ITHACA, N.Y. — The University of Iowa volleyball team swept Cornell, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon, inside of Bartels Hall.
Sophomore Nataly Moravec led the way for the Hawkeyes, posting 13 kills, followed by fifth year Caitlan Buettner with nine. Freshman Kaia Mateo tallied 18 assists, and senior Bailey Ortega registered 14 assists. Buettner and junior Michelle Urquhart kept the ball alive for the Hawkeyes, recording 16 and 15 digs, respectively.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (Iowa, 25-22): Iowa came out with momentum with a kill by Moravec, assisted by Ortega. Cornell responded and jumped ahead early in the set, but Urquhart registered a kill to get the ball back for the Hawkeyes. Ortega also posted a kill early in the set for the Hawkeyes. Cornell jumped ahead, but Anna Davis put one down to bring the spread to three. The two teams battled back and forth, exchanging kills. Delaney McSweeney came through swinging to record a kill, and then Iowa capitalized on a Cornell error to cut Cornell’s lead to two. Iowa continued to crawl back, as Buettner and Davis paired up for a block. Moravec posted another kill, and Iowa took advantage of a Cornell error to bring the set to a tie at 14. Cornell went on a run, but Iowa was able to climb their way back up and brought the set to a tie five more times. At 22-all, a Cornell error sent them into a timeout. McSweeney put up a kill and joined Moravec for a block to finish the first set on top.
SET 2 (Iowa, 27-25): Iowa took an early lead, capitalizing off a couple errors by Cornell. Moravec registered the first kill of the set and gave the assist to Ortega. The set remained close, tying four times through six. McSweeney added a kill to the books and helped the Hawkeyes. Then, Moravec served an ace and Cornell had an attack error, bringing the set to a tie at 12. The set was neck-and-neck, and the teams tied again at 13 and 14. Big Red took the lead until a kill by Urquhart and a Cornell ball-handling error tied it up at 16. Following a Big Red timeout, Urquhart went back to serve. It stayed close, and the set came to a tie at 18 and 19. Although Cornell held the lead toward the end of the set, scoring continued going back and forth until Iowa closed the set, 27-25, with a McSweeney kill and a Cornell error.
SET 3 (Iowa, 25-11): The Hawkeyes opened the match strong, taking the first seven points of the game and holding Cornell to zero. The Big Red added a couple of points to the board, but a kill by Davis put the ball back in the Hawkeye’s hands. Back-to-back successful attacks by Buettner and Davis brought Iowa ahead by 11, giving assists to junior Sydney Dennis and Urquhart. Iowa went on a 6-0 run, with Moravec recording three more kills and bringing the Hawkeye lead to 21-8. Cornell attempted to lessen the gap, but freshman Rosa Vesty put down a kill to start another offensive run of three for Iowa. Mateo went back to serve an ace, and assisted Urquhart for a kill to bring the set to match point. At match point, Iowa capitalized on a Cornell error to win the set.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to home to host Minnesota at Xtream Arena Thursday in the Big Ten Season Opener. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CT) and the match will be televised live on FS1.
