With the Iowa volleyball team in dire need of a conference win, a pair of home matches against Maryland and Rutgers could not come at a better time.

The Hawkeyes (10-13, 0-10 Big Ten) will face Maryland (11-13, 1-9 Big Ten) at 7 p.m. today and Rutgers (4-18, 1-9 Big Ten) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Iowa is improved from the last season’s edition, but it has struggled thus far to convert that into conference wins. In fact, 10 matches into the season, the 0-10 mark could give the illusion of a slight regression from the 1-9 start last season.

With that in mind, it becomes imperative that the Hawkeyes capitalize on the opportunity to distinguish themselves from the Big Ten bottom-dwellers. The Hawks finished ahead of both teams in the standings in 2014, but they are now alone in last place, although Maryland and Rutgers’ only conference wins have come against each other.

To avoid any confusion about the direction of the team, it’s important that the Hawkeyes win the rare matches that they are flat-out expected to win.

“We can see that we’re improved from last season, but we still haven’t reaped the victories that we needed to,” head coach Bond Shymansky said. “It’s do-or-die for us right now; there’s no avoiding that reality. Our team knows it, Maryland and Rutgers are going to know it, and we’re going to have to bring it like it means something to us.”

This weekend could be billed as a battle to get out of last place, as a pair of victories over Maryland and Rutgers would likely vault the Hawkeyes over both by the end of the weekend.

The Hawkeyes know better than to overlook any Big Ten opponent.

“This weekend is a great opportunity for us to get some Big Ten wins,” Mikaela Gunderson said. “But we know that every weekend is going to be a grind, going to be a battle, no matter what the opponent on the other side of the court. We just need to stick to us and who we are, and we’ll be OK.”

Indeed, they should. The Hawkeyes began the season with an impressive showing in Hawaii, followed by their first victory over Iowa State since 1997 and an upset of a then-ranked Texas A&M. The team was riding high and seemed to have arrived as a legitimate threat.

They’ve gone through the ringer since. With eight of their 10 conference matches against ranked opponents, four in the top 10, only a handful of teams can even sniff the strength of schedule the Hawkeyes have had. It’s seemed like an easy excuse to use the “Big Ten is really good” defense, but a pair of convincing Iowa wins this weekend could prove just how true it is.

And unfortunately for Maryland and Rutgers, Iowa enters this weekend coming off what it felt like was its strongest set in some time in the Minnesota loss.

“We were playing together, and we were having fun; it looked like everybody wanted to be out there,” Lauren Brobst said. “We need to come out with that sense of urgency. We have a great opportunity as long as we stay as a team and play together.”