Notes: at Northwestern, Illinois

THIS WEEK
Iowa heads on the road for two matches in the state of Illinois. The Hawkeyes travel to Evanston to battle Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Friday night. First serve is set for 7 p.m. (CT). On Sunday, Iowa travels to Champaign to meet Illinois for the only time this season. Sunday's matinee begins at 1 p.m. from inside Huff Hall.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG

• Both matches will be streamed on B1G+.
• 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 HIGHLIGHTS

• Junior middle hitter Hannah Whittingstall was named the B1G Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after leading Iowa in blocks and picking up a double-double during Iowa's 2-0 weekend.
• The Hawkeyes avenged an earlier season loss to Michigan State by taking down the Spartans in four sets on Friday night.
• Iowa's 3-2 win over Rutgers was its second five-set victory of the season.
• Libero Milana Moisio leads the Big Ten with 300 digs. Hannah Whittingstall is second in blocks with 98.
• Setter Claire Ammeraal ranks second in the Big Ten with 773 assists. Her six double-doubles are tied for the seventh-most in the league. Ammeraal is the only setter in the league with triple-digit kills (125).
• As a team, Iowa is third in blocks with 199.5.
• Senior Claire Ammeraal recorded her 3,000th career assist against No. 25 USC on Oct. 17.
• Graduate Chard'e Vanzandt recorded her 1,000th career kill in Iowa's sweep over Maryland on Sept. 25.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN

• The Wildcats are 13-9 on the season and 3-7 in conference with wins over Michigan, Oregon and Rutgers. The Wildcats have already matched their conference win total and have more than doubled their overall wins from last season. 
• Over the offseason, Northwestern added five transfers to the roster in addition to three incoming freshmen. 
• Northwestern’s offensive production is led by outsides Ayah Elnady, Rylen Reid and Isabella Bullington, who each have over 200 kills. 
• Defensively, the Wildcats lead the Big Ten with a conference-best 1,097 team digs, paced by Ayah Elnady with 176. 
• Setting responsibilities are split between Lauren Carter and Sienna Noordermeer, both appearing in all 22 matches and recording 464 and 356 assists, respectively. 
• Tim Nollan enters his second season with the Wildcats with an 18-32 overall record at the helm. 

SCOUTING ILLINOIS

• The Fighting Illini are 12-7 this year and 7-3 in conference play. Illinois has recorded wins over No. 10 Purdue and has swept conference foes Northwestern, Oregon and Rutgers.
• Illinois is receiving votes in this weeks AVCA Top 25 poll.
• Kenna Phelan was named the Big Ten Setter of the Week on September 29 after Illinois defeated Oregon and No. 10 Purdue. Phelan averaged 9.4 assists per set and 2.4 digs per set over the two-match weekend. She recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 39 assists and 10 digs against No. 10 Purdue. 
• Phelan currently ranks eighth in the B1G with 683 assists. 
• Taylor de Boer leads the Illini offense with 262 kills. 
• Middle duo Ashlyn Philpot and Kayla Burbage each have 69 blocks, providing a strong presence at the net. 
• Head coach Chris Tamas enters his ninth season at the helm of the Illini program, leading Illinois to five NCAA tournament appearances with a 161-101 overall record. 

HAWKEYE MILESTONE WATCH

• Claire Ammeraal: 26 digs from career 900.
• Jaimie Marquardt: 2 aces from career 30.
• Milana Moisio: surpassed 500 career digs on Friday night.
• Greta Schlichter: 34 digs from career 500
• Hallie Steponaitis: 19 kills from season 100.
• Chard'e Vanzandt: 14 kills from season 250.
• Carmel Vares: 36 kills from season 250.
• Hannah Whittingstall: 6 kills from career 400; 8 blocks from career 250.

WHITTINGSTALL EARNS B1G HONOR
Junior Hannah Whittingstall was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Week after recording her first career double-double with a season-high 14 kills and a career-high tying 10 blocks in Iowa’s reverse sweep of Rutgers. Whittingstall hit a team-high .636 in the victory, converting on 14-of-22 swings without committing an error. The San Antonio, Texas, native tallied 28 kills and 15 blocks combined in the wins over Michigan State and Rutgers and averaged 1.67 blocks per set. On the season, Whittingstall has totaled 98 blocks and ranks second in the conference. This is Iowa’s first defensive player of the week honor since 2013, when Bethany Yeager was recognized. It is also Iowa’s first weekly conference award of the season and first since Malu Garcia was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Sept. 30, 2024. 

WINNING WEEKEND
Iowa went 2-0 in conference over the weekend for the first time this season with wins over Michigan State and Rutgers. The last time the Hawkeyes won both conference matches in a weekend was opening weekend of the 2024 season. Iowa won five-set thrillers against Rutgers and Maryland. After dropping the first set to Michigan State 25-22, the Hawkeyes responded by taking the next three, 27-25, 25-19 and 25-22. As a team, Iowa recorded more kills than the Spartans (67-56) and hit a blistering .400 in the third set. Redshirt sophomore Alyssa Worden finished the night with a career-high and team-high double-double, tallying 16 kills and 15 digs. In addition to Worden, three other Hawkeyes ended the night in double-digit kill figures. On Sunday, the Hawkeyes notched their first reverse sweep since 2022. After dropping the first two sets 25-20 and 26-24, Iowa won the final three, 25-16, 27-25, and 15-9. Whittingstall carried the Hawkeyes with her first career double-double, recording 14 kills and a career-tying 10 blocks. Worden followed up her double-double Friday with another against Rutgers, tallying 10 kills and a team-high 10 digs. Claire Ammeraal stuffed the stat sheet with 43 assists, nine kills, six blocks, six digs and two aces. She also converted on 8-of-12 swings for a .667 hitting percentage. Although Rutgers registered more kills (62-58), Iowa held the advantage in nearly every other category. 

UP NEXT
Iowa's road trip continues with matchups at Indiana and Purdue next weekend. The Hawkeyes will play on back-to-back nights, beginning with Friday's meeting with the Hoosiers. Iowa and Purdue will play on Saturday night.