Hawkeyes Handed First Loss of Season

STARKVILLE, Miss. – University of Iowa volleyball dropped its opening match of the 2026 Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge to Mississippi State, 3-1, on Thursday night inside Newell-Grissom Building. The Hawkeyes suffered their first loss of the season.

Iowa outhit Mississippi State, .249-.247, and generated more kills, 67-57. The Bulldogs held crucial advantages in blocks, 10-4, and limited errors from the service line, committing four compared to Iowa’s 10.

The offense was balanced with five hitters racking up double-digit kills. Second-year Ksenija Tomic led the attack with 16 kills on 35 swings. She also had 14 digs. Both were career highs in Tomic’s first double-double of her career. Middle hitters Liv Mogridge and Hannah Whittingstall smacked 14 kills each on a combined 58 swings. Mogridge hit .355, while Whittingstall finished at .333. Pins Carmel Vares and Hallie Steponaitis contributed with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Steponaitis added 10 digs to finish with a double-double.

Setter Jenna Meitzler picked up a double-double with a career-high 57 assists and 14 digs. 

On the defensive front, three Hawkeyes led the way with 14 digs. Joining Meitzler and Tomic was Marichka Hoshylyk with 14. Libero Jaimie Marquardt had nine digs and chipped in offensively with five assists. Mississippi State won the digs battle, 74-72.

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (MISSISSIPPI STATE 27-25)
The opening frame was an indicator of how tightly contested the entire match would ultimately be. Whittingstall started the match with a slide kill. Iowa’s pins led a balanced attack with Steponaitis, Tomic and Vares finding kills. Meitzler orchestrated an early push that helped Iowa build a comfortable 15-9 lead. Mississippi State answered with a critical 10-0 run to flip the script and lead 19-15. The Hawkeyes showed resilience as Steponaitis caught fire with three consecutive kills to cap a 6-0 response that tied the set at 19-19. Iowa fought off multiple set points late behind kills from Tomic, but a pair of late errors allowed the Bulldogs to escape with a tight 27-25 win. The set featured eight ties and five lead changes.

SET TWO (MISSISSIPPI STATE 25-23)
Tight set. No separation at all in this set. MSU 6-1 run the difference maker.
The second set was another back-and-forth battle with almost zero separation between the squads. Maximum runs of two or three points generated the first 35 points of the set. Mogridge activated from the middle to keep Iowa within striking distance in the middle of the set. Tied at 17-17, Whittingstall came up big with a joust win and Tomic clubbed her ninth kill to push Iowa ahead 22-19. However, Mississippi State responded, utilizing a 6-1 closing run fueled by strong blocking to snatch a 25-23 win and take a 2-0 match lead.

SET THREE (IOWA 26-24)
Iowa engineered a gritty response in the third set. The Bulldogs pushed out to an early 8-4 lead before a block from Whittingstall and Rosa Vesty sparked life into the Hawkeyes’ third set. A Mississippi State error tied the set at 10-10. Whittingstall took over with a pair of kills to match Mississippi State. The Bulldogs went on a 7-2 run and led 21-16, Iowa’s largest deficit. Tomic served a couple of aces to keep Iowa around. Trailing 24-20 and facing four match points, Allison Berent sparked a 6-0 closing run with an ace, followed by clutch kills from Mogridge and Vares to complete the comeback and steal a 26-24 victory.

SET FOUR (MISSISSIPPI STATE 25-20)
The Hawkeyes and Bulldogs traded early punches in the fourth set, as Iowa relied on Whittingstall to produce offensively. Steponaitis worked her way back in the mix with kill to even the set at 7-7. Mogridge punished an over pass to give Iowa the lead heading into the media timeout. After a Mississippi State error and kill from Mogridge, Iowa led 17-14. The Bulldogs would go on an 11-3 run down the stretch to recapture momentum and seal the match. 

NOTABLES

• Iowa is now 15-22-1 against current SEC foes.
• The Hawkeyes had not played an SEC opponent since 2010, when they defeated Alabama.
• Three Hawkeyes finished with double-doubles: Jenna Meitzler (57 ast, 14 digs), Hallie Steponaitis (10 kills, 10 digs) and Ksenija Tomic (16 kills, 14 digs).
• Career highs were set by Jenna Meitzler (57 assists and 14 digs), Ksenija Tomic (16 kills and 14 digs) and Liv Mogridge (14 kills) and Hallie Steponaitis (10 digs).
• Heading into the day, the Big Ten led the SEC, 12-8, with 10 matches remaining.
• This was the first meeting between the Hawkeyes and Bulldogs.

Up Next: The Hawkeyes (3-1) close out competition at the 2026 Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge with a match against Alabama (2-1) inside Newell-Grissom Building. First serve is at 2 p.m. (CT) and will stream on SECN+ and the Hawkeye Radio Network.