October is undoubtedly the scariest month of the year. For No. 7 Minnesota volleyball, Oct. 2 was no exception.

Carver-Hawkeye Arena nearly proved to be a house of horrors for Minnesota. After dominating the first set 25-18, it appeared the Hawkeyes had the Gophers on the ropes. However, the top-10 matchup proved to be a bit too much for the Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeyes did everything in their power to combat the mighty Gophers. Brie Orr filled the stat sheet, posting an astronomical 51 assists. Orr manufactured 16 digs.

Orr wasn’t the only Hawkeye who performed well. Griere Hughes racked up 21 kills over the course of four sets.

“It feels good to do well, but it is a team sport,” Hughes said. “It sucks to lose. I would take playing bad over losing for sure.”

Filling the stat sheet and merely challenging the No. 7 team in the nation did not satisfy the Hawkeyes. Iowa is hungry for more than just moral victories as Big Ten play continues.

“It’s definitely a moral victory,” head coach Vicki Brown said. “I believe the team is to the point now where they’re like, ‘OK, enough with the moral victories.’ The team is ready to win.”

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Brown also held her own in the head-coach matchup, going toe-to-toe wit Minnesota’s Hugh McCutcheon as the youngest coach in the Big Ten. Conversely, McCutcheon is one of the most experienced head coaches in the Big Ten. McCutcheon was the 2015 American Volleyball Coaches Association Coach of the Year. He also earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors that season.

Iowa’s schedule will not get any easier. The Hawkeyes will head to Pennsylvania to take on Penn State. According to the coaches’ poll, Penn State is the fifth-best team in the country.

“I think we really need to clean up the small-ball stuff,” Orr said. “Little mistakes that we’re making here and there lead to more mistakes. We need to cut the mistake right there and get more points.”

The season has certainly been challenging and frustrating for the Hawkeyes, who believe they are ready to win now. However, the wins just don’t seem to be coming the Hawkeyes’ way fast enough.

With a long Big Ten season ahead, Iowa will undoubtedly have a chance to right the ship. Numerous games against ranked opponents will give the Hawkeyes the opportunity get the big wins they are seeking. For Iowa, the rest of the season is about executing and seizing some of those opportunities.

“Moving forward, it is about every day, every week we should feel like there’s a progression,” Brown said. “Through that progression, if we’re this close and we’re getting better each week, then we’re that close to finishing sets and finishing the match.”