9.2 kills, 16.1 assists, and 6.3 digs.
- Buzzerio’s outstanding play earned her an AVCA All-North Region Honorable Mention selection and first-team All-Big Ten honors, becoming the first Hawkeye to earn those postseason honors since Sara Meyermann in 2001. She is only the fifth All-Region selection in program history and eighth first-team all-conference honoree.
- She claimed her third career triple-double (13 kills, 21 assists, 11 digs) in Iowa’s five-set match against Indiana. She is the only Hawkeye in program history to register multiple triple-doubles in a career.
