Iowa Stumbles Against Alabama

STARKVILLE, Miss. – University of Iowa volleyball dropped a four-set match to Alabama on Friday afternoon inside Newell-Grissom Building. The Hawkeyes fell to 3-2 on the season.

Fifth-year Liv Mogridge led the offensive charge with a career-high 15 kills on 29 swings. She finished hitting .448. Fellow middle Hannah Whittingstall drilled 13 kills and hit a team-high .591, while committing no errors. The duo combined for 50% of the team’s kills. Second-year Carmel Vares notched 11 kills and Hallie Steponaitis added 10.

Setter Jenna Meitzler picked up her second double-double of the weekend with 42 assists and 11 digs. She also contributed with three well-timed kills.

The Hawkeye defense was looking to bounce back in its second match in Starkville. Iowa only generated four blocks against Alabama and was led by Mogridge’s three. Three Hawkeyes had double-digit digs. Starting libero Jaimie Marquardt and Meitzler each finished with 11. First-year Henlee Moszkowicz tallied 10. 

Iowa recorded two service aces compared to Alabama’s six. The Tide committed 11 errors from the line, while Iowa had six. 

The Hawkeyes finished the match hitting .261 with 56 kills and 21 errors. Iowa had 48 digs. Alabama hit .360 with 63 kills and 14 errors. The Tide had 51 digs. 

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (ALABAMA 25-22)
Iowa started strong as Mogridge hammered an overpass to open the match. The frame saw early back-and-forth action, tied at 6-6 after a string of Alabama service errors. The Crimson Tide used early separation to capture a 10-7 advantage despite neither team finding its footing offensively. Alabama led 15-12 at the technical timeout on .643 hitting and just one error. Iowa had three errors and a .250 hitting percentage at that point. The Hawkeyes first block came from Meitzler and Mogridge, forcing an Alabama timeout. Vares drilled a pair of kills to pull Iowa within one, 21-20. Despite the Hawkeyes saving set points late via a Mogridge kill and an Alabama net violation, the Tide closed out a .483 hitting performance to take the opening set 25-22.

SET TWO (IOWA 25-21)
The Hawkeyes bounced back in the second set with renewed energy. Whittingstall started the set with a kill off the block, followed immediately by a Marquardt ace. After Alabama used a run to lead 8-5, the Hawkeyes engineered a pivotal 6-0 run behind Meitzler’s serve. Consecutive blocks from Mogridge and Steponaitis gave Iowa a 14-13 lead. The Hawkeyes maintained control down the stretch with kills from Meitzler, Mogridge and Whittingstall. Alabama miscues helped Iowa get to 25. The Hawkeyes outhit the Tide .351 to .227 and sealed the 25-21 win on a final kill by Mogridge.

SET THREE (ALABAMA 25-20)
Alabama seized momentum in the third set with a 5-0 run to go ahead 7-4 and stretched its lead to 15-9 by the media timeout. The Hawkeyes’ deficit ballooned to seven at 17-10 when Iowa mounted a furious comeback attempt. A 5-0 run capped by Vares and Mogridge kills closed the gap to 17-14. Whittingstall and Mogridge continued to claw the Hawkeyes closer late, but the Tide held off the rally to secure a 25-20 decision.

SET FOUR (ALABAMA 25-18)
Moszkowicz shifted to libero and Marquardt moved to defensive specialist to start the fourth. As was the case in each set, Iowa got out to an early lead in the set. The Hawkeyes carved out an early 4-2 lead following kills from Whittingstall, Steponaitis and Vares. However, a 5-0 response propelled Alabama into the lead at 7-4. The run grew to 10-1 and Alabama took firm control of the set. Marquardt’s second ace of the match inched Iowa closer at 12-7. A mid-set push brought the Hawkeyes within four at 14-10, but Alabama kept its distance, matching side-outs the rest of the way and won the match. 

NOTABLES

• Jenna Meitzler notched her second double-double of the weekend with 42 assists and 11 digs.
• Liv Mogridge smacked a career-high 15 kills.
• Mogridge and Hannah Whittingstall carried Iowa’s offense from the middle, generating 28 of the team's 56 kills. 
• Iowa is 15-23-1 against current SEC foes.

Up Next: Iowa travels to Ames for the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk match against Iowa State on Tuesday.