Hawkeyes Down West Florida in 5 Sets

CORALVILLE, Iowa – University of Iowa volleyball defeated West Florida in its first five-set match of the season on Friday afternoon, 20-25, 25-16, 25-19, 18-25, 15-10. The Hawkeyes moved to 8-3 with the win.

Outside hitter Hallie Steponaitis set a new career high with 14 kills to lead the Iowa offense. It is the second-straight match that the third year has led the team in kills. She also tied her career-high digs with 10 and recorded her first double-double of the season. Liv Mogridge smacked 13 kills to round out Hawkeyes in double digits. Rosa Vesty tallied nine kills. 

Setter Jenna Meitzler notched her fourth double-double of the season with a 40 assist-14 dig performance. She stands alone at fourth in the Big Ten in double-doubles. Meitzler added five blocks and four kills to stuff the stat sheet.

As a team, Iowa recorded a new season-high 88 digs. First-year Henlee Moszkowicz became the first Hawkeye to tally over 20 digs this season, reaching a new career-high with 22. Jaimie Marquardt (13), Allison Berent (12) and Marichka Hoshylyk (11) joined Meitzler and Steponaitis in double figures in digs. Iowa amassed 13 blocks with Hannah Whittingstall leading the way with seven.

Iowa hit .192 overall, including a match-high .235 in set three. The Hawkeyes held the Argonauts to .133 in the match. Iowa’s defense stifled West Florida’s attack in sets two and five, holding its opponent to -.023 and .000, respectively.

HEAR FROM COACH BARNES
“Our opponent is so well coached. They’re used to winning and put us in some pressure situations. We faltered in set four where we should have finished off the match. I am proud of the fifth set effort. We’ve been asking our players to battle mentally without pressing too hard. We finally did it in that set and took over. We are still learning. We used a lot of different players and they made a difference. I’m really proud of Allison Berent. She came in the back row and had 11 digs and steadied us out. She was our player of the game.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (WEST FLORIDA 25-20)
The Argonauts established control early, mounting a 3-0 run to take a 7-4 lead. Vesty snapped the streak with a kill, but West Florida responded and forced an early Iowa timeout. Coming out of the stoppage, Whittingstall sparked a 5-0 rally, accounting for the first three points of the run to slice the Argonauts' lead, 11-10. West Florida then stretched the score to 19-14. The Hawkeyes fought off two set points late, getting consecutive kills from Meitzler and Whittingstall, before West Florida put the frame away. The Argonauts hit .304 in the opening set, while Iowa finished with a .231.

SET TWO (IOWA 25-16)
Early action in set two featured back-and-forth play that saw 10 ties and four lead changes. Iowa set the tone on the frame's opening point with a service ace from Meitzler, but neither side could gain immediate separation until the Hawkeyes broke a 10-10 deadlock and never looked back. Coming off the bench, Carmel Vares provided a spark, hammering back-to-back kills to kickstart a 5-0 run. Leading 15-11 at the media break, Iowa kept its momentum rolling out of the stoppage. Whittingstall delivered a kill and a Marquardt service ace stretched the lead to 17-11. Iowa's defense completely neutralized the West Florida attack down the stretch, holding the Argonauts to a -.023 hitting percentage with just seven kills in the set. The Hawkeyes compiled 24 digs and four blocks in set two, including a pivotal block from Meitzler and Whittingstall that pushed the lead to 20-12. After a Whittingstall ace built Iowa's largest lead at 22-13, Mogridge took over the attack, finishing the frame with back-to-back kills to close out the 25-16 win. Iowa’s defense improved to win the set.

SET THREE (IOWA 25-19)
Iowa carried its momentum into the third set, capitalizing on early Argonaut misfires to open the set on a 6-0 run. Iowa’s run was highlighted by Mogridge, Steponaitis and Vesty blocks and a Mogridge kill. West Florida struggled with efficiency early, committing eight errors before the technical timeout. Iowa continued stretching the margin to 13-6 following a Vares kill and Berent service ace. Steponaitis anchored the Hawkeye attack through the middle of the set, delivering a kill to stop a West Florida push. Keeping her foot on the gas, Steponaitis added consecutive kills late to push Iowa's lead to 23-19. A Whittingstall ace brought up set point, and solo block from Mogridge closed out the set on a 4-0 run for the Hawkeyes. Iowa never trailed in the third. The Hawkeye defense remained stout, recording four blocks and holding West Florida to a .069 hitting percentage with 11 errors. Iowa hit .235 in the frame, tallying 11 kills against just three errors.

SET FOUR (WEST FLORIDA 25-18)
In a set defined by early ties, lead changes and heavy momentum shifts, West Florida struck first before Iowa took a brief 2-1 edge on back-to-back kills from Vesty. A block by Steponaitis and Whittingstall later brought Iowa within one, but the Argonauts responded with a 5-0 run to seize a 15-9 advantage. Mogridge ended the Argos’ run with a kill, and Steponaitis followed with another to spark a 3-0 Hawkeye charge. Mogridge combined a kill with a West Florida error to trim the deficit to two at 16-14. West Florida maintained control late with a 3-0 run of its own to push the lead to 19-14, before taking the set with a kill.

SET FIVE (IOWA 15-10)
The decisive frame opened in a point-for-point battle, featuring five ties through the first 10 points. Kills from Vesty and a slide attack by Whittingstall kept the Hawkeyes level before setter Meitzler tipped one over to give Iowa an 8-7 edge. Steponaitis then put away her 14th kill of the match to put Iowa up 9-8. A West Florida error gave Iowa a 10-8 cushion, forcing an Argonaut timeout. Mogridge took control out of the break, hammering back-to-back kills to extend the Iowa run to 4-0 and build a 12-8 advantage. Consecutive errors by the Argonauts brought the Hawkeyes to match point at 14-10. Hoshylyk’s kill won the match on the next rally. Iowa’s defense stifled the West Florida attack, holding the Argonauts to a .000 hitting percentage in the final set.

NOTABLES

• Hallie Steponaitis set a career high with 14 kills.
• Jenna Meitzler recorded her fourth double-double of the season.
• Henlee Moszkowicz dug 22 attacks and was the first Hawkeye to post 20+ digs this season.
• Friday was Iowa’s first meeting with West Florida.
• Iowa moved to 2-2 when dropping the first set.
• It was Iowa’s first five-set match of the season.

Up Next: Day two of the Kwik Star Klassic resumes on Saturday as Iowa takes on Texas Tech at Noon.