Vesty Leads Hawkeyes over Southern Illinois

CORALVILLE, Iowa – University of Iowa volleyball took down Southern Illinois, 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-15, 25-23), in its home opener on Thursday night at Xtream Arena. The Hawkeyes move to 5-2 on the season.

Fourth-year Rosa Vesty led the team with a career-high 16 kills on 30 swings. The Christchurch, New Zealand, native hit .500, committing only one error. Second-year Carmel Vares joined Vesty in double-figures, smacking 15 kills. In the middle, Liv Mogridge and Hannah Whittingstall each finished with six kills. Jenna Meitzler posted a double-double with 38 assists and 11 digs, while adding three kills. Starting libero Henlee Moszkowicz tallied six assists to help the offensive effort.

The serve and pass game was a struggle for both teams on Thursday. The Salukis had 10 aces and 10 errors. Iowa had eight errors and six aces. Moszkowicz led Iowa with 18 digs and Marichka Hoshylyk chipped in with 12. Jaimie Marquardt had 10.

Iowa out-blocked Southern Illinois, 10-8, and was led at the net by Vesty’s six blocks. The Hawkeyes hit .248 and limited the Salukis to a .151 percentage. Iowa won with more kills (53-49), assists (51-46) and digs (65-54).

HEAR FROM COACH BARNES
“Last year, we started turning the corner. This year, it’s going to go further. What we are trying to teach them now is that you have to show up and execute in every game. We need to improve our consistency, and if we can do that, we will be able to beat some really good teams. We gave up runs tonight, which we didn’t on Tuesday. We did not have that focus tonight. Our team pulled it together enough down the stretch.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (IOWA 25-23)
Iowa got on the board early in the first set with a setter dump from Meitzler, but Southern Illinois quickly responded with a 4-0 run to take a 7-3 lead. The Hawkeyes answered back, tying the set at 7-7 on a block from Mogridge and Vesty. Southern Illinois ran off five points in a row, but Iowa stayed close off a Marquardt service ace to cut the deficit to 15-12. After falling behind 17-12, Iowa launched its decisive late-set comeback with back-to-back kills by Ksenija Tomic and Vares to come within three. Meitzler added her second kill to make it 18-16, and Mogridge followed with an acrobatic tip from the pin to keep the pressure on. The teams traded points down the stretch, with Mogridge pushing Iowa ahead at 21-20. Tomic smacked a kill that gave Iowa set point at 24-23. A final Saluki error sealed the 25-23 victory for the Hawkeyes.

SET TWO (SIU 25-22)
The teams traded punches early in what would prove to be a tight set throughout. Vesty poked a kill to put the Hawkeyes in front, 12-11. The Salukis seized momentum going into the technical timeout, mounting a 4-0 run to take a 15-13 lead. After the break, SIU answered with another 4-0 surge to break a tie and reach 20 first. A Whittingstall kill sparked a 3-0 Iowa response, forcing an SIU timeout. Out of the timeout, Vares landed a cross-court kill to cut the margin to 22-20, and Vesty followed with her career-high seventh kill to pull Iowa within one at 22-21. Ultimately, Southern Illinois sealed the 25-22 set win with a service ace. Iowa finished the set with five errors and zero aces from the line.

SET THREE (IOWA 25-15)
The Hawkeyes took control early and ran away with the third set. Iowa opened the frame with a kill from Vares, which led to a commanding 5-0 run. Capped by a Moszkowicz service ace, the Hawkeyes built an 8-3 lead and forced an early Saluki timeout. This five run spurt sustained Iowa’s lead for the entire set. Whittingstall dominated the net, punishing an overpass that caught the back line to double up the Salukis, 12-6. Out of the technical timeout, Iowa expanded its lead to 16-8 following a block by Mogridge and Vesty. Iowa pushed its lead to double digits down the stretch, using a Vares kill and a Hoshylyk ace to make it 23-13. While Southern Illinois managed to save two points, a Saluki serve sailed long to give Iowa the 2-1 lead.

SET FOUR (IOWA 25-23)
The Salukis built a 7-4 edge on a 3-0 run to begin the set, eventually pushing their lead to 13-7 to force an Iowa timeout. The Hawkeyes responded out of the break with a relentless 6-0 run. Vares sparked the surge with back-to-back kills. Another block by Mogridge and Vesty tied the frame at 13-13. After SIU took a 15-14 lead into the media break, Vesty tied the set with a kill out of the timeout. Iowa soon reclaimed the lead at 17-16 following a Saluki error. A Hoshylyk service ace forced SIU to burn its final timeout at 20-18, with a block by Whittingstall and Vares extending the margin to 21-18. Vares then took over down the stretch, terminating her 14th kill of the match for a 23-20 lead, following with a block to bring up match point at 24-20. Vares would deliver her final kill to close out the win.

NOTABLES

• Iowa improved to 8-1 all-time against Southern Illinois.
• Iowa is 5-0 when winning the first set.
• Rosa Vesty finished with a career-high 16 kills and added a team-high six blocks.
• Jenna Meitzler picked up her third double-double of the season with 38 assists and 11 digs.
• Libero Henlee Moszkowicz led the team with a season-high 18 digs.

Up Next: Iowa (5-2) takes on Incarnate Word (1-4) on Friday night at 6 p.m. inside Xtream Arena.

HAWKEYE INVITATIONAL RESULTS
Match 1: Missouri State, 3-1, over Incarnate Word
Match 2: Iowa, 3-1, over Southern Illinois