Iowa volleyball is 1-0 to start conference play, cemented by Thursday night’s sweep of visiting Maryland. Despite a fierce third set that extended to extra points, the Hawkeyes emerged victorious in three straight sets against the Terrapins at Coralville’s Xtream Arena.
Sixth-year Chard’e Vanzandt led Iowa’s offense with 14 kills, officially pushing the Chattanooga transfer past the 1,000 career mark. Vanzandt was followed by third-year Hannah Whittingstall and first-year Carmel Vares with nine and seven kills, respectively.
“I think today is a confidence builder for Iowa,” Vanzandt said. “Previously, no one would think Iowa would open up sweeping a team, but now it’s like, ‘OK, we can do that.’”
Defensively, fourth-years Claire Ammeraal and Milana Moisio locked down with 11 and 10-dig efforts, with Ammeraal also tallying 31 assists and six kills.
“I think it’s definitely going to boost our confidence,” Whittingstall said. “We’re going to take all the good things that we did today and then just keep going, and hopefully we’ll keep winning.”
Set One
Although an Iowa attack error put Maryland on the board first, the Hawkeyes were quick to bounce back, with two kills and a service ace from sixth-year Vanzandt leading the offense.
Iowa was quick to cross the 10-point threshold, leading by as much as seven points during the first set. The Hawkeyes also outkilled the Terrapins in the opening set, 13-8.
As the contest progressed, timely hitting from Whittingstall and a pair of aces from second-year Jaimie Marquardt ultimately created a buffer that pushed the Hawkeyes closer to their first conference set win.
Equipped with a 24-17 lead, Marquardt stepped up to serve, delivering one more ace to mark a 3-0 scoring run for Iowa and give the Hawkeyes the first set by an eight-point margin.
Set Two
Maryland again scored first to start the second set, but Vanzandt’s fifth kill of the contest kept Iowa hot on its trail. While the Terrapins jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, the Hawkeye offense deadlocked at four points all, taking their first lead of the set with a block from Carmel Vares and second-year Aleksandra “Sashka” Stojanovic.
“We had Sashka stay in and serve and she scored a ton of points tonight,” head coach Jim Barnes said. “She hasn’t served all season. She went back there and really gave us a boost from the service line, too. So that was exciting to see.”
Iowa again began to pull away upon reaching the 10-point marker, leading by as big a margin as 15-9. While Maryland’s competitiveness and a 3-0 run kept them alive, the Terrapins never took back the lead. Iowa’s offense, marked by a 6-0 scoring run, continuously upped the tempo.
In the end, a set from Moisio led to Ammeraal’s third kill of the evening, allowing the Hawkeyes to take the second set, 25-20.
Set Three
The Terrapins ramped up the pressure in the third set, winning the race to 10 points for the first time all evening. Neither team managed to keep a significant lead, with both squads fighting for every point.
Despite 12 tie scores and four lead changes, both the most of any set of the night, Iowa managed to keep its composure against a 24-22 deficit, coming back to force their way into extra points to determine the winner.
Upon reaching a 26-26 draw, a short serve from Maryland’s side of the court gave Iowa the advantage.
Moments later, Whittingstall, assisted by Ammeraal, rocketed the ball into Terrapin territory for her ninth kill of the night, giving the Hawkeyes a 28-26 win in the third set to complete the sweep and move to 10-3 on the season.
“In that moment, it was really cool to see us all come together, just trust each other and stay calm,” Whittingstall said.
Up next
Iowa remains at home to face No. 7 Wisconsin in Sunday’s contest, set for a 2:00 p.m. start time at Xtream Arena in Coralville. The Badgers are riding a six-game win streak and are 7-1 on the season. The contest will receive coverage from Big Ten Plus and the Hawkeye Radio Network.