Hawkeyes Beat Milwaukee, Clinch Best Start Since 2006

CORALVILLE, Iowa – University of Iowa volleyball defeated Milwaukee, 3-1, on Tuesday night at Xtream Arena. The Hawkeyes climb to 11-3 overall and record their best start since 2006.  

Iowa wrapped up its nonconference slate with a 22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-17 win over the Panthers. The Hawkeyes extended their win streak to five matches.

Iowa’s defense was the star against the Panthers, setting a new season-high 18.5 blocks as a team. The total blocks were the second-most by a Big Ten team this season. Jenna Meitzler, Liv Mogridge and Hannah Whittingstall led the blocking effort, as all three recorded eight blocks. The number sets a career high for Meitzler, ties a season high for Mogridge and sets a new season best for Whittingstall. 

Mogridge and Wittingstall also drove the offense with career nights. Mogridge set a new career high with 16 kills. She hit .565 on 23 swings. Whittingstall tied her season best with 15 kills and did not commit an error. She ultimately led the team with a .625 hitting percentage. Ksenija Tomic joined in double figures, tallying 10 kills. Hallie Steponaitis recorded seven kills. 

Meitzler orchestrated another strong night for Iowa’s offense, leading the team to a .347 hitting percentage and totaling 50 assists. She also added two aces and two kills. Henlee Moszkowicz also recorded two aces and led the team in digs with 12. After struggling with the Milwaukee attack in the first set, Iowa held the Panthers in check and allowed a .215 hitting percentage by the end of the match.

HEAR FROM COACH BARNES
“I was proud of how we stuck together. That team is tough and well coached. They made us earn it. They flipped it on us in the first set and kept it really close in the other sets until we were able to pull away in all three. Our block came alive and that was the difference in the match. This team has gotten better each week. It’s been big to watch them come together and grow. Our team is really grateful for the fans that came out to cheer us on tonight. We will be ready for the Big Ten.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (MILWAUKEE 25-22)
Iowa jumped out to an early lead behind the play of Liv Mogridge and Carmel Vares to give the Hawkeyes a 3-1 advantage. After back and forth play, Ksenija Tomic sent the teams to the media timeout with a kill that gave Iowa a 15-13 lead. The Panthers responded by using a 6-0 run late in the set. Whittingstall posted a kill to bring Iowa within three at 24-21. Milwaukee finished off the set on the next point after calling a timeout. Despite dropping the opener, Iowa hit an efficient .423 while committing just one error. The Hawkeyes held a 5-0 advantage in blocks. All five of Milwaukee's team errors came as a result of Iowa's net defense. 

SET TWO (IOWA 25-20)
After the Panthers used a 3-0 surge to go ahead 4-1, Tomic slammed back-to-back kills before a Meitzler and Whittingstall block leveled the score at 4-4. Whittingstall put Iowa back on top with a kill, and consecutive kills from Meitzler and Mogridge rebuilt an 11-8 advantage to force a Milwaukee timeout. After Milwaukee carried a 15-14 lead into the media timeout, Tomic tied it out of the break, sparking a Hawkeye run. Whittingstall followed with a tip to regain the lead, and a Henlee Moszkowicz service ace triggered a Panther timeout. Iowa extended the streak to 5-0 at 19-15 after Vesty smacked a kill and blocked an attack with Whittingstall. The block picked up for Iowa in the set as Whittingstall teamed up with Vesty and Meitzler on consecutive points to keep Iowa ahead 21-17. The Hawkeyes sealed the set on a 4-0 run, punctuated by a Hoshylyk ace. Iowa's net defense proved to be the deciding factor. The Hawkeyes posted 7.5 blocks in the set and held Milwaukee to a .047 hitting percentage. The set featured seven ties and four lead changes.

SET THREE (IOWA 25-22)
Iowa kept the momentum rolling with a 5-0 run to open the set. Fueled by back-to-back Mogridge kills and a kill from Steponaitis, Iowa forced an early Panther timeout. The Hawkeyes maintained control through the earlygoing, extending their cushion to 13-7 on an error to prompt another Panther timeout. Milwaukee fought back with a 4-0 run out of the media timeout to pull ahead 15-14. Mogridge sparked the Hawkeyes again with a kill to regain the advantage. Whittingstall followed by slamming down an over pass to stretch the lead to 20-16. The Panthers closed the gap to 23-21 to force an Iowa timeout, but Hoshylyk answered with a kill to present set point. Two plays later, a Milwaukee attack error handed Iowa the set. Iowa turned in an efficient offensive performance, hitting .323 in the frame while backing up its quick start with steady side-out volleyball down the stretch.

SET FOUR (IOWA 25-17)
Iowa took control early in the fourth set and never looked back. After the Panthers scored the opening point on a block, Iowa launched a 5-0 run ignited by kills from Meitzler, Whittingstall and Hoshylyk to take an 8-5 lead. The Hawkeyes led for the remainder of the contest. Mogridge, Tomic and Vesty provided steady offense to carry Iowa into the technical timeout up 15-12. Whittingstall padded the lead with back-to-back scoring plays out of the break, forcing Milwaukee’s final timeout at 18-14. Meitzler added a tip and a block down the stretch to reach 20-16 before Mogridge hammered down consecutive kills to push the advantage to 22-17. Meitzler then sealed the match victory for Iowa with an ace.

NOTABLES

• The Hawkeyes’ 18.5 blocks are the second-most by a Big Ten team this season.
• Hannah Whittingstall was errorless and drilled 15 kills to finish with a .625 hitting percentage.
• Liv Mogridge, Hallie Steponaitis and Whittingstall totaled eight kills a piece.
• Iowa’s 11-3 start is the program’s best since 2006.
• 11 nonconference wins are the most since 2006.
• Iowa moved to 8-1 all-time versus Milwaukee.

Up Next: The Hawkeyes (11-3) open league play on Friday as Ohio State comes to town. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. inside Xtream Arena.