Iowa Volleyball: Hawkeyes Travel to Play Two Ranked Conference Teams This Weekend

Iowa (9-18, 3-13) continues their Big Ten season with two challenging road matches. First up is a trip to Madison to face #7 ranked Wisconsin (19-5, 15-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Then Iowa travels to Minneapolis to face #5 ranked Minnesota (20-4, 14-2) at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

From hawkeyesports.com:

SCOUTING NO. 7 WISCONSIN

• Wisconsin is 19-5 overall and 15-1 in conference.
• The Badgers have won three straight matches after falling to Ohio State on Nov. 8.
• As a team, Wisconsin is hitting a Big-Ten leading .291 this season for seventh in the NCAA.
• Wisconsin is coached by Kelly Sheffield, who is in his seventh season.

SCOUTING NO. 5 MINNESOTA

• Minnesota is 20-4 overall and 14-2 in conference.
• Minnesota is tied for second in the Big Ten.
• The Gophers are atop the Big Ten with 2.82 blocks per set.
• Minnesota is coached by Hugh McCutcheon, who is in his eighth season.

Last week Iowa went on the road and lost to both Michigan on Wednesday and then to Nebraska on Saturday. The loss to Nebraska was five-set affair and in that match sophomore Courtney Buzzerio record a volleyball triple-double with 18 kills, 20 assists, and ten digs. According to hawkeyesports.com, this is just the third triple-double in the past 20 years for the Hawkeyes.

Stat Stuffers

Junior OH Griere Hughes has 289 kills on 712 total attempts (.240 hitting percentage) to lead the team. Due to injuries, sophomore OH Courtney Buzzerio took over the setting duties but is still second on the team with 265 kills on 695 attempts (.235 hitting percentage).

Junior DS Halle Johnston is leading the team with 461 digs.

Sophomore MB Hannah Clayton has 74 blocks (0.75 blocks per set) to lead the squad.

Freshman Emma Lowes shared setting duties with Buzzerio against Nebraska. She joins fellow freshman MB Rients and OH Kyndra Hansen, both from Minnesota, who have seen a lot more playing time as the season has progressed and are stepping up for the Hawkeyes. The experience that these young players are accumulating will pay dividends in future years.

Upcoming Schedule

Friday, November 22: Iowa at Wisconsin at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 23: Iowa at Minnesota at 7 p.m.

How to Follow Along

• Live stats for each contest are linked on the team’s schedule page or on hawkeyesports.com/vblive.
• A live stream of this weekend’s matches are available on BTN+ or FloVolleyball (subscriptions required).