THIS WEEK
The Hawkeyes open the Big Ten season at home against Illinois on Wednesday at 6 p.m. (CT). The match is a white-out. Iowa takes on No. 12 Nebraska on the road on Saturday at 2 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.
- Wednesday’s match against Illinois will be televised live on the Big Ten Network (Fox Sports App).
- Saturday’s match against Nebraska will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required).
SCOUTING ILLINOIS
- Head coach Chris Tamas is in his fifth year.
- The Fighting Illini are currently 8-3. Their losses coming from No. 6 Washington, No. 24 Colorado, and No. 16 Creighton.
- Illinois’ current team hitting percentage is .217.
- Redshirt junior setter Diana Brown is their assist leader, already totaling 418 this season.
- Senior DS Taylor Kuper is their leader in digs (186), and Sophomore OH Raina Terry paces the squad in kills with 130.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA
- The Huskers are ranked 12th nationally.
- Nebraska is 6-3. Their three losses coming from No. 20 Utah, No. 16 Stanford, and No. 5 Louisville.
- Head coach John Cook took over the program over in 2000, and has produced four national championship teams.
- Senior OH Lexi Sun leads in kills with 77, freshman DS/L Lexi Rodriguez is first in digs with 136, and senior setter Nicklin Hames has ammased a team-best 250 assists.
- Nebraska has a hitting percentage of .206.
LEADING THE WAY
- Senior Courtney Buzzerio leads the squad with 182 kills, 4.67 kills per set, and 449 attacks.
- Senior Maddie Slagle leads the team with 119 digs.
- Sophomore Bailey Ortega has amassed a team-best 390 assists and 10 assists per set.
- Senior Hannah Clayton leads the team in blocks with 31.
ALL THE BUZZ
- Buzzerio ranks 14th in the nation, averaging 4.67 kills per set.
- She ranks second in the Big Ten in kills per set.
- Buzzerio ranks second in the Big Ten in points per set (5.15).
- Buzzerio ranks first in the Big Ten and 20th in the nation with 182 kills.
- Buzzerio’s outstanding play last season 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 on Feb. 6, becoming the only individual in the Big Ten and one of 23 nationally to record a triple-double last season. She is the only Hawkeye in program history to register multiple triple-doubles in a career.
- Buzzerio’s first career triple-double was against Nebraska (Nov. 16, 2019), with her second coming two weeks later against Ohio State (Nov. 29, 2019). There have only been five triple-doubles in the last 20 years at Iowa. Kiley Fister (2005) and Fabiana De Abreu (2000) are the other two Hawkeyes to complete the feat.
CY-HAWK VICTORY
- The Hawkeyes put together an impressive three sets to defeat in-state rival Iowa State in straight sets.
- Iowa recorded a then-season high attacking percentage of .286.
- The Hawkeyes held Iowa State to 36 kills and 33 digs.
FRESHMAN FOCUS
- Freshman Addie VanderWeide has made seven consecutive starts for the Hawkeyes and recorded four double-digit kill matches.
- VanderWeide recorded a career-high .471 hitting percentage against No. 11 Washington and career high and team-leading 23 digs against Ball State.
- Freshman Toyosi Onabanjo made her first two starts in the Cy-Hawk Series Tournament.
- Onabanjo recorded five kills and four blocks in both matches.
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. She surpassed that against Ball State recording 49 assists.
- Three Hawkeyes recorded a career high in digs. Mari Hinkle (11), Bailey Ortega (15), and Maddie Slagle (22).
RECORD BOOK UPDATE
- Clayton ranks second all-time in school history with a .292 hit-ting percentage, while Amiya Jones ranks fifth with a .287 hitting percentage.
- Clayton currently ranks 15th all-time in program history with 270 career blocks. She is one block away from tying Lana Kuiper for 14th.
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 Ohio State, No. 7 Purdue, No. 9 Minnesota, No. 12 Nebraska, and No. 20 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.
PLAYING THE BEST
- The Hawkeyes have played the fifth toughest schedule, according to past opposition win percentage.
- Iowa’s opponents have combined for a 69-27 record and a 0.741 win percentage.
20 KILLS
- Buzzerio has recorded 20 kills in three matches this season. (Duke, Ball State, and Air Force).
- She has recorded double digit kills in all 10 games the Hawkeyes have played.
XTREAM DIGS
- The Hawkeyes finally welcomed fans to Xtream Arena for the first time as they faced Syracuse in the Cy-Hawk Series Tournament on Sept. 9, 2021.
- The Hawkeyes play 10 more home games at Xtream Arena this season.