The Iowa volleyball team battled rival Minnesota hard, but ultimately fell in three straight sets against the Golden Gophers on Saturday. The game was the first of a three-game road trip to close out the 2024-25 season, with Big Ten newcomers UCLA and USC to follow.

Fourth-year outside hitter Michelle Urquhart led in kills with nine, just shy of a double-double with nine digs. Third-year Claire Ammeraal recorded a double-double of 16 assists and 10 digs. Fifth-year Joy Galles proved a defensive unit with nine digs and three assists, the second most on the team.

Minnesota took an early lead to start the game’s first set, the closest of the matchup. The two teams broke even in kills for the first set, each recording 12. But a higher hitting percentage and strong offensive effort from the Golden Gophers proved too much for the Hawkeyes, and Minnesota took the set with one final kill, 25-20.

Iowa fell behind in kills in the second set, logging only eight to the Golden Gophers’ 16. It was nonetheless the most competitive set of the night, with seven tie scores and three lead changes. The Hawkeyes closed the gap to six with a Golden Gopher service error, but fell, 25-18. 

Iowa battled fiercely in the third and final set of the Big Ten matchup, but lost 25-12.

The Hawkeyes were once again out-killed 10-6 by their Golden Gopher opponents. It was also Iowa’s lowest hitting percentage of the night at 36 percent and Minnesota’s highest of the night at 75 percent. While a kill from Ammeraal narrowed the gap to 22-12, a kill from the Golden Gophers and two Hawkeye attack errors closed out the third set for Minnesota, 25-12.

Up next

Iowa, now sporting a 10-20 overall record and a 4-14 Big Ten record, will travel to Los Angeles for the season’s final two games against Big Ten newcomers UCLA and USC.

The game against UCLA is set to commence on Nov. 27 at 9:00 p.m Central Time, followed by USC at the same time on Nov. 29. Both matchups are set to receive coverage from Big Ten Plus and the Hawkeye Radio Network.