The Iowa volleyball team fell to the Oregon Ducks across four sets of battle on Sunday afternoon, dropping to 9-11 overall and 3-5 in Big Ten play.
First-year Malu Garcia logged 12 kills, followed closely by fourth-year Michelle Urquhart with 10. Fifth-year Joy Galles led in digs with 17, followed by Garcia with 10 and Urquhart with nine.
This was the first and only meeting of the season between the two teams, with Oregon one of four former Pac-12 schools now in the Big Ten. While Iowa fared well in the second set, the Oregon offense earned wins in the first, third, and fourth to win.
In the first set, Oregon led the Hawkeyes in both kills and scoring with 13 of the latter compared to Iowa’s 10. Leading, 24-16, Oregon missed its first attempt to close out the first set with a service error, closing the gap to 24-17. Ultimately, an attack error on Iowa’s end gave the Ducks a 25-17 win.
The Hawkeyes performed much better in the second set, although Oregon still led in kills, 12-11. Iowa’s improved offense flustered the Ducks into two timeouts, capitalizing on the energy to secure a 22-18 lead. A service ace from Urquhart, a kill from Garcia, and an attack error on Oregon’s side of the court were enough to push Iowa to a 25-18 win in the second set.
“We had one set where we served and passed well, and we won it, but we weren’t able to continue that,” Iowa head coach Jim Barnes told Hawkeye Sports. “That is the whole deal. We have to win that part of the game to beat any good team. We need to get tougher in that part of the game. We’ve been relatively consistent, but the last two matches we’ve lost because of our passing.”
Iowa fell behind in the third set, which saw Oregon take an early 10-4 lead that the Hawkeyes never recovered from. The Ducks, up 23-14, took advantage of an Iowa service error before logging one final kill to win the third set, 25-14, as well as take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Oregon ended the night in the fourth set of the game, winning 25-15. Although a kill and a service ace from Urquhart brought the Hawkeyes to the 15-point marker, Oregon made quick work of two kills and an Iowa attack error to secure the 3-1 game win.
Up next
The Hawkeyes remain in Coralville to play Michigan on Oct. 25. The Wolverines are an impressive 15-3 this season, losing only to North Carolina and both USC and Illinois.
The game is set to receive coverage from Big Ten Plus and the Hawkeye Radio Network.