Iowa volleyball has improved in many ways in 2025 after a frustrating 2024 campaign.
Setter Claire Anmeraal returned to peak performance, providing a reliable sixth arm for the team after last year’s injury. Fourth-year Milana “Mo” Moisio transferred from Miami to round out a much-needed libero role after the departure of last year’s Joy Galles.
Newcomers ranging from first-year Carmel Vares to sixth-year Chard’e Vanzandt racked up high kill numbers to up the Hawkeye hitting.
One crucial area for Iowa this season, however, has been its blocking, an intensive area of play that has already been a deal-breaker in several contests.
“It’s a work in progress,” head coach Jim Barnes said. “We have some good blockers on our team and we’re learning how to team block, which is really important.”
After a shaky 6-6 non-conference season last year, Iowa emerged to a 9-3 non-conference run to start the 2025 campaign, spurred on by an explosive 6-0 start.
“We’ve got some new players in our system, but we’re very talented,” Barnes said. “Team blocking has been one of our strengths, especially when we win games.”
Much of Iowa’s success in the center comes from their middle hitters, namely second-year Aleksandra Stojanovic and third-year Hannah Whittingstall.
“Blocking is about giving opportunities — open up spots for the defense to get a good dig off of a hitter,” Whittingstall said. “It also is a big momentum creator. When you get a big block or a good touch that creates a good hit out of the offense, it is something that gets the team super excited. Being able to carry that on to each point is important.”
Whittingstall, a Texas native who started her career at Southern Methodist University, brings more experience playing for the Hawkeyes than Stojanovic, who redshirted last season. However, the two hitters complement the
position together.
“I’m not someone that gets a lot of blocks, but what I do is get a lot of touches,” Stojanovic said. “I read the game well.”
Stojanovic also praised Ammeraal and Moisio for their own roles in facilitating more efficient blocking.
“Claire is the one that sets up our block, then I just follow her lead and jump where she’s at,” Stojanovic said. “We have to make sure Mo knows where we are blocking so she can be in the right spot. I think it’s mostly communication that they help with.”
Barnes credited Stojanovic’s success this season to the Serbian’s tenacity.
“She’s a relentless worker, and that is part of what makes her effective,” Barnes said. “A lot of her stats don’t show up on the stat sheet. What they don’t [show] is, every time she touches it and slows it down, it creates defense for us.”
The fourth-year head coach also commented on Whittingstall’s relentlessness, noting that the third-year gets more tangible blocks.
“She blocks more balls down,” Barnes said. “Hannah’s one of the top blockers in the Big Ten and was leading the Big Ten in blocking at one point. They play great. And what’s even more important is that we team block.”
Moving forward, Stojanovic expressed determination to keep up the intensity on offense.
“We have to keep being aggressive from the middle so we can open and create space for our pins,” Stojanovic said. “Our defense can work better when we do our job well.”
Whittingstall also acknowledged that the games only get more intense with conference play underway.
“Moving forward especially, the pace is starting to pick up, so blocking becomes super important to be able to slow down the hitters’ speed,” Whittingstall said. “These hitters jump high. They hit hard. If we get good block touches on it, it’ll help slow down the game and make us more in control of what we’re doing.”