Iowa volleyball went 0-2 in a weekend trip to Indiana for games against No. 18 Indiana and No. 9 Purdue. The Hawkeyes dropped a tough 3-2 decision to the Hoosiers on Friday before coming up short against the Boilermakers, 3-1, on Saturday.
Iowa is currently 13-13 on the season, including 4-10 in Big Ten action.
Indiana
Iowa tested a toughened Indiana squad on Friday, but ultimately fell in five sets.
Sixth-year Chard’e Vanzandt paced the Hawkeye offense with 21 kills, followed by third-year Hannah Whittingstall with 11 kills. Fourth-year Claire Ammeraal tallied 48 assists, while fourth-year Milana Moisio led defensively with 20 digs.
Indiana took a 2-0 lead to start the first set and never looked back. The Hoosiers closed out the first set by forcing a Hawkeye attack error, leading to a 25-18 win.
A competitive second set saw Iowa ramp up the pressure on Indiana, forcing seven ties and two lead changes. Equipped with a 23-18 lead, back-to-back kills from Vanzandt gave the Hawkeyes the 25-18 set victory.
The lead changed four times in the third set alone, the most during the entire competition. Although 13 kills kept Iowa in the fight, nine attack errors, as well as a hitting percentage of .085, hampered the Hawkeyes, leading to a 25-23 Hoosier triumph in the third.
Iowa battled through four ties and three lead changes in the fourth set to force a fifth, breaking even with Indiana kills at 11 apiece. Upon leading 22-21, the Hawkeyes called a timeout and returned to a crucial 3-0 run to take the 25-21 win in the fourth.
Iowa’s momentum fell short in the fifth set, with Indiana again taking an early 2-0 lead and holding it through the end of the set. The Hawkeyes were outkilled in the fifth set, 11-5, despite committing no attack errors, and ultimately dropped the set, 15-10.
“I thought that we had such a determined mindset and that gave us a shot,” head coach Jim Barnes told HawkeyeSports. “We’re driven and I felt that we could pull it off tonight with the way we were so focused and playing so tough. Indiana found a way to break us, but I am proud of our team.”
Purdue
Iowa fell in four sets in Saturday’s contest against Purdue.
Worden fueled the offense with 13 kills, as well as nine digs and a service ace. Ammeraal notched six kills and 35 assists, while Moisio pulled together 21 digs and three assists.
While the Hawkeyes started the first set with a 3-0 run, the Boilermakers came back to tie at 3-3. There were 17 ties and five lead changes in the first set alone, but despite Iowa’s 14 kills compared to Purdue’s 11 kills, the Hawkeyes fell, 25-22.
Purdue increased the pressure in the second set, pushing through another six ties and again taking back the lead, this time following a 13-13 deadlock. Although Iowa forced four of the set’s ties after this marker, the Hawkeyes never got the lead back and fell, 25-21, in the second set.
Iowa ended Purdue’s bid for a sweep with a 25-17 victory in the third set. The Hawkeyes put up 15 kills and hit at a .306 clip, both their highest of the evening. With a set point to their advantage, Iowa took the win in the third following a service error by Purdue.
The Boilermakers ended the competition in the fourth set, taking a 25-18 triumph after a wire-to-wire lead. The Hawkeyes managed just 10 kills in the fourth set, but committed 11 attack errors, leading to the Purdue triumph.
Up next
Iowa returns to Coralville’s Xtream Arena for a rematch against Northwestern on Thursday, Nov. 13. With first serve set for 6:00 p.m., the contest will receive coverage from Big Ten Plus and the Hawkeye Radio Network.