Hawkeyes Suffer Heartbreaker at Oregon

EUGENE, Ore. – University of Iowa volleyball suffered a heartbreaker to Oregon in five sets at Matthew Knight Arena on Friday night. The Hawkeyes had four match points, but could not convert and fell in the final set, 19-17.

Iowa is 10-5 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes are 1-4 in five-set matches this season.

Iowa’s offense came primarily from the outside hitters. Graduate Chard’e Vanzandt and freshman Carmel Vares had 18 kills apiece to lead the Hawkeye offense. Redshirt freshman Hallie Steponaitis made her first career start and chipped in with a career- high nine kills. Middle hitters Hannah Whittingstall and Aleksandra Stojanovic combined for eight kills. The duo was effective from the service line, each tallying three aces. Senior setter Claire Ammeraal recorded a season-high 49 assists to go along with nine digs. Senior libero Milana Moisio led Iowa with 13 digs, while redshirt sophomore Alyssa Worden had 11.

The Hawkeyes had more kills than Oregon, 60-59, and registered more aces, 9-8. The Ducks struggled from the service line with 13 errors, but made up for it by outblocking Iowa, 13-6. Iowa was outhit by Oregon, .272 to .239. The fifth set was the tightest of all throughout the match, with Oregon saving four match points and Iowa saving two before the Ducks claimed the win.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JIM BARNES
“We played tough on the road and had chances to win the match. Credit Oregon for turning it around at the end of the fifth set. We showed a lot of heart tonight and were just one play away from winning it.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (OREGON 25-19)
Oregon opened the match with two points before the Hawkeyes came back with two of their own to tie the set. The Ducks used a 4-0 run to gain early separation on two kills, an ace and a block. Trailing 6-2, Iowa leaned on a Vares kill, Vanzandt ace and Oregon error to pull within one at 6-5. Oregon recovered with an ace and a kill, followed by an Iowa error to win the race to ten, 10-6. Iowa struggled on serve receive as Oregon’s third ace built its lead to 12-7. Iowa called a timeout to break the Ducks momentum at 14-8. Out of the timeout, Iowa surrendered a service ace before an Oregon error and two kills from Vanzandt closed the gap, 15-11. Another mini-run from the Ducks squashed Iowa’s comeback attempt in set one, winning four of five points to force an Iowa timeout at 19-12. A service error from Oregon followed by back-to-back aces from Stojanovic narrowed the deficit to 21-16. Iowa wasn’t able to keep Stojanovic at the service line, with Oregon finding a kill. Kills from Vares and Whittingstall put pressure on the Ducks late in the set. Iowa saved one set point on a kill from Steponaitis at 24-19. The Ducks would quickly close the set on the next point.

SET TWO (IOWA 25-19)
Iowa got its first block of the match courtesy of Stojanovic and Vares to tie the set at 1-1. After Oregon pulled ahead by stringing a few points together, Iowa answered with a Whittingstall tip kill and a Worden ace. Steponaitis powered her second kill to the floor as Iowa started a run. Vanzandt followed with a kill and solo block to tie the set at 7-7. Both teams traded points in the middle of the set, when Iowa strung three together to jolt ahead, 12-9. Vares began to heat up, recording her sixth kill to keep Iowa in front, 14-11. At the media timeout, Iowa led 15-11 after an Oregon error. Another Duck error forced Oregon to call a timeout immediately after the media break. A 4-1 run by Oregon gave the Ducks life in the set. A successful challenge from Iowa swung momentum to the Hawkeyes’ side. Oregon threatened with a couple of points, but Stojanovic terminated to stop the potential run. Vares terminated back-to-back kills to keep the Hawkeyes’ pressure. Oregon had two service errors in the last few points of the set, giving Iowa set point. Stojanovic closed the set with a service ace to tie the match at 1-1.

SET THREE (OREGON 25-15)
Oregon sprinted out to a 5-1 lead and Iowa called an early timeout to halt the Ducks’ momentum. Out of the timeout, Vares terminated and Worden dropped in an ace. Iowa struggled to find a rhythm, while Oregon was converting on offense and defense. An Oregon service error and Whittingstall ace kept the Hawkeyes close, still trailing 9-6. Another Oregon error brought Iowa within two at 9-7. Oregon continued to struggle from the service line sailing back-to-back serves. The Ducks were able to build a 16-11 lead off a 4-1 run. Iowa stopped the run off the arm of Whittingstall, but Oregon led, 16-12. Iowa’s offense couldn’t find traction, with the Ducks capitalizing on a 9-2 run to close out the set.

SET FOUR (IOWA 25-16)
Freshman Peyton Young entered the match to start set four. An Oregon error gave Iowa the first point of the set. Steponaitis tied the set at 2-2 with a kill from the outside. Ammeraal and Whittingstall teamed up to tie the set again at 4-4. Ammeraal found the floor to give Iowa the lead moments later. Iowa moved the ball around, with Ammeraal finding Steponaitis to push in front, 6-5. After a long rally that went Oregon’s way to tie the set again, Vanzandt pushed Iowa back into the lead at 8-7. On the serve of Whittingstall, Iowa exploded on an 8-0 run with two aces from Whittingstall, an Ammeraal kill, a Vanzandt kill and block from Ammeraal and Young to lead 15-7. Vanzandt returned to the spotlight to record her 11th kill and kept the Ducks out of reach. Iowa’s offense maintained the pressure on the Ducks and grew its lead to 19-9. After a 3-0 run from Oregon, Iowa called a timeout to regroup at 19-12. Steponaitis and Whittingstall terminated kills to regain momentum and keep Iowa well in front, 21-12. Steponaitis’s career-high eighth kill put Iowa up 23-13. The Ducks fought off two set points before Vanzandt delivered to send the match to a fifth set.

SET FIVE (OREGON 19-17)
Both teams came out competitive and neither team gained any separation. Vares found a seam to open the deciding set. Schlichter got a rare defensive specialist kill off a free ball and a miscommunication from Oregon to lead 2-0. Ammeraal went back to Vares for another kill. Iowa’s defense sent a good pass to Ammeraal who got Whittingstall in on the action. Consecutive kills from Oregon tied the set at 4-4. After both teams traded service errors, Iowa got back-to-back kills from Vares and Vanzant to lead 8-5 at the media timeout. Oregon responded after the timeout with a kill and two blocks to tie the set. Vanzandt put Iowa back in front with her 15th kill. The Ducks were successful in challenging an Oregon hitting error, tying the set at 9-9, and giving Oregon a momentum swing. Oregon’s block was dominant in the fifth set, sending back a Vares attack. After a 5-1 run for the Ducks, Iowa called a timeout while trailing, 10-9. A Steponaitis kill tied the set again at 10. Vares picks up her 18th kill and Oregon shanked another attack to give Iowa the lead and force a Duck timeout at 12-11. The Hawkeyes would get a match point off a Vanzandt kill at 14-12. Oregon saved two match points and earned its own match point on a kill at 15-14. A Vanzandt kill saved match point for the Hawkeyes and tied the set once again. The Ducks would go on to save two more match points before using an Iowa error and kill of their own to close out the match. There were 11 ties and five lead changes throughout the final set, with both teams hitting .296.

Up Next: The Hawkeyes have a quick turnaround, taking on Washington in Seattle on Saturday evening. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. (CT). The match will be televised on Big Ten Network and will air on the Hawkeye Radio Network.