The Iowa volleyball team fell to Northwestern over four sets of competition on Wednesday evening, dropping to 9-10 overall and 3-4 in Big Ten play. 

First-year Malu Garcia logged 13 kills, followed closely by fourth-years Gracie Gibson with 11 and Michelle Urquhart with nine. Fifth-year Joy Galles led in digs with 14, followed by Garcia and Urquhart with eight each.

This was the first meeting between the two teams since the 2023-24 season, where Northwestern swept the Hawkeyes in both of their meetings. While Iowa fared better overall this time around, the well-oiled Wildcats still came away with a 3-1 win. 

In the first set, Iowa led in kills with 14 against Northwestern’s nine. However, the Wildcats still managed to pull far enough away to win by a margin of three. Trailing 23-16, Iowa mounted a massive comeback attempt, capitalizing on two kills from Gibson, a kill from Garcia, and two Wildcat attack errors. Ultimately, Northwestern outlasted the Hawkeyes, 25-22.

The second set saw a dominating performance from the Wildcats. 

The Hawkeyes managed only six kills in the second set, while the Wildcats tallied 11. As the match drew to a close, a kill from Garcia brought the score to 24-13, before a block from the Northwestern side of the court gave the Wildcats a 25-13 win in the second set to grow their lead to 2-0.

Iowa found more success in the third set, leading Northwestern in kills 11-9. This was a prevalent theme throughout the night as a whole, the Hawkeyes leading the Wildcats in kills 44-41 across all four sets. Iowa ended Northwestern’s bid for a sweep with a 25-19 victory, sealing the deal with a kill from first-year Jenna Meitzler, one of two the setter had all night, alongside 29 assists.

The Wildcats took home the win in the game’s fourth set, winning 25-22, the same score that had kicked off the night. Although the Hawkeyes again led in kills 13-12, Northwestern managed to survive the set and knock Iowa’s conference record down to 3-4. While a kill from Garcia closed the gap to 24-22, the Hawkeyes succumbed to a service error, one of 16 they had on the night.

Northwestern brought the night to an end with a 25-22 win in the fourth set to win 3-1, improving to 4-11 overall and 2–5 in Big Ten play. 

Up next

The Hawkeyes return to Coralville to play Oregon on Oct. 20. The game is slated to receive coverage from Big Ten Plus and the Hawkeye Radio Network.