Iowa volleyball bested Northwestern in five sets at Xtream Arena on Thursday. After an Oct. 31 loss earlier this season, the win marked the Hawkeyes’ first victory over the Wildcats since 2021.
Fourth-year Claire Ammeraal notched a triple-double of 10 kills, 55 assists, and 17 digs. Fourth-year Milana Moisio led the defense with 19 digs, while third-year Alyssa Worden and first-year Carmel Vares each tallied 16 kills.
Set One
A 3-0 run gave Iowa an early lead, while a kill from third-year Alyssa Worden nudged the Hawkeyes to the 10-point marker. By the first media timeout of the evening, another three-point run had bumped Iowa up to a 15-9 lead.
“The first set, we just came out firing,” Moisio said. “Everything was going well. We were passing well, we were serving well, we’ve been working on it the past couple weeks.”
While Northwestern was able to close the gap to as little as three points, the Wildcats mustered 13 kills in the entire set, compared to an 18-kill effort from the Hawkeyes, leading Iowa to a 25-20 victory in the first set.
Set Two
Northwestern put together a run of their own to put Iowa on the defensive early in the second set. Northwestern built up a 10-5 lead before a kill from Worden gave the Hawkeyes another point, costing the Wildcats their challenge card as well.
Iowa continued mustering their comeback, closing to within a point of Northwestern, but the Wildcats’ early gains kept them alive.
Northwestern evened the score, taking the second set by a margin of 25-17.
Set Three
Despite an early 4-0 run by the Wildcats, the Hawkeyes fought back, resulting in seven tie scores before Iowa narrowly crossed the 10-point threshold first. The hitting only intensified as both squads fought for every point they could, with the Hawkeyes calling their first timeout upon facing a 12-10 deficit.
Although Iowa trailed by as much as six points, the Hawkeyes fought hard to close the gap to an 18-18 deadlock, before racing ahead to a three-point lead and forcing the Wildcats to call a timeout of their own.
Despite Iowa’s comeback, the Hawkeyes wavered at set point, leading to a 27-25 Wildcat triumph in extra points.
“I’m proud that we dug in and put them away, because we let them back in,” head coach Jim Barnes said. “We should have won the third set, we let them back in it. I’m really proud that the team pulled together. We had different people rise to the occasion to help us.”
Set Four
An explosive 6-0 run propelled Iowa out to an early 7-4 lead to start the fourth set. While the Hawkeyes held the lead for a good duration of the set, leading by as much as six points, the Wildcats continued to chip away at the lead.
An Iowa attack error opened the door for Northwestern to tie the set at 17 apiece, before a service ace put the Wildcats up, 18-17. The two teams continued to trade points, but a 24-24 tie confirmed the need for extra points.
This time, the Hawkeyes took advantage of an extended set to close the deal and nab the 29-27 victory, forcing a fifth set.
Set Five
After three ties to start the fifth set, Iowa found some momentum on a Northwestern ball handling error, giving the Hawkeyes a 6-5 lead going into a Wildcat timeout.
Later in the set, an unsuccessful challenge by Northwestern cost the Wildcats their challenge card and grew the Hawkeye lead to 10-7.
Despite past struggles to close out fifth sets this season, Iowa surged ahead and, boosted by another 4-0 run, took the final set, 15-9.
“Getting that win is very satisfying,” Ammeraal said. “It just shows that they’re such a good team, we put up a fight, and we made it work.”
Up next
Iowa remains in Coralville for Sunday’s contest against No. 20 Minnesota. The Golden Gophers sport back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, with big wins including Ohio State, Michigan State, and Rutgers.
The game is set to commence at 2:00 p.m. local time, with coverage provided by Big Ten Plus and the Hawkeye Radio Network.