CORALVILLE, Iowa – The University of Iowa volleyball team swept Indiana on Thursday night at Xtream Arena. The Hawkeyes improve to 10-17 on the season and 4-11 in conference play.
This is the Hawkeyes’ first sweep of Indiana since 2016 and their third-straight win over the Hoosiers at home. Iowa picked up its fourth sweep of the season and second of a conference opponent. The Hawkeyes improved to 8-1 when winning the first set.
With six Hawkeyes eclipsing the .300 mark, Iowa set a season-high .371 hitting percentage. Freshman Malu Garcia recorded 13 kills, three blocks and hit at a .308 clip. Senior Gracie Gibson recorded seven kills and finished with a season-high .700 hitting percentage. Sophomore Hannah Whittingstall and redshirt freshman Alyssa Worden each tallied nine kills, and both hit above a .350. Senior Michelle Urquhart had eight kills, nine digs and finished with a .304 hitting percentage.
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JIM BARNES
“I’m so proud of how focused we were from the start. We executed everything we worked on this week. Our second team really got us ready for this match and we were prepared. One person that comes to mind that has been a big key in solidifying our lineup is Alyssa (Worden). She came out and gave us some big kills and passed and served well. We need that position to be solid and she was outstanding tonight. As a team, we kept our errors low.”
MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (IOWA 25-18)
The opening set started tight as both teams traded kills. Iowa found some separation, winning the race to ten, at 10-8. The Hoosiers would fight back to take the lead at 11-10 before a kill from Garcia tied the match at 11-11. The Hawkeyes trailed 13-12 before a 7-1 run, led by Whittingstall’s tough serves and a kill from Worden, pushed Iowa to a 19-14 lead. Indiana found a 3-0 run to push within two at 19-17, before the Hawkeyes finished strong, holding Indiana to a .061 hitting percentage and taking the first set. Garcia and Worden both had five kills in the first set.
SET TWO (IOWA 25-22)
Worden started the set with an ace to give the Hawkeyes a 1-0 lead. Iowa’s serves remained strong with senior Joy Galles and Garcia recording their own aces to give the Hawkeyes a 6-2 lead. Indiana fought back, finding small runs to win the race to ten, and took its first lead of the set at 10-9. Iowa regained control of the set with a 5-1 run led by kills from Garcia and Urquhart, to lead 14-12. Iowa held the lead for the remainder of the set, winning the race to 20 on a block by Garcia and Whittingstall, followed by Whittingstall’s termination on a slide to win the set.
SET THREE (IOWA 25-21)
Iowa’s momentum carried into the third set with the Hawkeyes sprinting to a 5-0 lead, forcing an early Indiana timeout. The Hoosiers would respond after the timeout with a 5-0 run of their own to tie the set at 5-5. Both teams traded kills with Iowa finding separation after a kill from Worden to lead, 10-8. Points were traded, before Indiana found a 4-1 run to lead 16-15 over the Hawkeyes. Iowa bounced back with a Worden kill and the set remained point-for-point. The Hawkeyes found their separation late in the set with kills from Gibson, Urquhart and Garcia to lead 22-18. Iowa closed out the match with a kill from Whittingstall.
UP NEXT
Iowa hosts Michigan State on Sunday for Senior Day at Xtream Arena. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. (CT). The match will be broadcast on B1G+ and the Hawkeye Radio Network.