Hawkeyes Fall in Battle with No. 6 Badgers

CORALVILLE, Iowa – University of Iowa volleyball fell in four sets to No. 6 Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon at Xtream Arena, 16-25, 28-26, 21-25, 17-25. The Hawkeyes moved to 12-10 overall and 1-7 in the Big Ten. 

The Hawkeyes second set win was their first against the Badgers since 2016. They snapped their 31-set losing streak in front of a season-high 3,051 fans. 

For the second time in four matches, Iowa’s offense was led by Ksenija Tomic with 13 kills. In her second start of the season, middle hitter Peyton Young picked up 10 kills on 17 swings, rounding out Hawkeyes in double digits. Liv Mogridge and Hannah Whittingstall recorded eight a piece, with Mogridge hitting at a .389 clip. Setter Jenna Meitzler tallied 42 assists, her most since Oct. 1, and added six digs and four kills. 

On defense, Henlee Moszkowicz and Allison Berent tallied 12 and nine digs, respectively. Young led the Hawkeyes with three blocks. Iowa took advantage of 12 Badger service errors, while the Hawkeyes committed seven. The match had low ace numbers as Wisconsin had the edge, 3-1.

HEAR FROM COACH BARNES
“Our service game was solid and gave us some leverage. We made key plays when we needed to, we just needed to make a few more to take another set. That’s how you beat a ranked team like that. Peyton brought a lot of energy and carried what she’s been doing in practice to today’s match. We have a couple more opportunities next week at home that have major implications on our season. It was great to see our fans today. They helped us throughout the match and especially in the second set. We will need them next week.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (WISCONSIN 25-16)
Wisconsin struck first, but Peyton Young quickly put Iowa on the board with a kill down the middle to make it 2-1. The Hawkeyes stayed within striking distance early, with Hannah Whittingstall slamming down a kill and Carmel Vares putting up a big block to keep Iowa close. However, Wisconsin took control late with an 8-2 surge to push the lead to 23-13. Ksenija Tomic snapped a 5-0 Badger run with a kill, but Wisconsin held on to seal the first set 25-16.

SET TWO (IOWA 28-26)
Wisconsin carried its momentum into the second set before kills from Vares, Young and Mogridge built a 4-2 Iowa lead. Wisconsin responded with a 3-0 spurt to tie it before Iowa quickly answered with a run of its own, highlighted by a Meiztler dump kill. Young continued her strong offensive performance, sending Iowa into the media timeout up, 15-13. After back-and-forth play through the middle of the set, Mogridge gave Iowa the lead before a Tomic kill led to set point at 24-23. Tomic and Whittingstall would make the difference in crunch time. Whittingstall stepped up with a kill and Iowa’s first service ace of the match to bring up another set point at 27-26. Tomic capped off the dramatic finish with a kill to the back corner to seal the 28-26 set. The Hawkeyes hit a blistering .405 with 19 kills in the set while taking advantage of six Wisconsin errors. It was Iowa’s first set win over Wisconsin since 2016 and snapped a 31-set drought.

SET THREE (WISCONSIN 25-21)
Iowa carried its momentum into the third, opening the scoring on a Badger error. The early action remained close as Whittingstall, Vares and Young provided Iowa’s offense to keep the score tied on multiple occasions. Mogridge sent a cross-court kill to the back corner, pushing Iowa into the media timeout with a 15-14 edge. Tomic tied the frame again at 16-16 with a kill, and Whittingstall answered a Badger point to keep Iowa within one at 18-17. Wisconsin then mounted a run, forcing an Iowa timeout at 20-17 and capitalizing on an Iowa error to close the set, 25-21. The set featured 15 ties and five lead changes.

SET FOUR (WISCONSIN 25-17)
Wisconsin struck first with a kill, but Iowa countered quickly as Tomic delivered a kill to give the Hawkeyes an early 2-1 advantage. The teams traded points throughout the early going, with Meitzler tapping it over on two to tie the set at 7-7. Tomic later found a gap between two Badgers for a kill at 9-8, and Young added another to keep Iowa within striking distance. Tomic struck again to keep the Hawkeyes within two at 16-14, but Wisconsin's late 7-2 run pushed the visitors over the edge, 25-17.

NOTABLES

• Iowa’s second-set win was the program’s first over Wisconsin since 2016, snapping a 31-set drought.
• Peyton Young earned the start for the second time this season and finished with 10 kills and a .353 hitting percentage.
• Ksenija Tomic led the team with 13 kills on 31 swings.
• Jenna Meitzler’s 42 assists are the most since her effort against Maryland on Oct. 1.

Up Next: Iowa hosts USC at 6 p.m. on Oct. 22 inside Xtream Arena.