Hawkeyes Travel To Rutgers, No. 11 Penn State

Press Release Courtesy of Iowa Athletics: Hawkeyes Travel to Rutgers, No. 11 Penn State

Hawkeyes Travel to Rutgers, No. 11 Penn State

SERVE IT UP

Following a four-match home stint, the Hawkeyes will hit the road for four matches. The squad travels to Rutgers on Friday for a 6 p.m. (CT) matchup and faces No. 11 Penn State on Saturday in a 3 p.m. tilt.

WATCH/LISTEN/FOLLOW ALONG

Both matches will be streamed live on BTN Plus. To see if your cable package gives you access to BTN Plus content, sign up for BTN Plus, or learn more about it, visit btn2go.com.

Live audio is available for both matches on Hawkeye All-Access at hawkeyesports.com.

Live stats for each contest can be found on the volleyball schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES

For an inside look at the Iowa Volleyball program and access to exclusive coverage, “like” University of Iowa Volleyball on Facebook and follow @IowaVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to follow the team’s live Twitter feed, @IowaVB_Live, for more frequent in-match tweets, statistics and more.

SETTING RECORDS AND TAKING NAMES

Wins over Northwestern and Illinois gave the Hawkeyes a 17-7 overall record and a 7-5 Big Ten mark on the season. 17 wins is the most for the program since 1994 when Iowa concluded the season with a 24-9 overall record and a 14-6 league mark. The seven league wins is the most for the program since 2000 when Iowa went 11-9 in league play.

VOTING TIME

The Hawkeyes are receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coach’s Association (AVCA) poll after wins over Northwestern and No. 24 Illinois last weekend. Iowa has been ranked just once in school history: Sept. 5, 1995 the Hawkeyes landed at No. 24 in the rankings after a 3-0 start to the season.

COYLE IN BEAST MODE

After dominating performances on both Friday night (14 kills) and Saturday night (18 kills), sophomore Reghan Coyle was named Big Ten Player of the Week; she is the first Hawkeye to earn this honor since 2012.

SCOUTING RUTGERS

·         Rutgers is 4-21 overall and 0-12 in Big Ten action. The Scarlet Knights last fell to No. 3 Minnesota (3-0) and No. 4 Wisconsin (3-0) on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29, respectively.

·         Rutgers ranks seventh in the Big Ten and 56th in the nation with 2.43 blocks per set. Overall, the Scarlet Knights land at No. 100 nationally in total blocks with 201.5.

·         Mikaela Matthews is 71st nationally and eighth in the league with 1.20 blocks per set. In addition, Matthews is 15th in the conference and No. 124 in the nation with a .329 attacking percentage.

·         Rutgers and Iowa have only faced each other three times in program history. The Hawkeyes have secured wins each time; the last win was a 3-0 sweep on Oct. 31, 2015.

SCOUTING PENN STATE

·         Penn State is 17-6 overall with a 9-3 record in Big Ten play. Last weekend, the Nittany Lions dropped a pair of decisions to No. 4 Wisconsin (3-1) and No. 3 Minnesota (3-0).

·         The Nittany Lions are currently No. 11 in the AVCA poll. They have been ranked as high as No. 9 this season.

·         Penn State currently leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the nation with a .304 attacking percentage.

·         Haleigh Washington leads the league and lands at No. 3 in the nation with a .446 hitting percentage, while Simone Lee is first in the conference and 29th nationally in kills per set with 4.28.

·         Iowa is 0-50 against Penn State all-time.