Iowa has another match at No. 4 Nebraska on Saturday in Lincoln.
By Kyle Mann
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After dropping a match to Nebraska in straight sets in Carver-Hawkeye on Wednesday night, the Iowa volleyball team will hit the dusty trail for a rematch with the Cornhuskers in Lincoln on Saturday.
Opening the conference season with back-to-back matches against the No. 4-ranked team in the NCAA is far from easing into things, but as head coach Bond Shymansky points out, this is the Big Ten.
“This is the Big Ten,” Shymansky said. “You’re going to see the best teams all the time.”
Despite being swept in the conference opener, the Hawkeyes put together an impressive performance, and they walked away with a reaffirmation that they can compete with top teams not only in the conference but a top-five team in the country. As they look to avenge their loss, the Hawkeyes are confident that they belong.
“One of the things we’re realizing is that we’re one of the best teams,” Shymansky said. “We have a right and a reason to expect to come out and compete toe-to-toe with everybody in our league. We showed that [Wednesday night], and we still have so much room to improve.”
The Hawkeyes led the Cornhuskers on several occasions in the first match, and even appeared to have them on the ropes at times both in the first set one and early in the second. The offense showed spurts of being effective against the touted Nebraska frontline but were unable to close out the set to notch a victory.
Sophomore Jess Janota was particularly effective, finishing second with 11 kills and leading the team with a .381 attack percentage. She says the physical matchup is what they expected, and nothing they can’t handle.
“We’re anticipating physical matches; everyone in the Big Ten is physical and very skilled in that regard,” Janota said. “We’re just expecting ourselves to play to the best of our ability, and we’ll be OK.”
Janota and Lauren Brobst reached double-digits in kills, but Shymansky was quick to point out that in the Big Ten, and especially against a team such as Nebraska, he needs all of his hitters to be on point.
Setter Loxley Keala finished with 37 assists and was proud of her team’s ability to compete throughout the length of the match, despite the final result.
Keala, for one, isn’t shying away from the challenging schedule, and in fact welcomes the trial-by-fire situation.
“The strength of schedule means we’re going to be playing great teams every night, and it’s amazing, because you play the best competition in the country, but you have to bring you’re A-game every single night,” she said. “I think it’s a great challenge for us to rise to and a great opportunity to capitalize on what we’re doing right now and keeping the run we have going.”
The Hawkeyes have embraced the early top-flight competition, and although it will be far from easy, they are confident they will be better for it.
“It’s high-nerve, high-tension situations, it’s the moment of performance,” Shymansky said. “We’ll get there, because the experience of the Big Ten will make us get there.”
First serve is set for 7 p.m.
Follow @KyleFMann for news, updates, and analysis of Iowa volleyball.