Notes: at Oregon, Washington

THIS WEEK
Iowa embarks on its first road trip of league play, traveling to Oregon and Washington Oct. 3-4. The Hawkeyes meet the Ducks for only the third time in program history on Friday night. First serve against Oregon is set for 8:00 p.m. (CT). Iowa heads to Washington on Saturday for a 6:30 p.m. match that will be televised on Big Ten Network.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG

• The match with Oregon will air on B1G+. Saturday's contest against Washington will be televised on Big Ten Network.
• All of Iowa's matches are broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network (YouTube) with John Evans on the call.
• Live stats for each contest can be found on the volleyball schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.
• Updates and recaps can be found on Iowa Volleyball's social media platforms and the News section on hawkeyesports.com.

2025 NEWS

• Graduate Chard'e Vanzandt recorded her 1,000th career kill in Iowa's sweep over Maryland on Sept. 25.
• Of Iowa's 10 wins in 2025, eight have come via sweep.
• Libero Milana Moisio leads the Big Ten with 187 digs. Middle hitter Hannah Whittingstall is second in the league with 64 blocks. Middle hitter Aleksandra Stojanovic has the third-highest hitting percentage at .454.
• The Hawkeyes beat East Texas A&M and Lindenwood to wrap up nonconference play. The nine out-of-conference wins are the program's most since 2014.
• Chard'e Vanzandt was the MVP of the Hawkeye Invitational, tallying 22 kills and a .500 hitting percentage.
• Iowa was immaculate at the Kwik Star Klassic, sweeping matches against Butler, Illinois State and Loyola Chicago.
• The Hawkeyes' 6-0 start matched their best since 2009.

SCOUTING OREGON

• Oregon is 9-3 and dropped road matches against Illinois and Northwestern to open Big Ten play. The Ducks are currently 2-0 at home with wins over Portland and Colorado State. 
• During its first year in the Big Ten, Oregon finished 14-6 in conference play and earned an NCAA tournament bid. The Ducks advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. 
• Iva Sucurovic currently leads the Big Ten and Oregon in blocks with 65. 
• Valentina Vaulet is the Ducks' main offensive threat, tallying 165 kills -- good for eighth in the conference. 
• Cora Taylor and Kamden Mitchell facilitate the Oregon offense, with 344 and 134 assists, respectively. 
• Trent Kersten enters his first season with the Ducks following a standout season at Loyola Marymount, where he was named the 2024 WCC Coach of the Year. He led the Lions to the WCC Championship and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 

SCOUTING WASHINGTON

• Washington is 5-7 this season and 0-2 in conference play. The Huskies have wins over Arizona, Colorado State, Northern Iowa, Stony Brook, and Washington State. 
• The Huskies finished their first season in the Big Ten 19-12 overall and 9-11 in conference, earning an NCAA Tournament bid. They lost in the first round to Loyola Marymount. 
• A balanced attack from outsides Kierstyn Barton and Alexa Markley has placed them among the Big Ten’s top 15 in kills, with 167 and 153, respectively. 
• Katy Wessels leads the Huskies with 58 blocks, ranking her fifth in the conference.
• Alexis Haury runs the Washington offense with 376 assists. 
• Head coach Leslie Gabriel enters her third season at the helm of the Washington program. Gabriel, a former player and assistant coach, has spent her entire coaching career with the Huskies, accumulating over 648 Husky victories.

BIG TEN LEADERS
After one week of league play, three Hawkeyes are within the top five of their respective statistical categories. Libero Milana Moisio paces the Big Ten with 187 digs. Middle hitter Hannah Whittingstall is second in the Big Ten in blocks with 64, nine of which are solo. Fellow middle hitter Aleksandra Stojanovic is third in the league in hitting percentage, converting at .454. While setter Claire Ammeraal is seventh in assists with 442, she has tallied the most kills of any setter in the conference with 83. As a team, Iowa is one of the premier blocking units in the conference, ranking second with 132 blocks. The Hawkeyes have the third-best assist-to-error ratio at 0.81.

VANZANDT JOINS 1K CLUB
Graduate Chard'e Vanzandt recorded the 1,000th kill of her career in Iowa's sweep of Maryland on Sept. 25. Vanzandt led the offense with 14 kills with her 12th of the night hitting the milestone. So far, the native of Houston, Texas, has led Iowa in kills in seven matches. Vanzandt began her career at JUCO Blinn College before transferring to Louisiana Tech in 2022. After one season as a Bulldog, Vanzandt moved on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for two seasons. She was a first-team all-SoCon selection as a senior last year. 

INTERNATIONAL IMPACT
The Hawkeyes have seen strong production from their international student-athletes. Freshman Carmel Vares has 111 kills and a .281 hitting percentage. Sophomore Aleksandra Stojanovic is hitting .454 on the season with 74 kills and 39 blocks. Stojanovic hit .714 against Illinois State and moved into a tie for 12th all-time in program history. She followed it up with an efficient .875 day against Weber State. Freshman Marichka Hoshylyk posted three kills against Butler to help secure the Hawkeye win. Defensive specialist Greta Schlichter has 23 digs for the Hawkeyes. 

RETURN TO CARVER
Iowa will host two matches at Carver-Hawkeye Arena during the 2025 season. Contests against USC (Oct. 17) and UCLA (Oct. 19)
will be played at Carver-Hawkeye Arena due to scheduling conflicts at Xtream Arena. This marks the first time the Hawkeyes have
played at Carver since the 2021 fall season, when Iowa hosted Michigan and Michigan State. The arena was built in 1983 and
housed the Hawkeye volleyball program until the spring of 2021, when Iowa moved full-time to Xtream Arena.

B1G IN THE RANKINGS
Seven Big Ten teams are ranked in the AVCA Top 25. Nebraska is No. 1 in the nation. Wisconsin holds at No. 7, while Minnesota jumps to No. 10. Purdue fell a few of spots to No. 13. Penn State (No. 16) and USC (No. 17) remain in the top 25. UCLA enters at No. 24 after its upset win at Penn State. Illinois and Indiana are receiving votes.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes continue their roadtrip, heading to Michigan State and Michigan next weekend. Iowa battles the Spartans in East Lansing on Friday and the Wolverines in Ann Arbor on Saturday.