Hawkeyes Defeat Buckeyes on Senior Night

CORALVILLE, Iowa – University of Iowa volleyball knocked off Ohio State on Senior Night, 3-1, inside Xtream Arena on Friday. Iowa improved to 15-16 overall and 6-13 in the Big Ten.

The Hawkeyes won the first set, 25-17, before Ohio State evened the match with a 25-22 set win. Iowa won the next two sets 25-16 and 25-21.

Friday’s win was the program’s first over the Buckeyes since 2008. Additionally, it was the Hawkeyes’ first home victory over Ohio State since 1987.

The program honored seniors Claire Ammeraal, Milana Moisio and Chard’e Vanzandt after the match.

Graduate Chard’e Vanzandt led the team with 16 kills and hit .256. She had five digs and two service aces. Redshirt sophomore Alyssa Worden had a season-high four aces and terminated nine attacks at a .368 clip.

Iowa’s middle hitters had solid evenings. Junior Hannah Whittingstall and sophomore Aleksandra Stojanovic were efficient in the win, combining for 14 kills. Stojanovic was errorless and hit .462, while Whittingstall hit .438.

The Hawkeyes won the serve battle, matching their season high with 10 aces. The Buckeyes committed 11 errors and had only five aces.

Iowa hit .328 against the Buckeyes, which was good for the third-highest percentage against a conference foe this season. Ohio State finished the match with a .214 hitting percentage.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JIM BARNES
“I am so proud of this senior group. All three of them are so special. We’ve come really close in a short period of time, especially with Mo and Chard’e only being here a year. It’s amazing how close we’ve become and how much of an impact they’ve made on the program. Chard’e came out red-hot for us tonight. We were a little sluggish and it was frustrating to let them back into it in the second set. When Mo set the ball over and got the kill, it gave us a spark. From then on we played with more energy and served them tough. For us to get to 15 wins on Senior Night against a program that has been successful lately proved that the program has taken a big step forward. It would be a big statement to go finish it up tomorrow night.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (IOWA 25-17)
An ace from Stojanovic gave Iowa an early 2-1 lead. Tied at 5-5, Iowa went on a 4-0 run on a kill from Vanzandt, ace from Claire Ammeraal, block by Stojanovic and freshman Carmel Vares and an error from Ohio State. Iowa won the race to ten on a kill from Stojanovic. Iowa’s largest lead of the set came at 14-8 after a Vanzandt termination. At the media timeout, the Hawkeyes led 15-9. Iowa continued to push forward on kills from Worden and Vares to lead 21-15, leading to an Ohio State timeout. Kills from Vanzandt and Vares sealed the set. Vanzandt was successful early, recording eight kills on 11 attacks. As a team, Iowa hit a scorching .440. Iowa improved to 13-2 when winning the first set.

SET TWO (OHIO STATE 25-22)
Whittingstall was active at the net to start the second set, forcing an Ohio State error, dunking an overpass and picking up her third kill of the match to double up the Buckeyes at 4-2. Worden terminated from the left side to give Iowa a 6-5 advantage. Vanzandt’s 10th kill started a 3-0 run that ballooned into a 10-6 lead. Worden served an ace to keep the Hawkeyes’ momentum and put them up 12-8. After a brief Buckeye run, Iowa turned to Stojanovic to get back on serve. Ohio State pulled within one before Whittingstall terminated to keep Iowa in the lead, 14-12. At the media break, Vanzandt gave the Hawkeyes a 15-14 advantage. Coming out of the timeout, Ammeraal finished on two on back-to-back points. Both teams pulled together late runs. A 3-0 run from Ohio State made it 18-17 Iowa. With the set tied at 21-21, Iowa called a timeout. Ohio State used a 6-1 run to finish the set after Iowa led 21-19.

SET THREE (IOWA 25-16)
Tied 2-2, Iowa put together a 4-0 run with sophomore Jaimie Marquardt behind the service line. A Gia McGrew and Stojanovic block fired up the crowd and doubled Iowa’s lead at 10-5. Vanzandt terminated to give the Hawkeyes their largest lead of the set at 12-6. A brief spurt from Ohio State tightened the set before a service error took the set to a media timeout, with Iowa leading 15-11. Ohio State used a 3-0 run to cut the Hawkeye lead to one, forcing an Iowa timeout. Senior Milana Moisio dumped to the campfire, which led to an Ohio State timeout as Iowa led, 19-15. Ohio State took its second timeout after two kills from McGrew and a block from McGrew and Stojanovic gave Iowa a 22-16 lead. Three straight aces from Worden won the set for the Hawkeyes. Iowa ended the stanza on a 6-0 run.

SET FOUR (IOWA 25-21)
Two kills and a solo block from Stojanovic started the set off strong. Iowa sprinted out to a 6-1 lead, carried by Stojanovic’s offense and two aces. Worden built Iowa’s lead to five on a kill from the left side. McGrew continued her consistent efficiency from the right side, hitting cross court to the deep corner for her sixth kill. After Iowa led 12-7, the Buckeyes stormed back to within two on a 4-1 run, and Iowa called a timeout. A kill from Ammeraal prevented a tie and put Iowa up, 17-15. Iowa won a crucial challenge to swing the set in the Hawkeyes’ favor, 21-19. Vanzandt and Whittingstall finished the match for the Hawkeyes with three kills and an ace.

Up Next: Iowa hosts 25th-ranked Penn State on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. (CT). The match will be televised on Big Ten Network and streamed on the Hawkeye Radio Network.