The Hawkeyes drop two matches to Maryland and Michigan State.
By Kyle Mann
The Iowa volleyball team concluded its 2015 season over the Thanksgiving break, dropping a pair of matches to Maryland on Nov. 25 and Michigan State on Nov. 28.
The Hawkeyes finished the year 12-21 overall, 2-18 in the Big Ten, finishing in 13th of 14 teams in the conference.
Iowa leaped out to take the first set at Maryland, 25-20, after using an early run to ward off a late push by the Terrapins. Maryland had found momentum near the end of the set, and that first set proved to be Iowa’s final set victory of the match and the season.
The Hawkeyes dropped the next three sets, including a tumultuous third set in which Iowa once led 12-7. Maryland came roaring back, however, and won the set, 25-21. Another victory in set four sealed a 3-1 victory.
Freshman Reghan Coyle led the Hawkeyes in kills, collecting a career-high 11.
The match with Michigan State marked the final match in the careers of Iowa seniors Alli O’Deen, Erin Radke, and Mikaela Gunderson. The Spartans were kind enough to recognize the trio prior to the game on the road, but that was the only favors they did for the Hawkeyes.
Michigan State jumped out to sizable leads early in all three sets and cruised to a sweep, never allowing the Hawkeyes more than 19 points.
Coyle once again led the team in kills with 9, and despite the loss, a bit of history was made in the Iowa record books.
Gunderson finished with 3 kills, and when the final whistle sounded, she was atop the all-time Iowa leaders in career attack percentage. Her mark of .294 broke the previous record held by Alessandra Dietz (.278).
The Hawkeyes had a somewhat underwhelming performance in the 2015 season, but head coach Bond Shymansky went a long way in developing many of his young players, and the team appears poised to make a big step forward next season. Stay tuned for a further look back at 2015, as well as more about the future of the program.