THIS WEEK
The Hawkeyes travel to Illinois to play the Fighting Illini on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (CT) at Huff Hall. Iowa then takes on Northwestern at home on Saturday at 7 p.m. (CT). Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for youth (ages 6-18), and 5 and under are free.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
- Both matches will be streamed live on B1G+ (subscription required).
- Live stats for each contest can be found on the team’s schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.
- John Evans will have the radio call, which can be found on the Hawkeye Radio Network YouTube page.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS
- Head coach Chris Tamas is in his fifth year at Illinois.
- The Fighting Illini are 11-6 overall, and 3-3 in conference play.
- Illinois has totaled 869 kills this season, with a hitting percentage of .210.
- Diana Brown is their assist leader with 671.
- Taylor Kuper has a team-best 301 digs.
- Raina Terry and Megan Cooney are close in the lead for kills tallying 209 and 204, respectivley.
- Illinois ranks first in the Big Ten in service aces per set (1.94).
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
- The Wildcats are currently 7-10 overall, and 2-4 in Big Ten play.
- Head coach Shane Davis is in his fouth season.
- Junior outside hitter Temi Thomas-Ailara leads the team in kills with 262.
- Alexa Rosseau paces the team in assists with 654. Megan Miller defends the squad with 221 digs.
- Northwestern has a hitting percentage of .229 and averages 12.8 kills per set.
LEADING THE WAY
- Senior Courtney Buzzerio leads the squad with 246 kills, 4.17 kills per set, and 650 attacks.
- Senior Maddie Slagle leads the team with 190 digs.
- Sophomore Bailey Ortega has amassed a team-best 494 assists and 8.373 assists per set.
- Senior Hannah Clayton leads the team in blocks with 44.
ALL THE BUZZ
- Buzzerio ranks 34th in the nation, averaging 4.17 kills per set.
- She ranks third in the Big Ten in kills per set.
- Buzzerio ranks third in the Big Ten in points per set (4.53).
- 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 on Sept. 11.
- Iowa recorded a then-season high attacking percentage of .286.
- The Hawkeyes held Iowa State to 36 kills and 33 digs.
FRESHMEN FOCUS
- Freshman Addie VanderWeide has made 13 consecutive starts and recorded seven 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.
- Freshman Jenna Splitt made her first two appearances against Illinois and Nebraska. She had 36 assists across both matches.
- Splitt made her first career start against Michigan.
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 is in record book right behind Mikaela Gunderson (.294) for all-time hitting percentage in school history (.290). Amiya Jones ranks third with a .284 hitting percentage.
- Clayton currently ranks 12th all-time in program history with 288 career blocks. She is 7 blocks away from tying Lisa Dockray for 11th.
BEST CONFERENCE IN THE NATION
- Six Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 15 of the AVCA Coaches Poll: No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 6 Purdue, No. 7 Ohio State, No. 9 Nebraska, No. 12 Minnesota, No. 15 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 the eighth toughest schedule in the nation. Iowa’s opponents have combined for a 165-76 record and a 0.685 win percentage.
20 KILLS
- Buzzerio has recorded 20 kills in four matches this season. (Duke, Ball State, Air Force, and Illinois).
- She has recorded double digit kills in 12 of the 16 games this season.
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.