Vanzandt Surpasses 1,000 Career Kills in Sweep of Maryland

CORALVILLE, Iowa – University of Iowa volleyball swept Maryland in its Big Ten opener at Xtream Arena on Thursday night. The Hawkeyes (10-3, 1-0 B1G) have won consecutive league openers for the first time since 1999-2000.

The Hawkeyes improved to 6-1 on their home floor and clinched their eighth sweep of the season.

Graduate Chard’e Vanzandt led the offense with 14 kills. Her 12th kill of the night was the 1,000th of Vanzandt’s career.

“I had never thought about reaching 1,000 kills,” Vanzandt said. “I really don’t keep up with my stats. Obviously, it’s a great accomplishment, but it isn’t possible without my setters and passers.”

“Chard’e is our leader,” head coach Jim Barnes said. “The team rallies behind her. She is a special athlete – to move from the left side after playing middle her entire career is just not something you see. For her to play that well already shows how hard she works.”

Senior Claire Ammeraal recorded her third double-double of the season with 31 assists and 11 digs. She added six kills. Iowa’s middles remained consistent with junior Hannah Whittingstall nailing nine kills and hitting .538. Defensively, Whittingstall totaled seven blocks. Sophomore Aleksandra Stojanovic terminated six kills with no errors and hit a team-high .667.

Stojanovic and fellow sophomore Jaimie Marquardt were stellar from the service line, each picking up three aces.

Iowa finished with a .330 hitting mark and held the Terrapins to .204. The Hawkeyes won the block battle at the net, 9-4.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JIM BARNES
“1-0. That is what we talked about. We wanted to come out strong. Everything we learned in the preseason games came out tonight. We showed that we are coachable and can learn. We brought all of those things to the table tonight. We dominated in serve and pass in the first two sets and then showed a lot of toughness to win set three.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (IOWA 25-17)
Whittingstall got the Hawkeyes on the board with a kill to tie the set early, 1-1. The Hawkeyes used a 4-0 run early in the set to take control. Vanzandt split the seam for her first ace of the night to double up the Terps, 6-3. Iowa won the race to ten, 10-4, on a mix of Terrapin errors and Iowa kills. Whittingstall hammered her second and third kills to urge Maryland into its final timeout of the set as Iowa led, 13-7. Marquardt served back-to-back aces to build Iowa’s lead to the largest of set one, 16-9. Three consecutive service errors in the set, including two from Iowa, kept Maryland close. Marquardt closed the set for the Hawkeyes with her third ace. Iowa commanded the set, holding the Terrapins to eight kills and a .133 hitting percentage in the opener.

SET TWO (IOWA 25-20)
The Terps got out to an early 4-1 lead off a 3-0 run. Back-to-back kills from Vanzandt pulled the Hawkeyes within one at 4-3. Iowa answered with its own 4-0 run and took the lead after a block from Stojanovic and Vares. The Hawkeyes continued to feed Vanzandt, as she drilled her eighth kill on a sharp angle. Maryland burned its first timeout after Iowa ran out to a 12-7 lead. Worden cashed in on her first kill from the back row to continue Iowa’s momentum. The Terrapins used a 7-2 run to come within one at 17-16. But Iowa responded with six points in a row. Stojanovic started the run with a kill and finished it off with a service ace. Freshman Gia McGrew and Whittingstall teamed up to block an attack to give Iowa set point, 24-17. After Maryland saved three set points, Ammeraal put a bow on the set with a kill on two.

SET THREE (IOWA 28-26)
Vanzandt’s 10th kill came in set three, as Maryland led, 3-2. A strong offensive resurgence from the Terps built them a 6-3 lead. Iowa rallied back on a Maryland error and kill from McGrew. Ammeraal found the campfire on a crafty setter dump, as Iowa mounted an early comeback. A Whittingstall slide tied the set at 8-8. Throughout the middle points, both teams went back-and-forth. A kill from Stojanovic broke the tie at 13-12. Two blocks from the Iowa defense followed, as the Hawkeyes led at the media timeout, 15-12. The Terrapins stayed close off an Iowa error and Maryland block. Vares terminated her sixth kill to keep the set from being tied, 16-14. Maryland strung together three in a row and Iowa called a timeout at 17-16, to halt the Terps’ momentum. Tied at 18, Maryland grabbed a couple of points to take a late lead. Iowa turned to Vanzandt who hammered her 12th kill and 1,000th of her career to bring Iowa within one. Maryland’s successful challenge and reversed call gave them a 23-21 advantage. Iowa called a crucial timeout. Ammeraal went back to Vanzandt to tighten the set, 23-22. An Iowa service error gave Maryland a pair of set points. Vares kept the Hawkeyes alive with a powerful swing. McGrew and Whittingstall got up for a block to tie the set at 24-24. After a Maryland kill and Maryland error the set tied again, this time at 25-25. Maryland served one long to give Iowa match point. With Iowa out of substitutions and Whittingstall as the only true hitter in the front row, she executed the slide from Ammeraal to end the match.

Up Next: Iowa (10-3, 1-0 B1G) returns to action against No. 7 Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon at Xtream Arena. The match begins at 2:00 p.m. (CT).