Hawkeyes Handle Bulldogs in Sweep

CORALVILLE, Iowa – University of Iowa volleyball defeated Drake in straight sets on Wednesday evening (25-21, 25-21, 25-17) at Xtream Arena. The Hawkeyes improved to 7-3 on the season.

Hallie Steponaitis led the offense for Iowa for the first time this season, tallying 11 kills. She was the only Hawkeye in double figures. Steponaitis hit at a .333 clip and recorded a service ace. Hannah Whittingstall and Liv Mogridge followed behind, hitting at .615 and .412 respectively and both tallying nine kills. 

Setter Jenna Meitzler recorded 34 assists to lead the Hawkeyes and helped the offense hit a season-best .367. She also contributed with four kills and two service aces. Iowa served up eight aces and seven errors. Drake mustered up four aces and four miscues. 

On defense, Iowa finished the night with nine blocks. Whittingstall led the team with five, while Ksenija Tomic set a new season best with four. Meitzler tallied three blocks as Iowa out-blocked Drake, 9-3. Libero Henlee Moszkowicz recorded eight digs to lead the Hawkeyes. Total digs were low for both teams as Drake finished with 24 and Iowa 23.

HEAR FROM COACH BARNES
“The first set was crazy with those numbers. We allowed them to hit too big of a number. We hit bigger, but our focus is on the defensive side. Then in the second set we held them to .185 and .065 in the third. We need to have that mentality on defense. Our serving was the catalyst. We got better each set, which is what I wanted to see.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (IOWA 25-21)
After Drake jumped out to an early advantage, Hallie Steponaitis answered with a kill before Liv Mogridge added two straight to level the score at 3-3. Consecutive kills from Mogridge and Hannah Whittingstall, followed by a service ace from Marquardt, kept the deficit to one. The teams traded blows through the middle of the set before a Ksenija Tomic kill gave Iowa its first lead of the night at 14-13. Mogridge delivered another kill to put Iowa ahead 15-14 entering the media timeout, and Henlee Moskowicz ballooned the lead with a service ace immediately out of the break. Kills from Rosa Vesty and another from Whittingstall pushed the advantage to 18-15 and forced a Drake timeout. The Hawkeyes built their largest lead of the set at 21-16 following kills from Mietzler and Steponaitis. The Bulldogs mounted a late 4-0 run to cut Iowa’s lead to 23-21 before Steponaitis answered with a kill to bring up set point. A service ace by Meitzler sealed the set. Mogridge and Whittingstall led the offensive charge out of the gate, with Whittingstall tallying six kills and Mogridge adding four. The Hawkeyes hit .533 to start the night, racking up 19 kills with only three attack errors.

SET TWO (IOWA 25-21)
Once again, Drake took the early edge in the set, but Iowa stayed close behind with kills from Mogridge and Vesty, along with an ace from Marichka Hoshylyk. After back-to-back kills from Steponaitis brought the Hawkeyes within one at 8-7, Mogridge and Vesty provided answers to keep the score knotted at 9-9 and 10-10. The Hawkeye defense recorded its first two blocks on back-to-back points to give Iowa a 13-12 lead. A joint block from Mietzler and Steponaitis put Iowa ahead 18-17, setting up the key turning point of the frame. Steponaitis served up an ace to build a 21-18 advantage which forced a Bulldog timeout. The Hawkeyes extended their lead with a 4-0 run as Mogridge and Tomic combined for a block before Tomic delivered a kill to put Iowa up 23-18. Drake saved two set points to close the gap to 24-21, but Vesty put the frame away on the next rally with a kill. Iowa held Drake to a .185 hitting clip.

SET THREE (IOWA 25-17)
Mogridge set the tone for the Hawkeyes early, tipping the ball over for the frame's opening point. Allison Berent kept up the energy with an ace. After Drake evened the score, Steponaitis answered with a kill and a block by Mogridge and Steponaitis pushed Iowa ahead by two at 10-8. The Hawkeye net defense continued to thrive as Tomic and Vesty combined for a block to restore a three-point cushion at 12-9. A Drake service error sent Iowa into the media timeout up 15-11. The Hawkeyes maintained pressure at the net, as Mogridge and Whittingstall posted a block coming out of a Bulldog timeout to make it 18-12. Steponaitis then pushed the lead to seven with a kill. After two kills by Peyton Young, Tomic sealed the sweep for Iowa with a match-ending kill to wrap up the 25-17 win. The Hawkeyes led the set wire-to-wire and held the Bulldogs to .065 hitting.

Notables

• The Hawkeyes hit a season-high .367 in the win.
• Hallie Steponaitis was the team’s kills leader for the first time this season.
• The Hawkeyes finished 2-0 against in-state opponents and did not drop a set.
• Iowa moved to 3-1 at Xtream Arena.
• Tonight’s match was the first of four that will be televised on the Big Ten Network (Purdue - Oct. 15, Wisconsin - Oct. 18, UCLA - Oct. 24).

Up Next: Iowa kicks off the Kwik Star Klassic on Friday morning against Texas Tech. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m. (CT) at Xtream Arena.