The Iowa volleyball team traveled to Milwaukee this weekend to play in the Panther Invitational, hosted by UW-Milwaukee.
Despite a 3-1 Friday loss to the St. Thomas Tommies, the Hawkeyes triumphed over the Illinois State Redbirds the following day before losing Sunday to the hosting UW-Milwaukee Panthers.
St. Thomas
Iowa fell short of the St. Thomas Tommies over the course of four sets on Friday. Hailing from Minnesota, the Tommies gained an advantage of two sets to none while Iowa managed to hold its own in the third set to force a fourth. It would be the last set played, with St. Thomas taking the game, 3-1.
First-year Dominique Phills led the Hawkeye offense with 12 kills, followed by fellow first-year Malu Garcia and fourth-year Gracie Gibson, each with 11 of their own. Fifth-year Joy Galles anchored the defensive end with 19 digs while fourth-year Michelle Urquhart followed with 11.
While Iowa scored the first point of the first set, the Tommies were able to hold their own and keep themselves in the game despite the aggressive offense of Phills and others. St. Thomas ultimately gained a lead after a 12-12 deadlock, which, despite two timeouts, Iowa never recovered from. The Tommies took the first set, 25-19.
The second set similarly ended in a Tommie victory, this one much more narrow as Iowa significantly stepped up its game.
The Hawkeyes battled the entirety of the set, which saw four tie scores and two lead changes. Although the team trailed only marginally at the end, thanks in part to Iowa’s 15 recorded kills, St. Thomas got the win again in the second set, which ended 25-23.
Iowa exceeded the 25-point mark and managed a 26-24 victory to take the third set. While St. Thomas remained consistent and fell only two points short, the Hawkeyes took advantage of the set to shut down the Tommies’ hopes for a sweep.
With the score tied 24-24 and a two-point lead required to win, a kill from Phills and a Tommie attack error sealed the deal for Iowa, forcing a fourth set.
St. Thomas ended the night with a 25-19 victory in the fourth set to send the Hawkeyes home and improve its own record to 5-4.
The Hawkeyes trailed by only two as the end of the set drew nearer, but St. Thomas brought the night to a swift end with three consecutive kills and an error from Iowa, winning the match, 3-1.
Illinois State
Iowa returned in force to secure a 3-1 victory over the Illinois State Redbirds.
Phills and Garcia led the offense with 12 kills each, Galles putting up 10 digs for the defense.
The Hawkeyes took the first set with some resistance from Illinois State. The Redbirds kept the score close until the 11-11 mark, after which Iowa pulled away to take the first set, 25-19.
Iowa kept things moving in its favor with a whopping 25-8 win in the second set. Phills led the set in kills with five recorded, followed by second-year Hannah Whittingstall with three.
The Redbirds managed to briefly turn the tables in the third set, scoring often and early to keep themselves alive. Following a timeout, Illinois State forced two consecutive errors from the Hawkeyes to take the third set, 25-22.
Iowa closed out the competition with a win in the fourth set. Taking the first point of the set, the Hawkeyes rode the momentum to a massive lead and, following five back-to-back errors from the Redbirds, a 25-14 win.
UW-Milwaukee
Iowa fell Sunday to UW-Milwaukee, the hosts of the Panther Invitational. Similar to the first game of the invitational against St. Thomas, the Hawkeyes lost three sets to one.
Second-year Gabby Deery led Iowa in kills with 16 across four sets of play, followed by Garcia with 15 and Whittingstall with 13. Galles again led in digs with 22, followed by first-year Jenna Meitzler with 15.
Iowa fought hard but ultimately fell in the first set.
Down 23-19, the Hawkeyes earned back-to-back kills from Whittingstall and Deery to bring the score to 23-21, triggering a Panther timeout. However, after a Panther kill and an attack error, Iowa lost, 25-21.
The Hawkeyes closed the gap more in the second set but still fell against UW-Milwaukee’s offense. Following a score challenge from Iowa, the scoreboard was deadlocked at 24-24. Two Panther kills, however, brought UW-Milwaukee another set win, this one 26-24.
Similar to the match against St. Thomas, Iowa banded together to win the third set and force a fourth, ending the Panther attempt at a sweep. Amidst multiple substitutions, the Hawkeyes forced two attack errors from the Milwaukee team, winning the set, 25-23.
With the Hawkeyes still in the game, the fourth set saw UW-Milwaukee throw everything at Iowa to end the competition with a win of three sets to one.
Iowa again knotted the score at 24 apiece, but two kills from the Panthers tipped the scales in favor of the home team, who took the fourth set, 26-24.
“I am proud of the players for stepping up, but we need to finish off matches,” head coach Jim Barnes told HawkeyeSports. “We are continuing to learn that with quite a few new players on the floor.”
Up next
Iowa will continue its season in Coralville with the Kwik Star Klassic, to begin at 6:00 p.m. Sept. 19 against South Dakota. The game will receive coverage from both the Hawkeye Radio Network and Big Ten Plus.