Following well-earned victories over Rutgers and Maryland, the Iowa volleyball team dropped their first conference loss of the season against Big Ten newcomer and No. 25 Washington on Friday night.

The Hawkeyes battled hard for the entirety of the game’s three sets, but ultimately fell a few points short of the undefeated Huskies in each match, losing the game 3-0. 

Fourth-year Michelle Urquhart and first-year Malu Garcia led Iowa offensively with 10 kills each, followed by fourth-year Gracie Gibson with 7. Fifth-year Joy Galles rallied the defense with 14 digs, nearly a third of the team’s total, followed by Urquhart with 9.

The first set of the evening gave insight to the game’s tempo early on. Washington jumped to an early lead out of the gate and held it for the entirety of the set, winning 25-20. 

Iowa held their own and got their fair share of points on the board, but still found themselves trailing 23-20 after a kill from Gibson. Two more kills from the Huskies gave them the victory. 

Washington continued their lead through the second set, which was much more dynamic with a single lead change and 10 tie scores.

Tied 23-23, Iowa fell just short of their chance to grab the second set against the Huskies. Two consecutive attack errors, bridged by a Hawkeye timeout, allowed the Huskies to again win the set, 25-23. 

Play continued into the game’s third and final set, by far the closest with 16 tie scores and five lead changes.

The Hawkeyes again found themselves tied at 23 points apiece, but found themselves on the losing side yet again. Washington regrouped after a timeout, landing a kill and an ace to clinch the game. 

Iowa dropped to 8-7 overall and 2-1 in league play with the loss, while the Huskies improved to a perfect 13-0 and 3-0 in conference play with the win. 

Despite the loss, head coach Jim Barnes focused on the good his team did against their undefeated opponent.

“They made a few runs each set, and we battled so well each time,” Barnes said. “We were right there in the second and third. At times, we won the serve and pass war, but didn’t quite execute at the end of the sets.”

Up next

On Sunday, Iowa will make the trek west to Lincoln, Nebraska, for a contest against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who are 13-1 and ranked No. 2 in the nation.

The game is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. and will be live-streamed on Big Ten Plus.