Iowa volleyball beat Indiana, 3-2, inside Xtream Arena on Saturday to earn its first Big Ten win of the season. Iowa is now 1-5 in Big Ten conference play and 7-10 overall.

Iowa was swept at Indiana in its worst offensive showing of the year on Sept. 28. This match, fifth-year senior Amiya Jones said, was the breakthrough the Hawkeyes needed. 

“I think this match helped us believe we are capable and have all the skills to push past these teams and execute in the Big Ten,”  Jones said. 

How it happened

Iowa and Indiana exchanged points in the first set until the Hoosiers pulled away, 27-25. Hoosier outside hitter Maddy Saris recorded 10 kills in the first set, helping Indiana to 18 kills on .400 hitting.

The second set was all Hawkeyes. Kills by Jones and outside hitters Toyosi Onabanjo, Addie VanderWeide, and Michelle Urquhart gave Iowa an early 12-6 lead, forcing an Indiana timeout. The Hawkeyes stayed hot out of the timeout with a 7-2 run and stayed in control to win, 25-13. The Hawkeyes held the Hoosiers to a .037 hitting percentage.

Iowa maintained a slight lead for the majority of the third set. The Hawkeyes took their biggest lead, 21-17, after an Onabanjo block, which forced an Indiana timeout. But the Hoosiers ended the set on a 8-1 run, winning 25-22.

The fourth set was complete domination by the Hawkeyes. Indiana called its first timeout after getting down by six early, but the Hoosiers could not respond as an Onabanjo kill extended the Iowa lead to 20-8. A kill by VanderWeide sealed the set for the Hawkeyes, 25-11. Indiana was held to a .000 hitting efficiency with nine kills and nine errors. 

The fifth set was tied at 10 until a kill by hitter Delaney McSweeney and unsuccessful challenge by Indiana head coach Steve Aird gave Iowa a two point advantage. Iowa took the fifth set, 15-11, securing the match. 

Jones, McSweeney reach career highs

Iowa’s offense recorded 62 kills on .301 hitting on Saturday afternoon. Jones matched her career-high and led the team with 17 kills for the second match in a row. She also boasted a hitting percentage of .452.

Junior middle hitter Delaney McSweeney set a career-high 15 kills on .444 hitting. 

“[Head coach Jim Barnes] prepared us, and I think we just executed, hit our angles, and did our job today,” Jones said.

Sophomore outside hitter Toyosi Onabanjo was the third Hawkeye to record double-digit kills over the match, with 10 on .333 hitting.

Scrappy defense

The Iowa defense held Indiana to a .152 hitting efficiency over the match while registering 65 digs and nine blocks. Senior libero Mari Hinkle, who is first in the Big Ten with 4.52 digs per set, led the Hawkeyes with 15 digs. 

At 6-foot-7, McSweeney led the team with seven blocks, continuing her dominant day on both sides of the ball.

“I think the biggest piece of advice I’ve gotten on blocking is that it’s a contact sport,” McSweeney said. “I think that when you go up to block, you have to be ready to be physical. You want to attack the people across the net from you on defense the same way you want to attack on offense.”

Up next

Iowa will be back on the court inside Xtream Arena next Friday against Wisconsin. Match time is set for 6 p.m. and will air on BTN+. 

The Badgers swept the Hawkeyes twice in the 2021 season.