Iowa Sweeps Scarlet Knights

CORALVILLE, Iowa – University of Iowa volleyball defeated Rutgers in straight sets to pick up its first Big Ten win, 25-16, 25-23, 25-21. The Hawkeyes improved to 12-4 overall and 1-1 in league play after recording their sixth sweep of the season.

A trio of Hawkeyes led the offensive charge, with middle hitters Liv Mogridge, Hannah Whittingstall and outside hitter Rosa Vesty each tallying 10 kills. Hallie Steponaitis recorded five and Marichka Hoshylyk picked up four on nine swings. All of Hoshylyk’s kills came in the third set. Setter Jenna Meitzler paced the offense with 39 assists. Overall, Iowa hit at a .271 clip, recording 44 kills to Rutgers’ 34.

Leading the team in digs was first-year libero Henlee Moszkowicz with 15, while Hoshylyk followed with 10 digs of her own. Mogridge recorded a team-high three blocks, with the defense holding Rutgers to a .145. While the Hawkeyes were out-blocked 9-4, they outpaced the Scarlet Knights in digs, 48-44, and assists, 42-34. Whittingstall tied her career high with four service aces. 

HEAR FROM COACH BARNES
“We came out and set the tone again tonight, just like we did against Ohio State. It was good to finish the deal. We had a big lead in the second set and were able to hold on. Then, in the third, we were behind and flipped it. Our team showed toughness. We are far from where we want to be but are finding ways to win. I tell the team that we need to learn how to win even if we are not firing on all cylinders. Our team played with an edge tonight.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (IOWA 25-16)
Rutgers opened the scoring for the night, but the Hawkeyes responded immediately behind early kills from Ksenija Tomic and Rosa Vesty. The two sides traded points through the opening stretch before kills from Hannah Whittingstall and Hallie Steponaitis helped Iowa build a slight cushion. Rutgers fought back to knot the score at 11-11. Iowa reclaimed momentum heading into the media timeout, taking a 15-13 advantage. Whittingstall landed a service ace to extend the lead to 17-14 and prompt a Rutgers timeout. A Liv Mogridge block anchored a dominant 8-1 run that blew the set open at 23-15. Mogridge teamed up with Tomic for a block to close out the 25-16 win. Iowa's defense proved decisive down the stretch, holding Rutgers to an .094 hitting mark and capitalizing on six Scarlet Knight errors. 

SET TWO (IOWA 25-23)
Rutgers grabbed an early advantage for the second straight set, but Mogridge responded with consecutive kills to bring the Hawkeyes level at 2-2. Steponaitis pushed Iowa ahead with a paint-scraping kill on the line at 10-9. Another Mogridge kill launched a 3-0 run, capped by a Vesty kill that forced a Scarlet Knights timeout at 13-10. Whittingstall put down back-to-back kills followed by her third ace of the set to stretch the cushion to a set-high six points at 21-15. But Rutgers mounted a 6-0 run to knot the set at 23-23. Iowa clutched up as Vesty ended the run by tipping a shot over the net to finish a chaotic rally and bring up set point at 24-23. Whittingstall then claimed the set-winning kill on the following point. Whittingstall and Mogridge dominated on the attack, combining for eight of Iowa's 15 kills in the set.

SET THREE (IOWA 25-21)
Tomic opened the set with a kill for Iowa, but Rutgers answered with a 4-0 run to take a 4-2 lead. Out of a Hawkeye timeout, setter Jenna Meitzler tipped a ball over on two before serving up an ace to spark a 4-0 run. A Rutgers error later ensued to tie the set at 9-9. Mogridge kept Iowa matching points, landing back-to-back kills to make it 11-11. Hoshylyk moved to the front row and made an immediate impact, drilling a kill out of the media timeout to cut into Iowa’s deficit at 15-13. After the teams traded service errors, a Steponaitis kill leveled the score at 17-17. The two sides went back and forth until late in the set. Hoshylyk sparked the deciding run with a clutch kill to initially equalize at 20-20. Vesty followed with a kill to retake the lead at 21-20, forcing a Rutgers timeout. Hoshylyk added her fourth kill of the set to widen the gap to 22-20. Whittingstall slammed down a sharp kill to set up match point at 24-20 before Vesty finished the night with a kill to wrap up the 25-21 win and complete the sweep on a 6-1 run.

NOTABLES

• Liv Mogridge and Hannah Whittingstall accounted for 20 of the team’s 44 kills.
• Rosa Vesty smacked double-digit kills for the second-straight match and for the fourth time this season.
• Iowa won despite being out-blocked by Rutgers, 9-4.
• The Hawkeyes served up six aces and three errors, while Rutgers had seven aces and seven errors.
• Iowa has won four in a row over Rutgers.
• The Hawkeyes picked up their sixth sweep of the season.

Up Next: Iowa (12-4, 1-1 B1G) travels to Maryland on Thursday. First serve is set for 6 p.m. inside the Stephen M. Schanwald Pavilion.