Iowa’s Comeback Bid Falls Short Against USC

CORALVILLE, Iowa – University of Iowa volleyball’s bid at a reverse sweep fell short against USC on Thursday evening inside Xtream Arena, 20-25, 22-25, 25-16, 30-28, 9-15. The Hawkeyes move to 12-11 overall and 1-8 in the Big Ten.

Middle hitter Hannah Whittingstall notched 16 kills to tie a career-high and led the Hawkeyes on offense for the first time since the match against UAlbany on Aug. 29. Outside hitter Ksenija Tomic tallied 14 kills on 31 swings, while Peyton Young had 12. Hallie Steponaitis picked up 10 kills to round out the four Hawkeyes to finish with double-digits. 

Jenna Meitzler stuffed the stat sheet with a double-double on 48 assists, 11 digs, five kills, four blocks and three aces. She helped Iowa finish with its highest hitting percentage in a Big Ten match at .297.

Henlee Moszkowicz set a new career high with nine assists. 

The Hawkeyes out-served the Trojans, picking up more aces, 8-5, and committing less errors, 13-9. 

HEAR FROM COACH BARNES
“We started the third and fourth sets tough, got them more out of system, and played point-by-point really well. That’s what we just talked about. We played point-by-point all the way up to 8-4 in the fifth set, and then we let up the 11-1 run. We started out playing tough, aggressive and consistent and then the wheels came off. We had to serve them tougher and play defense, and we did. What we want to see is playing a much better serve and defense game right from set one.”

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (USC 25-20)
Hannah Whittingstall put Iowa on the board first with an opening kill on the slide, and Liv Mogridge pushed the Hawkeyes' lead to 4-2. USC mounted a 3-0 run to take a 9-7 advantage before Carmel Vares halted the Trojan momentum with a cross-court kill. USC held a 15-12 lead heading into a media timeout when Mogridge sparked the rally with a kill to the back line. Jenna Meitzler and Whittingstall followed with a tandem block and Jaimie Marquardt landed a service ace to pull Iowa even at 16-16. USC made a decisive 6-1 run down the stretch to close out the set despite committing five service errors throughout the opening set. Iowa hit .375 despite dropping the set.

SET TWO (USC 25-22)
Iowa claimed the opening point off a Trojan error before Vares slammed home a kill to give the Hawkeyes a quick 2-0 cushion. After the teams traded service errors, USC created separation midway through the set. The Trojans opened up a 17-10 lead with a 6-1 surge. Peyton Young would fuel a rally of her own, sandwiching a Meitzler service ace with two kills to snap USC's run. She followed up with consecutive kills to cut the deficit to 18-15 and force a USC timeout, before adding her fifth kill of the match to wrap up a personal 3-0 run. Meitzler recorded a solo block and later dumped a kill over to stave off set point at 24-22, but USC secured the final point on an Iowa error to close out the set.

SET THREE (IOWA 25-16)
Whittingstall opened the set with a cross-court kill and Meitzler served up her second ace of the evening to give the Hawkeyes an early 3-2 edge. Following a stretch where six consecutive points were decided by service errors and aces, USC pushed its lead to 10-6 with a 3-0 surge. Ksenija Tomic would then ignite a set-changing Hawkeye run with a kill making it 10-7. Iowa leveled the score at 10-10 to force a USC timeout before Whittingstall posted a block to reclaim the lead at 11-10. Hallie Steponaitis added back-to-back kills to extend the advantage. Coming out of the media timeout, Whittingstall landed a service ace, and Meitzler recorded a block to stretch the run to 12-1 and trigger another USC timeout at 18-11. Young kept the pressure on late, smashing a kill between two Trojan defenders to make it 21-15 before Henlee Moszkowicz became the fourth Hawkeye to record an ace. Tomic then put the exclamation point on the runaway set, stringing together three consecutive kills to keep Iowa in the match.

SET FOUR (IOWA 30-28)
Iowa surged to an early 4-0 lead after securing the opening point for the fourth consecutive set, featuring a joint block by Meitzler and Whittingstall. USC answered with a run to knot the score at 5-5, setting up a back-and-forth battle with 13 ties down the stretch. After USC built a late 19-16 lead, Young ended the Trojan run with a kill, and another Meitzler and Whittingstall block pulled the Hawkeyes within two at 23-21. With Iowa trailing, Steponaitis crushed a kill to hold off the first match point. USC appeared to clinch the match on the next play off an Iowa block, but the play was reversed in Iowa's favor, keeping the Hawkeyes alive and knotting the score at 24-24. Tomic then put Iowa ahead 28-27, and after Whittingstall reclaimed the lead at 29-28, Tomic sealed the dramatic 30-28 set victory with her final kill.

SET FIVE (USC 15-9)
After USC recorded the opening point on a kill, Meitzler got the Hawkeyes on the board with a putaway before Whittingstall landed a service ace to give Iowa a 2-1 edge. Meitzler then added an ace of her own. Steponaitis followed with a kill before a Trojan error capped a 4-0 run to force an early USC timeout at 6-2. The tandem of Tomic and Young combined for a block to send Iowa into the media timeout holding an 8-4 lead. However, the Trojans quickly shifted momentum, scoring the final nine points of the set uninterrupted to close out the set 15-9 and finish off the match.

NOTABLES

• Iowa fell to 1-2 in five-set matches this season.
• Hannah Whittingstall’s 16 kills matched her career high.
• The Hawkeyes suffered their first loss of the season when recording more digs than the opponent (52-43).
• Four Hawkeyes finished in double-figure kills.
• Iowa’s .297 hitting percentage was the best against a Big Ten opponent this season.

Up Next: Iowa returns to Xtream Arena on Saturday night to take on UCLA. It is a Pink Out match. First serve is set for 6 p.m. and the contest will air live on the Big Ten Network and Hawkeye Radio Network.