Whittingstall Notches Double-Double in Hawkeyes' Reverse Sweep of Rutgers

CORALVILLE, Iowa – University of Iowa volleyball notched a reverse sweep of Rutgers on Sunday afternoon inside Xtream Arena. The Hawkeyes improve to 12-10 overall and 3-7 in the Big Ten.

After dropping the first two sets 25-20 and 26-24, Iowa won the final three sets, 25-16, 27-25 and 15-9. It is Iowa’s second five-set victory of the season. The reverse sweep was Iowa’s first since 2022 versus Michigan.

Junior Hannah Whittingstall carried the Hawkeyes with her first double-double of the season, recording 14 kills and a career-tying 10 blocks. The native of San Antonio, Texas, hit a scorching .636 to lead the team. Alyssa Worden followed up her double-double Friday with another against Rutgers. The redshirt sophomore had 10 kills and a team-high 10 digs.

Freshman Carmel Vares smacked 12 kills and added four blocks. Graduate Chard’e Vanzandt finished with 11 kills, six blocks and an ace.

Senior setter Claire Ammeraal stuffed the stat sheet with 43 assists, nine kills, six blocks, six digs, and two aces. Ammeraal also converted on 9-of-12 swings for a .750 hitting percentage.

Although Rutgers registered more kills (62-58), Iowa held the advantage in nearly every other category. The Hawkeyes hit .323, while Rutgers hit .220. Iowa held the Scarlet Knights to a .000 hitting percentage (five kills, five errors) in the deciding fifth set. The Hawkeyes more than doubled Rutgers in blocks, 16.5-8, and set a season-high in the win.

Rutgers won the battle of aces, 10-9, but served 16 errors to Iowa’s 12. Sophomore Jaimie Marquardt notched a career-high four aces for the Hawkeyes.

The match featured 32 ties and 16 lead changes.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JIM BARNES
“We blocked well today. Our blockers were lined up better and we’ve been working on team blocking lately. We finished with 16.5 blocks. Offensively, we had kills by several different players. The team was very efficient after the first couple of sets. Claire (Ammeraal) ran a great offense today. Hannah (Whittingstall) and Claire were difference makers this weekend. The two of them connected well. The consistent slide threat balances our offense.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (RUTGERS 25-20)
Rutgers executed first ball side outs to begin the match and got out to a 7-3 lead. The Scarlet Knights served well early and forced an Iowa timeout at 11-5. Iowa trailed by as many as seven at 12-5. An ace from Worden brought Iowa within four at 13-9. After trailing 16-10, the Hawkeyes used a 5-1 run to pull within two on kills from Whittingstall and Ammeraal and blocks from Whittingstall and Worden. Iowa was able to pull within one twice, but could not tie the set. Rutgers won the race to 20 and stayed in front for the remainder of the set. The Scarlet Knights closed the set on a 5-1 run. Iowa committed seven attacking errors in the opening set.

SET TWO (RUTGERS 26-24)
Iowa got out to an early 3-1 lead off a kill from Vares and an ace from sophomore Aleksandra Stojanovic. Iowa grew its lead to 8-3 after Worden’s second solo block of the match. Iowa won the race to ten on a kill from Worden to lead 10-5. Rutgers went on a 4-0 run and Iowa burned its first timeout, leading 10-9. The Scarlet Knights tied the set at 11-11 on a kill. They took their first lead of the set on the next point on an ace. Rutgers’ 7-1 run ended with a Worden kill and the set tied at 12-12. Iowa’s middles were producing, with Stojanovic picking up a kill and teaming up with Vares for a block to give the Hawkeyes a two-point advantage at 14-12. Vares picked up her fifth kill to push Iowa into the lead at 15-14. Both teams went back-and-forth without finding much separation tied at 20-20. Iowa built a two-point lead and Rutgers called a timeout at 22-20. Iowa led 24-21 on a kill from Vanzandt and had three set points. Rutgers saved those three set points and tied the set at 24-24. The Scarlet Knights ended the set on a 5-0 run to take a two set advantage over the Hawkeyes.

SET THREE (IOWA 25-16)
Neither team was able to find much separation in the opening points. After tying the set at 6-6, Iowa’s 3-0 run gave the Hawkeyes some much needed momentum. Iowa led 12-7 after a Vares termination and Rutgers called its first timeout of the set. Marquardt knocked back-to-back aces to catapult Iowa into control, 17-10. Vanzandt capitalized out of the front row and forced Rutgers to call a timeout with Iowa up 18-10. Marquardt’s serving sparked a 6-0 scoring spree and set Iowa up for the set win. Iowa led 24-14 when Rutgers saved two set points. Iowa converted on its third opportunity with a kill from Vanzadt. The Hawkeyes hit a match-high .591 in the third, converting on 14 kills with only one error.

SET FOUR (IOWA 27-25)
Iowa trailed 3-1 early, but a Rutgers error and block from Ammeraal and Whittingstall tied the set. Both teams were plagued by errors at the service line and front row. A Whittingstall and Vares block ignited the crowd and expanded Iowa’s lead to 12-9. An ace from Marquardt and a block from Ammeraal and Whittingstall gave Iowa a 15-10 lead at the media timeout. Iowa led 17-13 before a mini run from Rutgers tightened the set. The Scarlet Knights pulled within two at 18-16. Worden smacked her 10th kill to stop the run. Rutgers remained in the set with a couple of kills and an Iowa error. Iowa called a timeout, leading 20-19. Rutgers tied the set coming out of the timeout. Consecutive kills from Whittingstall led to a Rutgers timeout with Iowa leading 22-20. Rutgers stayed in the set after trailing 23-20, tying it at 23-23 on an ace. The Hawkeyes needed multiple opportunities to clinch the set. Ammeraal used a crafty kill on two for the Hawkeyes’ third set point chance. The Hawkeyes secured the set on a Rutgers error to force a decisive fifth set.

SET FIVE (IOWA 15-9)
Rutgers got out to an early 3-0 lead and forced an Iowa timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Iowa responded with a 4-0 run of its own on kills from Vares, Vanzandt and Whittingstall and a Rutgers error. The Scarlet Knights responded with three points to go up 6-4. The Hawkeyes tied it up at 6-6 on a Rutgers error and kill from Whittingstall. Iowa was the first to eight and Rutgers called a timeout at the halfway point with Iowa on top, 8-6. Out of the timeout, Iowa’s momentum grew using a 4-0 run to take a 12-6 lead. Rutgers called its second timeout to halt the Hawkeyes, but Ammeraal terminated out of the timeout to give Iowa a seven-point advantage. Rutgers was unable to find a run late in the set and the Hawkeyes finished the match on a Rutgers error and termination from Whittingstall. In the final set, the Hawkeyes held Rutgers to a .000 clip (five kills, five errors).

Up Next: Iowa starts a four-match road swing at Northwestern on Oct. 31. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed on B1G+ and the Hawkeye Radio Network.