Iowa City Today

Iowa Hawkeyes women's volleyball team will return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the first time since 2021 to host two ranked opponents this weekend. The Hawkeyes are set to face No. 25 USC on Friday at 6:00 p.m. in a Military Appreciation Match and No. 23 UCLA on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. for a Pink Out match. Fans holding tickets to the Iowa-Penn State football game will receive free admission to both volleyball matches.

Parking for the matches will be available in Lots 46, 65, and 75N at no cost, while Lot 40 will be reserved for ADA parking. Other lots will be closed due to the football game against Penn State.

Both matches can be streamed on B1G+, and the Hawkeye Radio Network (YouTube) will provide audio coverage with John Evans. Live statistics and updates are accessible on the volleyball schedule page at hawkeyesports.com and the team's social media platforms.

USC enters the week with an 11-5 overall record and a 2-4 mark in Big Ten play. The Trojans, in their second year in the conference, have one ranked win this season against No. 13 Creighton. Head coach Brad Keller is in his sixth season, with a record of 96-62 at USC. Freshman Reese Messer has recorded 596 assists, ranking fifth in the Big Ten, and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on September 22. London Wijay and Abigail Mullen lead the team with 167 kills each, while Mullen is tied for second in the Big Ten with 29 service aces.

UCLA holds a 10-6 overall record and is 4-2 in conference play, with notable wins over No. 14 Minnesota, No. 15 Penn State, and No. 22 USC. The Bruins finished their first Big Ten season last year with an 8-12 record and placed 12th. Cheridyn Leverette leads UCLA with 220 kills, ranking seventh in the Big Ten, while Marianna Singletary leads the team in blocks with 78. Four Bruins have received Big Ten weekly honors this season. Alfee Reft is in his third season as head coach, holding a 42-33 overall record.

This weekend marks Iowa's first matches at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since the fall of 2021, when the team hosted Michigan and Michigan State. The Hawkeyes had moved full-time to Xtream Arena in spring 2021.

Several Iowa players are approaching career milestones: Claire Ammeraal is ten assists away from reaching 1,000 as a Hawkeye; Allison Berent needs eight digs for her career 100; Jaimie Marquardt is twenty-five digs from her career 200; Milana Moisio is forty-five digs from career 500; Aleksandra Stojanovic is ten kills from career 100; and Hannah Whittingstall is eight blocks from reaching 200 at Iowa.

Defensively, libero Milana Moisio leads the Big Ten with 245 digs and set a personal best of 26 digs against Michigan last weekend. Hannah Whittingstall leads Iowa at the net with 78 blocks, tying her for third in the league. Jaimie Marquardt has contributed 93 digs this season.

On offense, Chard’e Vanzandt leads Iowa with 184 kills and recently surpassed her 1,000th career kill. Freshman Carmel Vares has tallied 171 kills, while Whittingstall has added 111 kills with a .324 hitting percentage. Claire Ammeraal has contributed both as setter and attacker with 103 kills, and Hallie Steponaitis has made two starts, recording 68 kills. Aleksandra Stojanovic leads the team in hitting percentage at .422.

Iowa’s homestand continues next weekend at Xtream Arena with matches against Michigan State on Friday night and Rutgers on Sunday afternoon. The Rutgers match will be televised on Big Ten Network.