Hawkeyes Push Past East Texas A&M

CORALVILLE, Iowa – University of Iowa volleyball defeated East Texas A&M, 3-1, to open the Hawkeye Invitational on Friday night at Xtream Arena. Iowa improved its record to 8-3. This was Iowa’s first four-set match of the season.

The offense was led by graduate student Chard’e Vanzandt, who tallied 10 kills on 15 swings. Her .600 hitting percentage was a season best. Freshman middle hitter Makena Rumple made her first career start and added eight kills with four blocks. Freshman outside hitter Carmel Vares posted eight kills on 17 swings and had three digs and three blocks.

Defensively, Iowa’s height at the net and effort in the back row was a difference-maker in the win. The Hawkeyes matched their season high with 15 blocks and were led by Hannah Whittingstall’s seven. Iowa out-blocked East Texas A&M, 15-3.

Senior libero Milana Moisio had 17 digs, while redshirt sophomore defensive specialist Allison Berent dug a career-high 13 attacks. Setter Claire Ammeraal filled the stat sheet with 33 assists, eight digs, and six blocks. Jenna Meitzler entered in the third set and recorded 10 assists.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JIM BARNES
“We came out and played well. We weren’t in sync and that made for a rough finish, but the first two sets we got what we wanted done. Makena made her first start and she had been practicing well. Chard’e came out in a good rhythm and then we got Carmel going a little bit more. Overall, not the strongest finish, but there were some positives.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (IOWA 25-16)
Freshman Gia McGrew made her second consecutive start and drilled a pair of kills in the early going. Whittingstall got up for a solo block to lead 6-2, as Iowa started strong out of the gate. East Texas A&M called its first timeout with Iowa leading 8-3. Vanzandt converted on her first two swings and Iowa raced out to a 10-4 lead. After a long rally, Rumple set Vanzandt for her third kill. Moments later, McGrew’s third kill stretched Iowa’s lead to 15-8. Consecutive blocks from Whittingstall, Vares and McGrew put Iowa up 17-8. The Hawkeyes continued to dominate the opening set as Rumple recorded a couple of kills and then teamed up with Vanzandt for Iowa’s seventh block to lead 22-13. A service error from the Lions ended the set. Iowa hit .385 and held the Lions to .000. Nine of Iowa’s 13 kills came from McGrew and Vanzandt. The Hawkeyes had seven blocks in the opener.

SET TWO (IOWA 25-16)
Berent started behind the service line and led Iowa to a 3-0 lead. Rumple and Vares teamed up to stop a Lion attack to go up 4-1. East Texas A&M pushed points and won a long rally to pull within one at 5-4. A Hawkeye hitting error tied the set at 5 apiece. Iowa strung together a 4-0 run to lead 9-5. Redshirt sophomore Alyssa Worden took advantage of the Lions aggressive net play and pushed a ball to the back corner to put Iowa up 10-7. Vanzandt followed that up and used the sharp angle to find the floor. Ammeraal continued to feed the hot hand of Vanzandt for her eighth kill and Iowa maintained control at 13-8. After an East Texas A&M rally, McGrew smoked her sixth kill to keep Iowa in front, 17-15. The Lions hung around, but Iowa turned to veteran Ammeraal for a kill and a block to get a grip on the set, 21-16. A 6-0 run ended the set and was capped off by a Whittingstall ace and a Vanzandt kill.

SET THREE (ETAMU 25-23)
Meitzler and freshman Peyton Young entered for the Hawkeyes and Young terminated the ball to start the set. Junior Rosa Vesty reached high to clip the block, recording her first kill of the season to put Iowa up 2-1. Meitzler dumped the ball over on two to keep Iowa in front, 3-2. After trading points back-and-forth, the set remained tight and tied at 8. East Texas A&M grabbed its first lead of the match at 9-8 on a kill. Iowa took a timeout trailing 11-8, when the Lions ran off on a 5-0 run. Iowa took two quick points coming out of the timeout on a kill from Young and a block from Gabby Deery and Rumple. Iowa trailed 13-10 but went on a 3-0 run to tie the set. The Lions responded with their own answer to lead 15-13. A block from Meitzler tied the set at 15-15. Rumple served her first career ace off the top of the tape to regain the lead at 17-16. Steponaitis tallied her fourth kill on a touch after a successful Iowa challenge, pushing Iowa into the lead, 20-19. The Lions immediately went on a 3-0 run and Iowa burned a timeout. East Texas A&M committed back-to-back hitting errors and the set was tied at 22, forcing a Lion timeout. A service error from Iowa and service ace from the Lions gave East Texas A&M set point at 24-22. A service error from the Lions saved a set point for the Hawkeyes before the Lions would steal the set on a kill. The tight set saw 13 ties and seven lead changes.

SET FOUR (IOWA 25-23)
Iowa re-entered its starting lineup and Vares crushed a ball to give Iowa momentum out of the gate. Berent served up a pair of aces and Iowa sprinted out to a 4-0 lead. The Hawkeyes were successful in challenging a touch call on a Vares attack and built a 6-3 lead. McGrew showed her power and dented the floor to keep Iowa in front by three. Ammeraal got crafty with a setter dump into a campfire, as Iowa kept its distance, leading 9-6. Kills from redshirt freshman Hallie Steponaitis, Rumple and Vares powered Iowa through to the media timeout with a 15-12 lead. Iowa briefly got its middle hitters involved and Whittingstall hammered a pass from Ammeraal on a slide. The Hawkeyes turned to Steponaitis on the left side to grab a couple of crucial points to lead 21-18. But the Lions bounced back and used a 3-0 spurt to tie the set at 21. A service error from East Texas A&M gifted Iowa a point and Whittingstall doubled the lead with another kill. The Hawkeyes’ net presence came up clutch with two blocks from Ammeraal and Whittingstall, sealing Iowa’s win.

Up Next: Iowa returns to action on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m., hosting the Lindenwood Lions at Xtream Arena. The match will be streamed on B1G+ and the Hawkeye Radio Network.