The Hawkeyes still have NCAA Tournament hopes, which while diminishing, remain alive.
By Kyle Mann
Having started Big Ten play with eight-consecutive losses to fall to 10-11 overall on the season, the Iowa volleyball team is at the crossroads.
The Hawkeyes, much improved from a season ago, entered 2015 with lofty expectations, but the ultimate goal of finishing at or near the top of the conference is quickly approaching the point of no return. The team has dug itself a large hole but still has 12 of its 20 conference matches remaining.
Now, the team can either continue in its slump or salvage the season.
“There’s a ton of season left; the goal of making it to the NCAA Tournament is still attainable,” associate head coach Michaela Franklin said. “We are in control of that, and we have a lot of work in order to attain that goal. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s definitely something that we’re still after.”
It’s been well-documented that the Hawkeyes’ strength of schedule thus far has been, in a word, frightening, but what to this point has been a primary factor behind their less-than-stellar start could serve to make a strong résumé come tournament time.
That is, if they start winning.
The Hawkeyes began the Big Ten season 0-4 but were in high spirits after playing relatively well against No. 4 Nebraska (twice), No. 13 Ohio State, and No. 1 Penn State. However, what would seem to have turned the tables was a heartbreaking loss to No. 24 Michigan in the fifth conference match on Oct. 7.
“I definitely think we’re holding on to that Michigan loss a little bit; a little bit too long,” junior Loxley Keala said. “It still stings, and it probably will for the rest of the season, but we just need to move past it. We just need to stay motivated and stay hungry, and we need to let that go at this point.”
Keala has noted all season the effect that momentum plays in volleyball, and she said that with each loss, it is harder to get it back. As such, it is imperative that Iowa get back on the winning track.
If the team can gain any momentum, it can gain confidence in knowing that despite its string of losses, several strong showings against top-quality teams can serve as proof that another string of wins and a trip to the NCAA Tournament could still be in the cards.
In fact, the Hawkeyes very much believe that they have scores to settle in several upcoming rematches down the home stretch, including the biggest of the Big Ten giants.
“When we played at Penn State, we saw that they were very beatable,” junior Lauren Brobst said. “So when they come here, our goal will be to beat them in our home gym.”
Six of the Hawkeyes’ remaining opponents are ranked in the top 25, with at least one other on the fringe, so the Hawkeyes’ hopes of finishing tournament-worthy may be slight but not impossible.
They’re simply out of time to waste.
