Hawkeyes Test No. 18 Hoosiers in Five-Set Battle

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – University of Iowa volleyball tested 18th-ranked Indiana in a five-set loss at Wilkinson Hall on Friday night. The Hawkeyes drop to 13-12 on the season and 4-9 in Big Ten play.

The teams traded sets with Indiana winning the first (25-18) and the third sets (25-23). Iowa won sets two (25-18) and four (25-21). Indiana came out strong in the fifth to win, 15-10.

Iowa had four players in double-digit kill figures. Graduate Chard’e Vanandt was the leader for the Hawkeye offense, notching 21 kills. It was her third 20+ kill outing of the season. The Houston, Texas, native also contributed six digs and one block. Junior Hannah Whittingstall terminated 11 out of the middle and hit a team-high .429. She also had a team-high six total blocks. Freshman Carmel Vares and redshirt sophomore Alyssa Worden rounded out the front row talent with 10 kills each. Vares recorded three blocks and Worden had seven digs.

Iowa’s relentless defensive effort kept the Hawkeyes in the match with 71 total team digs, while Indiana only had 65. Senior Milana Moisio led the team with 20 digs and added two assists. Sophomore Jaimie Marquardt also recorded double-digit digs with 11 and had two service aces.

Senior Claire Ammeraal posted her eighth double-double of the season with 48 assists and 13 digs. She terminated two kills.

This was the 11th fifth-set match of the season for the Hawkeyes.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JIM BARNES
“Their best hitter got really hot in the fifth set. We didn’t do enough to slow her down. For us, if we continue to pass and have Claire run the offense well, we can compete with anybody. I am really proud of the effort. I thought that we had such a determined mindset and that gave us a shot. We’re driven and I felt that we could pull it off tonight with the way we were so focused and playing so tough. Indiana found a way to break us, but I am proud of our team.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (INDIANA 25-18)
Indiana raced out to an early 6-1 lead and forced Iowa’s first timeout. Iowa responded out of the break with a 4-0 run of its own. Kills from Vares and Vanzandt and consecutive blocks from Whittingstall and Vanzandt got the Hawkeyes within two at 7-5. Indiana won the race to ten on a kill to lead, 10-6. Iowa rallied to within two at 13-11 on a kill from Vanzandt. The Hawkeyes stayed within striking distance throughout the middle points, using Vanzandt as their primary offensive threat. Vanzandt terminated five kills during the set. Iowa called its second timeout, trailing 22-17. Indiana’s runs at the beginning and end of the set made the difference and the Hoosiers closed the set on a 5-1 run.

SET TWO (IOWA 25-18)
Vares dunked an overpass to start the set for the Hawkeyes. Vares stayed hot, shoving a pass from Moisio that found the floor to even the set at 2-2. Whittingstall's kill out of the middle tied the set at 4-4. Iowa took its first lead of the match in the second set on an Indiana hitting error, 5-4. Iowa continued to build its lead at 9-6 on another Hoosier error. Indiana rallied to tie the set at 11-11. Vanzandt broke the tie with a kill. Marquardt’s first ace of the night put Iowa up 14-12. Iowa led going into the media timeout after a pancake save from Moisio led to Vanzandt’s eighth kill. Coming out of the timeout, Marquardt served her second ace to give Iowa its biggest lead at the moment, 16-12. Ammeraal continued to feed the hot hand of Vanzandt, who recorded four of the six kills during that span for the Hawkeyes. Vanzandt reached double-digit kills in set two, finishing the set with a total of 13. Iowa hit .567 with 18 kills and one error on 30 swings. Iowa’s defense was relentless, totaling 17 digs.

SET THREE (INDIANA 25-23)
After losing the first two points, the Hawkeyes got on the board with a Vares touch kill. Iowa went on a 5-0 run that was capped by a block and Vanzandt kill down the left sideline. Whittingstall was automatic on the slide for Iowa to go up, 7-4. Indiana stormed back to take an 8-7 lead, which prompted an Iowa timeout. Out of the break, Whittingstall responded with a kill to tie it at 8-8. After some back-and-forth, Vares re-tied the set on a cross-court swing at 12-12. Both teams went back-and-forth without finding much separation. Indiana used a 5-1 run to go up 19-15. A block from Whittingstall and Vares stopped the Hoosier run. The Hoosiers led 21-16, as Iowa called a timeout. Both teams traded points, playing sideout volleyball as the set neared its end. Trailing 24-19, Iowa saved two set points with a kill and block to force an Indiana timeout. Iowa saved two more set points after the timeout to build the tension in the arena. Ultimately, Indiana got an in-system kill to win the set. The Hawkeyes were held to a .085 clip in the set. Indiana only hit .116 in a less-clean set.

SET FOUR (IOWA 25-21)
Iowa continued to feed the hot hand, using Whittingstall to find early momentum. Whittingstall’s heads up solo block padded Iowa’s lead at 6-4. She stayed on a roll, winning a joust to double up the Hoosiers at 8-4. Worden slowed an Indiana rally with a kill from the left side. With Ammeraal at the service line, Iowa went on a 4-0 run to build its lead to 13-8. Indiana came back within two at 13-11 and stopped its own run with an error. A 3-0 run highlighted by Vares and Vanzandt kills forced Indiana to burn its final timeout with Iowa’s lead at 16-11. Leading 18-13, Iowa maintained control with kills and Indiana errors. Indiana did mount a comeback, but Worden smacked her ninth kill to get a crucial sideout. Iowa led 22-19 and Indiana rallied to within one before Iowa used its final timeout of the set to regroup. Coming out of the timeout, Iowa closed the set on a 3-0 run with a kill from Worden and two Indiana errors. Iowa held the advantage in digs, 20 to 15.

SET FIVE (INDIANA 15-10)
Indiana started the decider by winning the first two points. Sophomore Aleksandra Stojanovic contributed Iowa’s first point of the set on the next point. Whittingstall caught the right sideline for her 10th kill. The Hoosiers held the lead through the first 10 points without allowing a tie. Iowa trailed at the change of ends, 8-5. An Indiana kill and ace led to an Iowa timeout with the Hoosiers leading, 10-5. The 4-0 run ended on an Indiana service error after the timeout. The final Hawkeye timeout came with Indiana in front, 13-7. Back-to-back errors from the Hoosiers got the Hawkeyes within four and Indiana called its first timeout at 13-9. Iowa saved one match point on an Indiana net violation before the Hoosiers won the match on the next point. Indiana (.400) edged Iowa (.357) in hitting percentage in the final set.

Up Next: The Hawkeyes travel to West Lafayette for a match with No. 9 Purdue on Saturday evening. First serve is set for 6 p.m. (CT) inside Holloway Gymnasium.