The Iowa volleyball team fell to the Iowa State Cyclones in Ames on Wednesday, coming up short against the rivals across four sets of action.
The Hawkeyes entered the game with a 4-1 record, boasting an undefeated showing in San Juan and a 2-1 appearance in the Hawkeye Invitational. Iowa State scored fast and early to take the advantage, while Iowa’s 25-19 win in the third set ended the opponent’s attempt at a sweep.
The Hawkeyes had trouble combating their rival’s relentless offense in the first two sets, before briefly shifting momentum back to their side of the court in the third. The Cyclones ended the matchup with a 25-18 win in the fourth set to end the game in their favor.
First-year Malu Garcia led Iowa in kills, contributing 15 of the 45 the Hawkeyes logged. Third-year Claire Ammeraal led in assists with 36. Fifth-year Joy Galles boosted Iowa on the defensive side with 10 digs, followed by Ammeraal with seven.
The Cyclones came out of the gate strong, jumping to an early 5-1 lead and growing it to 12-4, forcing two Iowa timeouts in the process. While Iowa was able to force Iowa State’s share of errors, tallying kills from such players as fourth-years Gracie Gibson and Michelle Urquhart, Iowa State set the basis for a successful first set and took away a 25-10 victory.
The second set mirrored the first in terms of outcome, though the Hawkeyes were able to rack up more points and a smoother playing style.
The Hawkeyes tied the score twice early on in the set and trailed by only a point until the 14-13 mark. Thanks to one final kill and a Hawkeye attack error, Iowa State pulled away and took another set in its favor, this time with a final score of 25-19.
“We obviously came out tight,” head coach Jim Barnes told HawkeyeSports. “We didn’t handle the crowd and atmosphere very well to start. We need to learn how to come out loose and aggressive and play our game from the whistle.”
Iowa played a much more solid game in the third set, keeping the score close and pulling away to snag the win, forcing a fourth set and ending Iowa State’s hopes for a sweep.
With the score tied 8-8, Garcia and first-year Alyssa Worden put up a four-point effort, catapulting the Hawkeyes to a 12-8 lead and triggering an Iowa State timeout. Iowa had momentum, and it rode it to a 25-19 triumph to keep the game going into a fourth set.
Iowa State was able to hold its own and take the fourth set to end the competition with a 3-1 Cyclone win. Iowa had highlights of its own, with Garcia recording four of the kills and Galles four of the digs in this set.
Up next
Iowa will continue its season in UW-Milwaukee’s Panther Invitational, kicking off an appearance Friday against St. Thomas at 4:00 p.m. All games will have coverage from the Hawkeye Radio Network.