Ammeraal Picks Up 3,000th Career Assist in Loss to No. 25 USC

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa volleyball dropped a four-set match to 25th-ranked USC in front of 2,300 fans on Friday night inside of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Senior setter Claire Ammeraal recorded her 3,000th career assist in the fourth set.

The Hawkeyes move to 10-9 overall and 1-6 in league play.

“I am glad I got to hit 3,000 career assists here at Iowa,” Ammeraal said. “I really like this team. I love that I am in a position where my main stat is based on how successful my teammates are. It’s fun to be a part of their success and I am excited that I get to celebrate this accomplishment with them.”

“Claire’s our leader and she does so much for this team,” head coach Jim Barnes said. “She plays smart and balances her competitive nature with being so cerebral. Claire did an amazing job. She’s a special player.”

Ammeraal finished with 41 assists and 15 digs to cap her double-double night. The Madison, Wisconsin, native notched her sixth double-double of the season. Graduate outside hitter Chard’e Vanzandt recorded her first double-double of the season with a team-high 21 kills and 11 digs. Freshman Carmel Vares finished with 12 kills.

Five Hawkeyes finished with double-figure digs. Senior libero Milana Moisio led the Hawkeye with 18 digs. She has tallied the most digs on the team in all but one match this season. Ammeraal added 15 digs. Redshirt sophomore Allison Berent picked up her 100th career dig in the third set and finished the night with 12. Sophomore Jaimie Marquardt ended the contest with 11 digs in the back row. Vanzandt secured her double-double with 11 digs.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JIM BARNES
“I am certainly proud of our fight. We keep improving each week. We give ourselves chances to win sets and win matches. I am proud of that. I wish the end of that fourth set would’ve come out a little differently. The crowd was great. We flipped it at the end of the second, they saw us make those plays and we really felt the crowd behind us. Every set was close.

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (USC 25-20)
Junior Hannah Whittingstall pummeled a kill to give Iowa an early 4-3 lead. Redshirt freshman Hallie Steponaitis followed with a kill of her own and a USC error to give Iowa a 6-3 advantage. A 4-1 run from the Trojans tied the set at 7-7. USC won the race to 10 on a kill leading 10-9. Iowa’s first ace came from sophomore Aleksandra Stojanovic to give Iowa an 11-10 lead. Once tied at 11, both teams traded the next six points. USC led at the media break, 15-14. A late run for the Trojans gave them the separation they needed to pull away, leading 18-15. Iowa called a timeout trailing 21-17. Out of the timeout, Vares terminated an Ammeraal assist to get within three at 21-18. Using two USC errors, Iowa fought back to 23-20. A kill and a block won the set for USC. The set featured 11 ties and four lead changes. USC had five service errors, but racked up a 16-8 kill advantage. In total, the Trojans would finish with 17 miscues from the service line.

SET TWO (IOWA 27-25)
Vares started the set with a powerful kill. Neither team found much separation, keeping the set even through the first 14 points. USC broke through with a 4-0 run to win the race to 10 and force an Iowa timeout at 11-7. Iowa pulled within one at 13-12 on a kill from Stojanovic. The Hawkeyes tied the set at 14-14 on a block from Steponaitis and Stojanovic. USC found another 4-0 run to lead 18-14 and force a second Iowa timeout. Vares terminated to cut USC’s lead to 21-17. Iowa fought back to within two, trailing 23-21, after a kill from Vares and blocks from Ammeraal, Vanzandt and Whittingstall. Whittingstall saved a set point on the slide, but USC still had two set points to work with. A USC error saved a second set point for the Hawkeyes. A kill from Vanzandt tied the set at 24-24. A Trojan error and back-to-back kills from Vares clinched the set for Iowa. The comeback ignited the Iowa crowd. Ammeraal picked up her 10th assist and 1,000th as a Hawkeye in the middle of the set.

SET THREE (USC 25-23)
The Hawkeyes’ momentum carried into the third set with Vanzandt and Stojanovic terminating early to lead 2-0. Vares put away her 10th kill of the night to put Iowa up 4-2. USC won consecutive points to tie the set at 7-7. The Trojans grabbed their first lead of the set at 9-8. Vanzandt and Whittingstall drilled kills to push Iowa in front, 12-10. USC used a 5-1 run to lead 15-13. From there, Iowa found sporadic points, but could not string anything together. Iowa pulled within one at 21-20 off a USC attack error. Iowa called a timeout while trailing 23-20. A rare USC ace gave the Trojans set point. Vanzandt fired off two kills to save two set points at 24-22 and USC called a timeout. Berent drilled her first ace to close the gap to one at 24-23. USC responded with a kill on the next play to win the set.

SET FOUR (USC 29-27)
A Stojanovic kill started the set for the Hawkeyes. Vanzandt dunked the ball to put Iowa up 4-3. A 4-0 run for the Hawkeyes gave them a 5-3 advantage over the Trojans. USC used a 7-2 run to sway the momentum and grab a 10-7 lead. Iowa fought back within one at 12-11. Going into the media timeout, USC led 15-12. Iowa won the first two points out of the break on a USC service error and kill from Steponaitis. Ammeraal swung for a kill to tie the set at 15-15. A kill from Stojanovic and a block from Stojanovic and Vares put Iowa up 19-17. Both teams traded service errors with Iowa winning the race to 20 and leading 20-19. Vares terminated to keep the Hawkeyes' lead. An Iowa block gave the Hawkeyes a 22-20 lead and forced a USC timeout. The Trojans responded out of the timeout with a 3-0 run to lead 23-22. Kills from Vanzandt and Steponaitis gave Iowa set point at 24-23. USC sided out to save one set point. A USC error gave the Hawkeyes another set point at 25-24. Back-to-back kills from the Trojans gave them a 26-25 advantage, and Iowa called a timeout. Steponaitis went off the USC block for a kill to save one match point and tie the set at 26-26. The Trojans responded to take back the lead. Stojanovic and Vares leapt up for a block to save a second match point and tied the score, 27-27. The Trojans closed out the match on a kill and block. Ammeraal recorded her 3,000th career assist during the fourth set.

Up Next: Iowa welcomes No. 23 UCLA on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Fans can present their football ticket from the Iowa-Penn State game for free admission.