Iowa volleyball will kick off its third weekend of matches when it travels to Des Moines for the Drake Invitational to start this weekend. The Hawkeyes will face South Dakota State at 3 p.m. Saturday, followed by Drake at 6 p.m. The team will then return to Iowa City on Sept. 9 for its home-opener against Eastern Illinois at 2 p.m.

The Jackrabbits should prove to be an easy opponent for the Hawkeyes to begin the invitational. South Dakota State will try to end its six-match losing streak this season and 20-match losing streak overall. Iowa leads the all-time series, 5-0.

South Dakota State does have a couple leaders on the court. Junior Makenzie Hennen led the squad offensively at the Jackrabbit Invitational last weekend, recording 3.50 kills and 2.70 digs per set.

Sophomore Kari Brucker led the team defensively, posting a team-high 4.10 digs per set. Before facing Iowa, the Jackrabbits will take on UMass-Lowell and Drake tonight, followed by an early match against Eastern Illinois on Saturday morning.

Next, the Hawkeyes will face the Bulldogs Saturday evening. Drake is one of the 27 still undefeated teams in the nation with a 6-0 record, winning 18 of the 19 sets it has played thus far.

Junior Elle Tubbs leads Drake defensively. The 6-4 middle blocker has earned two tournament MVP recognitions this season and was honored as this week’s Missouri Valley Defensive Player of the Week. She recorded 19 blocks and 26 kills to support the Bulldogs’ strong front at the net.

Drake’s nationally ranked defense has held opponents to a .074 hitting percentage with no opponents hitting above .130 against the Bulldogs this season.

But the consistent Iowa offense will put up a good fight against its in-state rival. The Hawkeyes recorded a .213 attack percentage against Colorado on Sept. 1 and .214 against Washington on Aug. 31.

For the final match this weekend, the Hawkeyes will return to Carver-Hawkeye to host Eastern Illinois. The Panthers head into this weekend with a 2-5 season record, taking losses from Fresno State and Valparaiso in August.

Senior Taylor Smith leads the Panthers with some impressive stats from the previous weekend at the Butler Bulldogs Tournament. She finished the tournament with a team-high 26 kills, 13 assists, and 1 ace.

On defense, Smith was also a force to be reckoned with, contributing 27 digs and 3 blocks.

Laurel Bailey is another offensive force to contend with. The sophomore has chalked up 65 kills this season along with seven aces.

The strongest defensive players are redshirt junior Anne Hughes and junior Maggie Runge. Hughes leads the squad with 132 digs and will try to lead the conference in digs for the second year in a row. Runge makes her contributions at the net, racking up 26 blocks this season.

So far this season, Iowa’s defense continues to be a strong force at the net. The Hawkeyes boast 10 solo blocks and 92 assisted blocks, compared with 4 and 64 from their opponents. The team averages 2.8 blocks per set with Hannah Clayton leading at 28, 1.40 per set.

Offensively, Iowa trails opponents in kills per set but keeps its errors low — only 90 compared with the 126 of its foes. In assists, Iowa is consistent. The squad has tallied 237 this season, 11.9 per set.