Iowa Handles UAlbany, Barnes Wins Career 500th

WEST POINT, N.Y. – University of Iowa volleyball improved to 2-0 on the season with a 3-1 win over UAlbany on Saturday afternoon inside Christl Arena. The Hawkeyes handled the Great Danes 25-18, 27-29, 25-16, 25-13.

With Saturday’s victory, head coach Jim Barnes reached the 500-career-win milestone. He is one of 28 active D1 head coaches to reach 500.

The offense featured four Hawkeyes in double-figure kills and was led by Hannah Whittingstall. The fourth-year middle hitter was strong again with 15 kills on 20 swings. She has yet to commit an error this season and finished the match at a .750 clip. Whittingstall’s hitting percentage is tied for seventh all-time for a single match in program history.

Hallie Steponaitis turned in another strong performance converting on 12-of-19 swings and leading the pin group. Marichka Hoshylyk posted a double-double with 17 digs and 11 kills, both of which were career highs. Fifth-year Liv Mogridge chipped in with 10 kills on 23 attempts from the middle. Setter Jenna Meitzler was impactful in a variety of ways. She orchestrated the attack with 51 assists, six digs and a career-high four aces.

Defensively, libero Jaimie Marquardt paced the back row with 18 digs. Hoshylyk had 17 digs, while Ksenija Tomic collected six. Defensive specialists Henlee Moskowicz and Allison Berent were steady with five and three digs, respectively. Iowa out-dug UAlbany decisively, 61-50. The Hawkeyes’ block became a major factor late in the match, as Steponaitis and Whittingstall controlled the net. 

As a team, Iowa hit .315 and held UAlbany to . 154. The Hawkeyes capitalized from the service line, recording 10 aces to UAlbany’s three. Iowa sided out 70% of the time in sets one and three and went a perfect 13-of-13 in the fourth set. The match was tied 21 times and underwent 11 lead changes. 

HEAR FROM COACH BARNES
“We learned some things from the match. When we get out of sync, how does the team pull together through it? What kind of leadership emerges? When we’re playing well, anyone can lead. That was what we saw in set two. We got out of sync, didn’t handle it well and paid the price. Then we learned from it and played solidly the next two sets. That’s what you want in these kinds of games. We have a lot of new people and they need to learn how to lead through those times when we are out of sync. Both our middles have been the punch and Hallie has been playing really well. When it comes to the 500 wins in my coaching career, it’s amazing what God can do with so little. I laugh as I say that.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (IOWA 25-18)
Iowa set the tone immediately in the opening frame, sparked by a Hannah Whittingstall kill and a 5-0 start featuring attacks from four different Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes built separation behind a strong service run from Jenna Meitzler, including one of her four aces, to go up 8-2. Liv Mogridge anchored the middle late in the set with three quick points. She used a variety of attacks including a tip to put Iowa up 17-13. Steponaitis activated with a cross-court kill before using her block to stuff a Great Dane attack on the next. Whittingstall capped a comfortable first set with a kill. 

SET TWO (UALBANY 29-27)
Set two proved to be a gritty, back-and-forth battle featuring 15 tie scores and seven lead changes. The Hawkeyes spent much of the early going out of system with four errors and three miscues from the service line. With the Hawkeyes down 9-5, Iowa’s offense turned to Steponaitis, who gave the team a brief lead at 11-10. UAlbany responded to lead 15-12 at the media timeout. Iowa clawed back with kills from Mogridge and Whittingstall and aces from Marquardt and Meitzler. The Hawkeyes had two set points at 24-22 but the Great Danes stayed alive. Iowa then rallied against three set points before giving up a kill and committing an error to lose the set despite key efforts from Hoshylyk and Carmel Vares down the stretch.

SET THREE (IOWA 25-16)
With the match now tied at 1-1, Meitzler opened the set with a tap kill on two and later delivered an ace to make it 4-3. Trailing 7-5, Iowa locked in defensively at the net with a flurry of blocks from Mogridge, Steponaitis and Whittingstall. With the set being tight through the first 20 points, UAlbany’s offense began to fade. Several errors from the Great Danes pushed Iowa in front. Leading 16-13, Iowa used a 6-0 run with kills from Hoshylyk and Whittingstall to firmly take control of the set. Hoshylyk drilled another kill to polish off the Great Danes and give the Hawkeyes a comfortable set win. 

SET FOUR (IOWA 25-13)
Marquardt and Meitzler were the first two to the service line for Iowa in the early stages of set four. Rosa Vesty subbed in and was immediately impactful from the left side, smacking consecutive kills to give Iowa early control at 5-1. Iowa’s block arrived and Mogridge and Steponaitis denied a UAlbany attack to build the momentum at 7-2. Tomic served an ace moments later and Iowa was well on its way to a runaway set win. Vesty and Whittingstall carried the Hawkeyes through the middle portion of the set, building the lead to 14-6. Iowa rattled off several points in a row from Steponaitis and Vesty and a block from Mogridge. A Whittingstall kill forced a Great Danes timeout at 20-11. A couple of errors in the final moments gave Iowa the win.

NOTABLES

• Head coach Jim Barnes picked up the 500th win of his coaching career with the victory.
• Hannah Whittingstall hit .750 and remained errorless on the weekend. The .750 clip is tied for seventh in school history for single-match hitting percentage.
• Marichka Hoshylyk notched a double-double, the first of her career, with career highs of 17 digs and 11 kills. 
• Jenna Meitzler’s four aces were a season high.
• Iowa had four attackers with double-figure kills.

Up Next: Iowa (2-0) concludes play at the Black Knight Invitational against Sacred Heart on Sunday morning. First serve is set for 10 a.m. (CT) inside Christl Arena.