Hawkeyes Rally Past Northwestern

CORALVILLE, Iowa – University of Iowa volleyball overcame a 2-1 deficit to beat Northwestern in five sets at Xtream Arena on Thursday night. Iowa moved to 14-13 and 5-10 in the Big Ten.

The Hawkeyes won the first set 25-20. After losing sets two (25-17) and three (27-25), Iowa held off Northwestern in set four, 29-27. Iowa won the decider, 15-9. The Hawkeyes improved to 12-1 when winning the first set and 4-1 when getting to eight points first during the fifth set.

This was the program’s first win over Northwestern since the spring of 2021. It was Iowa’s first victory over the Wildcats at home since 2019.

Senior setter Claire Ammeraal notched her second triple-double of the season. The Madison, Wisconsin, native tallied 55 assists, 17 digs and 10 kills. She also had six blocks and hit a team-leading .400. Her previous triple-double came against Utah Tech in August.

“It’s super exciting to get a triple-double,” Ammeraal said. “It feels really good and the cool thing is that a lot of the stats that I get in triple-doubles, I cannot get without my teammates. I’m glad I have my teammates there to set me up and then in return I get to set them up.”

Iowa recorded a season-high 77 kills in the win. Four more Hawkeyes joined Ammeraal in double-figures in the kill department. Freshman Carmel Vares and redshirt sophomore Alyssa Worden led the team with 16 kills. Junior Hannah Whittingstall notched 15 kills, while graduate Chard’e Vanzandt added 14. Seven Hawkeyes joined Ammeraal in recording assists, helping Iowa put together a season-best 71-assist performance.

Defensively, the Hawkeyes dug a season-high 76 attacks and were led by senior libero Milana Moisio’s 19 digs. Following Ammeraal’s 17 digs, sophomore Jaimie Marquardt helped in the back row with 12 digs. Greta Schlichter provided a defensive boost with her seven digs.

The Hawkeyes outhit Northwestern, .261-.253 and terminated 77 kills to the Wildcats’ 68. Both teams served consistently. The Wildcats had seven aces and six errors. Iowa had five aces and five errors. The match featured 30 ties and 20 lead changes.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JIM BARNES
“I’m proud that we dug in and found a way. We had different players rise up to the occasion and help us at different times, especially Claire. She really controlled the match for us. We passed the ball well in the fifth set. Our libero (Moisio) stabilized the pass and we found ways to get kills. Our defensive effort was all out. Tonight was about who was going to give up first. We were not going to give up.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (IOWA 25-20)
Vares opened the scoring for the Hawkeyes with a kill. Iowa got out to an early lead and continued to build upon it. Worden terminated to double up Northwestern, 8-4. The Hawkeyes capitalized on several roll shots, dropping many kills in front of the Wildcat back row. Iowa led 10-7 after another Worden roll shot. At the media timeout, Iowa was in front 15-9. Iowa halted the Northwestern runs by siding out quickly. Worden drilled another kill and forced a Northwestern timeout with Iowa leading, 19-15. The Hawkeyes were able to hold off any late Wildcat comeback. Iowa hit a scorching .343 with 18 kills in the opening set. Whittingstall recorded five kills in set one. Iowa held Northwestern star Rylen Reid to a .091 clip in the opening frame. 

SET TWO (NORTHWESTERN 25-17)
Iowa fell behind 10-5 through the early points. On Ammeraal’s serve, Iowa stormed back to within one at 10-9, capped by an ace. Northwestern led 15-11 at the media timeout. The Hawkeyes were unable to gain their footing after Northwestern regained control of the set at the media timeout. Trailing 19-13, a kill and a block tightened the set for the Hawkeyes. The Wildcats were able to get a quick sideout to push ahead, 20-15. Iowa was unable to mount a comeback and Northwestern took the second set. The Wildcats served more efficiently, taking Iowa out of system for most of the second half of the set. Iowa cooled off in the second set and hit .182. 

SET THREE (NORTHWESTERN 27-25)
To open the third set, Stojanovic terminated for the Hawkeyes. Northwestern went on a 4-0 run to take the advantage. Ammeraal dunked an overpass to tie the set at 4-4. Iowa regained the lead at 7-6 on a Northwestern error. The set remained tight with neither team finding much separation. Iowa won the race to 10 on a kill from Vanzandt, but Northwestern was able to tie it up immediately. Iowa burned a timeout, trailing 12-10. Northwestern put together a 7-0 run to lead, 16-10, before a Vares termination stopped the spurt. Vanzandt drilled a kill from the left side to pull Iowa within four. The Hawkeyes fought right back, using a 6-0 run to take a 21-18 lead and force a Northwestern timeout. Vanzandt stayed hot behind the service line and dropped in an ace after the timeout. Northwestern responded with three of its own. Iowa took a timeout, leading 22-21. Worden capitalized with back-to-back kills out of the timeout to give Iowa set point at 24-21. The Wildcats saved three set points to tie the set. Worden responded giving Iowa the lead at 25-24. Northwestern saved another set point before using back-to-back blocks to take the set. 

SET FOUR (IOWA 29-27)
Whittingstall tipped to even the set at 3-3. Iowa used a 6-0 run to gain control of the set at 8-4, with Ammeraal taking more aggressive swings. The Hawkeyes led 10-5 after a crucial joust from Ammeraal doubled up the Wildcats. Iowa had a response for every Northwestern point, leading by five on several occasions. A Vanzandt kill put Iowa up 15-9 at the media timeout. Iowa led 17-11 when Northwestern called its first timeout of the set. The Wildcats stormed back with an 8-0 run. The run ended on a Northwestern service error to tie the set at 18-18. Both teams traded points until a Wildcat error and Vares kill gave the Hawkeyes a 21-19 advantage. Neither team gave up, as they traded kills back and forth. Northwestern saved three set points before a Worden kill saved a match point for the Hawkeyes and Ammeraal put away back-to-back kills. 

SET FIVE (IOWA 15-9)
Northwestern took an early 2-0 lead in the decisive set. Vares terminated to bring the set to a tie at 2-2. Stojanovic found the floor for an ace to take the lead at 3-2. Northwestern responded with a 3-0 run, including a block, to go up 5-3. Marquardt’s second ace of the night gave the Hawkeyes a two-point advantage at 7-5. Iowa led 8-6 at the change of ends. A big block from the Hawkeyes kept their momentum after the change. Ammeraal and Stojanovic teamed up for another block to take an 11-7 lead and force a Northwestern timeout. The Hawkeyes continued to execute with Vares sealing the deal on a tip to the campfire. 

Up Next: Iowa welcomes No. 20 Minnesota to Xtream Arena on Sunday. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. and will be streamed on B1G+ and the Hawkeye Radio Network.