Notes: Ohio State/Rutgers

THIS WEEK
Iowa (11-3) enters Big Ten play as hosts to Ohio State and Rutgers. The Hawkeyes and Buckeyes meet on Friday night before Iowa welcomes Rutgers on Saturday night. Both matches will start at 6 p.m. inside Xtream Arena.

HOW TO FOLLOW

• The matches will be streamed on B1G+.
• John Evans will provide the live play-by-play of the matches on the Hawkeye Radio Network.
• Live stats and recaps can be found on the volleyball schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.
• In-game coverage will be shared on Iowa volleyball's social media platforms.

TICKET INFORMATION
Fans can purchase tickets by visiting hawkeyesports.com or heading to the box office at Xtream Arena. Doors open one hour before first serve.

2026 HIGHLIGHTS

• Iowa is off to its best start since 2006.
• The Hawkeyes recorded 18.5 blocks against Milwaukee. That is the second-most blocks by a Big Ten team this season.
• Iowa is one of two Big Ten programs to be led in kills by both of its middle hitters.
• Jenna Meitzler was the Kwik Star Klassic tournament MVP and Hannah Whittingstall was the Most Outstanding Defensive Player. Hallie Steponaitis and Ksenija Tomic were all-tourney picks.
• Iowa completed the season sweep of in-state rivals, taking care of Drake in straight sets on Sept. 16. The Hawkeyes hit a season-high .367 against the Bulldogs.
• Setter Jenna Meitzler leads the nation in assists (576) and is third in the Big Ten in assists/set (11.08).
• Iowa is third in the league with 14.23 kills/set and seventh with a .282 hitting percentage.
• The Hawkeyes are fourth in the Big Ten averaging 14.77 digs/set.
• Iowa swept Iowa State on Sept. 8 and won in Ames for the first time since 1997.
• Head Coach Jim Barnes won the 500th match of his coaching career in Iowa's victory over UAlbany.

SCOUTING OHIO STATE

• The Buckeyes are 7-3, having won their last five matches including back-to-back wins over Virginia. They are 2-1 on the road.
• Ohio State finished the 2025 season with a 6-22 record and 3-17 in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes were picked 16th in the conference preseason poll.
• Senior Hannah Jones is the Buckeyes' leading offensive threat, averaging 3.14 kills per set and tallying 132 kills. She surpassed 800 career kills earlier this season. 
• Setter Bailey Nakanelua has taken over the position and averages 10.23 assists per set.
• Freshman Alia Schoonover drives the Buckeye defense, leading the team in blocks with 35. She also leads the team in service aces with 17.
• Holding down the back row with 165 digs is libero Emily Avshalomov.
• The Buckeyes hit .253 and hold their opponents to .179.

SCOUTING RUTGERS

• Rutgers enters conference play with a 9-3 record. The Scarlet Knights play at No. 1 Nebraska on Friday.
• Preseason polls picked the Scarlet Knights to finish 17th in the Big Ten.
• Outside hitter Skylar George and libero Kenzie Dyrstad were named to the John Kaiser Classic All-Tournament Team. George swung for a career-high 22 kills against Bryant, and Drystad set a new career high with 23 digs against St. John’s.
• Malia Romes leads Rutgers on offense, recording 125 kills. 
• Drystad averages 3.78 digs per set and leads the Big Ten in total digs with 174. 
• Ranking first and second in the Big Ten in service aces are Karis Willow and Lily Bolen, with 25 and 24, respectively. 
• Rutgers hits at a .256 clip and limits opponents to .185. 

MIDDLE U
Iowa boasts one of the most explosive middle-hitter attacks in the country with Liv Mogridge and Hannah Whittingstall. The Hawkeyes are one of two Big Ten programs to be led in kills by its top two middles. Mogridge has 144 kills through 13 matches. She averages a team-leading 3.00 kills per set. Mogridge is hitting an efficient .355 on a team-high 318 swings. Whittingstall, known for her effectiveness on the slide, is second on the team with 127 kills. She is hitting a blistering .414 on 261 attempts and averages 2.49 kills per set. Aside from being terminal, the duo also leads the way in blocking. Whittingstall has 61 blocks and gets 1.20 per set on average. Mogridge has 48 blocks, including six solo.

SET THE TONE
Jenna Meitzler is the nation's leader in assists (576) through 14 matches. She averages 11.08 assists per set, which is third in the league. Iowa is hitting .282 and averaging 14.23 kills per set – good for third in the league – with Meitzler orchestrating the offense. She was named the Kwik Star Klassic tournament MVP after dishing out 120 assists and helping Iowa hit .269 in their 3-0 weekend. The setter also found her offense and added 11 kills. Defensively, she had 21 digs and 15 blocks. Meitzler is coming off of a stellar performance against Drake, racking up 34 assists in the sweep of the Bulldogs. She helped Iowa hit at its highest percentage all season (.367) and her attackers were terminal on 53% of her attempts.

B1G TESTS AWAIT
Conference play begins this week with Ohio State and Rutgers coming to town. Iowa was picked to finish 15th in the Big Ten Preseason Poll. Ohio State and Rutgers followed in 16th and 17th, respectively. Next week, Iowa travels to Maryland, who was picked to finish 18th. The road trip continues with a visit to No. 14 Penn State on Oct. 3 – Iowa’s first ranked matchup of the season. The Hawkeyes will have three home ranked matchups in a row, beginning with a battle against No. 10 Purdue on Oct. 15. Wisconsin is ranked No. 6 and will be coming to Coralville on Oct. 18. Iowa hosts 23rd-ranked USC on Oct. 22.

IN-STATE SWEEPS
Iowa won its in-state matches over Drake and Iowa State without dropping a set. The Hawkeyes handled Drake with a 25-21, 25-21, 25-17 victory on Sept. 16, just over a week after sweeping Iowa State in Ames. Iowa out-hit Drake .367-.229 and commanded the net with nine blocks to Drake’s three. Hallie Steponaitis led Iowa's offense with 11 kills. The Hawkeyes' win over rival Iowa State on Sept. 8 was Iowa’s first win over the Cyclones since 2021. It was also the first over Iowa State in Ames since 1997. The Hawkeyes won the first two sets decisively 25-20 and 25-21 before holding off Iowa State’s charge in the third, 25-23. Ksenija Tomic led the attack with 10 kills and a .409 hitting percentage. Jenna Meitzler had 35 assists, five digs and three kills. Iowa hit .287 to Iowa State’s .230. The Hawkeyes silenced a crowd of 4,665 fans and picked up their second true road victory of the season.

UP NEXT
Iowa hits the road for the first time in nearly a month, continuing conference play with matches at Maryland and Penn State. The Hawkeyes and Terrapins will square off on Oct. 1. Iowa then makes the trek to State College for its match with the Nittany Lions on Oct. 3.