Iowa Falls to No. 23 UCLA

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa volleyball fell in straight sets to No. 23 UCLA in front of 2,622 fans inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday afternoon.

The Hawkeyes fall to 10-10 on the season and 1-7 in conference play.

Redshirt freshman Hallie Steponaitis and graduate Chard’e Vanzandt led the Hawkeyes with eight kills each. Steponaitis hit a team-high .357. Senior Claire Ammeraal recorded 24 assists, four kills and four digs. Senior Milana Moisio held down the defense with 11 digs and two assists.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JIM BARNES
“They broke our serve receive, which is one of our strengths. We’ve had such a great trend of improvement over the last two weeks and it didn’t show today. We’re going to keep fighting. As a team, we’ve got to come out and start faster. When our team clicks at the same time, we can compete against everyone. We will regroup.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (UCLA 25-14)
Sophomore Aleksandra Stojanovic got the scoring started for Iowa from the middle with UCLA leading 2-1. The Bruins found separation with a 4-1 scoring run to build an 8-4 lead. Iowa called a timeout to halt their momentum. Out of the timeout, Steponaitis terminated down the line for the Hawkeyes. The Bruins pulled away on a 7-2 run in the middle points to lead 15-7. Back-to-back kills from Ammeraal pulled Iowa within six at 16-10. The Bruins played sideout volleyball to carry their lead to a set win. The UCLA offense was dominant in the opening set, recording 17 kills on 30 swings with zero errors. The Bruins led by as much as 11 during the set. Steponaitis had four kills to lead the Hawkeyes in the opener.

SET TWO (UCLA 25-23)
Iowa started the set on a 4-0 run on two UCLA errors, a kill from freshman Carmel Vares and a solo block from Vanzandt. The Bruins halved the lead before Vanzandt terminated to put Iowa up 5-2. After Iowa led 6-3, UCLA made a push to tighten the set at 6-5. Vares and Vanzandt got hot for the Hawkeyes, and ballooned the lead back up to three. Iowa won the race to ten on a block from Ammeraal, Steponaitis and junior Hannah Whittingstall. UCLA came all the way back to tie the set at 13-13 after consecutive hitting errors from Iowa. An Iowa timeout sparked a brief rally as Stojanovic and Vanzandt got up for a block to put the Hawkeyes up 15-13. UCLA grabbed its first lead of the set at 16-15. The Bruin run ended at 5-0 after a Vares kill, as UCLA led 18-16. The Hawkeyes remained close, but could never tie or take back the lead. Iowa trailed 24-20 before the Hawkeyes saved three set points. Stojanovic and Steponiaits had the first block, Stojanovic and Vares had the second block and Steponaitis won a joust at the net to save the third. UCLA called a timeout and finished the set with a kill on the next play.

SET THREE (UCLA 25-9)
UCLA opened the third set on a 4-0 run. Vanzandt swung big to get the Hawkeyes’ first kill of the set. UCLA continued to execute its offense from all options in the front row, growing its lead to eight at 11-3. Iowa started to go point-for-point with Steponaitis finding success, but UCLA’s lead was too large to close the eight-point gap. Trailing 20-7, Iowa called a timeout to dampen UCLA’s momentum. The Bruins finished the match on a 5-2 run, with freshman Makena Rumple saving one match point. The Bruins finished the third set hitting .522 with 12 kills and zero errors.

Up Next: The Hawkeyes host Michigan State on Friday, Oct. 24, at Xtream Arena in Coralville. The match will tip off at 6:00 p.m. and be broadcast on B1G+ and the Hawkeye Radio Network.