THIS WEEK
Iowa concludes its 2021 season with a pair of road matches this weekend on the East Coast. Iowa travels to New Brunswick, New Jersey, on Friday to take on Rutgers at 4:30 p.m. (CT) at the College Avenue Gymnasium. The Hawkeyes then head to State College, Pennsylvania, on Saturday to challenge No. 15 Penn State at 6 p.m. (CT) in Rec Hall. Both matches will be the only regular season contests between the schools.
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 RUTGERS
- Head Coach Caitlin Schweihofer is in her second year as head coach.
- Rutgers is 8-19 overall and 0-18 in conference play.
- The Scarlet Knights rank ninth in the Big Ten in aces per set (1.32).
- Senior middle blocker Shea McNamara ranks ninth in the Big Ten in blocks per set (1.17).
- Rutgers averages 11.2 kills per set and has an overall hitting percentage of .184.
SCOUTING NO. 15 PENN STATE
- The Nittany Lions are currently 19-9 overall and 12-6 in Big Ten play.
- Head Coach Russ Rose is in his 43rd season.
- Penn State ranks first in the Big Ten in team total assists (1,368) and team total kills (1,483).
- Senior setter Gabby Blossom ranks first in the Big Ten in total assists (1,147).
LEADING THE WAY
- Senior Courtney Buzzerio leads the squad with 401 kills, 4.01 kills per set, and 1017 attacks.
- Junior libero Mari Hinkle leads the team with 303 digs.
- Sophomore Bailey Ortega has amassed a team-best 774 assists and 7.74 assists per set.
- Senior Hannah Clayton has recorded a team-best 47.5 blocks.
BALANCED ATTACK
- In Iowa’s, 3-1, victory over Michigan State four Hawkeyes had at least nine kills.
- Iowa’s kill leaders include Buzzerio (378), VanderWeide (195), Clayton (174), and Jones (155).
ALL THE BUZZ
- Buzzerio ranks 58th in the nation with 401 total kills.
- She ranks second in the Big Ten in kills per set (4.01).
- Buzzerio ranks fifth in the Big Ten in points per set (4.42).
- 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 23 consecutive starts and recorded eight 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, and again against Air Force with 57 assists.
- Three Hawkeyes recorded a career high in digs. Mari Hinkle (11), Bailey Ortega (15), and Maddie Slagle (22).
RECORD BOOK UPDATE
- Hannah Clayton (.300) and Amiya Jones (.300) are currently tied for first in all-time hitting percentage in school history.
- Clayton is ninth in program history, having 317 career blocks. She is 31 blocks away from tying Katie Panhorst for eighth.
BEST CONFERENCE IN THE NATION
- Seven Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 15 of the AVCA Coaches Poll: No. 5 Wisconsin, No. 6 Purdue, No. 9 Ohio State, No. 10 Minnesota, No. 11 Nebraska, No. 15 Penn State and No. 23 Illinois.
- 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.
20 KILLS
- Buzzerio has recorded 20 kills in five matches this season. (Duke, Ball State, Air Force, Illinois and Maryland).
- She has recorded double digit kills in 18 of the 26 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.