MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – University of Iowa volleyball fell to No. 7 Minnesota, 3-1, Sunday afternoon in the Maturi Pavilion.
The Hawkeyes were led by senior Edina Schmidt and sophomore Toyosi Onabanjo. Schmidt recorded nine kills with a hitting percentage of .364, and Onabanjo totaled 10 kills, hitting a .333. Setters Lilly Tessier and Bailey Ortega led the team with 23 and 20 assists, respectively.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (Minnesota, 25-19): The teams stayed within three points of each other to start out the match. Even play continued until Minnesota went on a 6-0 run, making the score 14-20. The Hawkeyes tried to chip back at the Gophers lead with kills from junior Delaney McSweeney and senior Amiya Jones, as well as a block from Jones and sophomore Michelle Urquhart. Despite Iowa’s efforts to come back, Minnesota stayed up by at least six points through the end.
SET 2 (Minnesota, 25-22): The second set was a back-and-forth battle from start to finish, including 14 ties and four lead changes. The Hawkeyes stayed within two points the entire set until the very end. Iowa brought their A-game through a series of kills, two service aces by Tessier and sophomore Addie VanderWeide, and a block by Jones and Onabanjo. The Hawkeyes kill success featured four kills by Onabanjo, three from Urquhart including back-to-back kills, two from Schmidt, and one from both McSweeney and VanderWeide. The two-point spread remained until the score was 20-20, when the Gophers forced remaining points for both teams.
SET 3 (Iowa, 26-24): Iowa came out in the driver’s seat, staying in control for over half of the set. The set saw even ties and two lead changes. Iowa led the set statistically with 18 kills, .391 hitting percentage, 16 assists and 18 digs. Iowa stayed ahead until long rallies between the teams brought the score to a tie at 19. Urquhart then registered two kills, along with a block with Jones, to pull Iowa back up. Things tied up again at 23 and 24, but kills from Jones and VanderWeide sealed the Hawkeyes set victory.
SET 4 (Minnesota, 25-17): The set started out with Iowa down, 2-4, when the Gophers went on their first 3-0 run. Iowa came to stop Minnesota runs, but Minnesota would come back to go on another run. Minnesota put up a series of blocks and service aces to keep their lead over Iowa secure the match win.
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JIM BARNES
“We really had a shot in the second set. We had a decent lead. If we could have finished that off, that would’ve been big for us. I wondered how we would resound, and we responded with a great effort in the third set. With that kind of effort and intensity we can compete with anyone. We weren’t able to manage that in the fourth set, but I wish we had that second set. We’re learning as we go.”
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes will travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, on Wed., October 5. They will take on the Boilermakers at 5 p.m. CT in Holloway Gymnasium on the Purdue University campus. The game will be televised on B1G Network.
