Hawkeyes Sprint Past Racers

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – University of Iowa volleyball bounced back with a sweep of Murray State at the SEMO Invitational inside the Houck Field House on Friday afternoon. Iowa’s 7-1 start is its best through eight matches since 2006.

The Hawkeyes hit .400 on the day, tying the program’s sixth-highest mark of all-time. Iowa tallied 48 kills and 10 errors. The Hawkeyes passed well and were able to side out at 70.6%.

Fourteen Hawkeyes recorded kills in the win over Murray State, with six players recording no hitting errors. Graduate student Chard’e Vanzandt led the team with eight kills and hit .583. Junior Gabby Deery was error-free with seven kills on 13 swings. Iowa’s middle hitters, Aleksandra Stojanovic and Hannah Whittingstall, were effective against the Racers, each picking up five kills.

Senior setter Claire Ammeraal distributed the ball well with 25 assists in two sets played. Libero Milana Moisio led the team with eight digs.

Freshman Makena Rumple and sophomore Hallie Steponaitis entered in the third set and each recorded three kills without a hitting error. Iowa’s defense shined in the third set and picked up five of its nine blocks in the frame. Freshman Peyton Young, sophomore Jenna Meitzler and Hannah Whittingstall each had three blocks on the day.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JIM BARNES
“Our team took out some aggression today after falling short last night. We are learning through every situation. Last night showed us some spots we need to address and today we were able to work on those things. Gabby (Deery) started on the left side and did some really nice things for us. We need our left sides to produce for us. Chard’e has had two really good matches down here and she’s been the most consistent player. I was happy to see our middles have a better match today.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (IOWA 25-11)
The Hawkeyes took the opener in a dominant, wire-to-wire set win. Whittingstall's tip shot to the back right corner got Iowa on the board first, 1-0. Iowa sprinted out to a 6-0 lead on the tough serving of Whittingstall. Iowa’s backrow made solid first contacts, allowing all front row options to be in system. Deery checked in and quickly recorded two kills to push Iowa up, 12-3. The Hawkeyes kept their foot on the gas, with balanced offense coming from the pins and middles. Whittingstall and Vares stuffed an attack for Iowa’s first block and Iowa kept the pressure on with a 22-10 lead. Six Hawkeyes recorded kills in the first set and they collectively hit .500. Iowa registered 16 kills and only two errors. Defensively, Iowa held Murray State to a .091 hitting percentage in a dominant set win.

SET TWO (IOWA 25-15)
Murray State found its first lead of the match on a service error to lead 1-0. Whittingstall responded immediately with a slide to tie the set at 1-1. Both teams traded kills in the opening points of the set. Stojanovic secured two early kills from the middle to tie the set at 4-4. Iowa’s first lead of the set came off of a swing from Deery at 6-5. After Murray State rallied a few points together, a smart play from Moisio found the deep corner for a kill to take the lead, 9-8. A 10-1 run catapulted Iowa into control, highlighted by three kills from Deery and two from freshman Carmel Vares. Following a Murray State timeout, Vares and Stojanovic stood tall and rejected a Racer attack, keeping Iowa in control, 21-11. From the service line, sophomore Jaimie Marquardt put pressure on the Racer backrow during the scoring run. Murray State found three points, but it was not enough to stop the momentum of the Hawkeyes. Vares elevated to terminate the final point of the second set. Iowa finished the set hitting .533 with 18 kills and two errors, as its offensive dominance continued.

SET THREE (IOWA 25-23)
Iowa made a mass substitution to begin set three. Freshman Marichka Hoshylyk notched a pair of kills and Young contributed with a kill to give Iowa the lead at 6-5. Steponaitis’ first kill gave Iowa a 7-6 advantage. The Hawkeyes won the race to ten on a Marquardt ace. Freshman Gia McGrew’s first kill slammed down on the Racer side and put the Hawkeyes up 11-8. The Racers responded with a 4-0 run to take a brief lead at 12-11. A kill from Rumple and a block from Meitzler and Rumple swung the lead back to the Hawkeyes two points later. A slide kill from Rumple lengthened Iowa’s lead and forced a Murray State timeout at 15-12. Hoshylyk used a high-velocity topspin service ace to build Iowa’s lead to 17-13. McGrew and Young teamed up and stopped a Racer attack at the net to give Iowa a 21-16 advantage. Murray State fought back and tied the set at 22 after a 4-0 run. The Hawkeyes turned to McGrew, who powered two kills to the floor. A hitting error from the Racers closed out the set and the match for the Hawkeyes.

Up Next: Iowa concludes play at the SEMO Invite on Saturday at Noon (CT) against Weber State. There will be no video stream of the match. Listen live for free to John Evans on the Hawkeye Radio Network.