Notes: at No. 20 Washington/No. 12 Oregon

THIS WEEK
The Hawkeyes head to Washington and Oregon for two ranked road matches. Iowa plays Washington in Seattle on Friday night at 9 p.m. (CT) and Oregon on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. (CT).

HOW TO FOLLOW

• Both matches will stream on B1G+.
• John Evans will provide the live play-by-play of the matches on the Hawkeye Radio Network.
• Live stats and recaps can be found on the volleyball schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.
• In-game coverage will be shared on Iowa volleyball's social media platforms.

2026 HIGHLIGHTS

• Iowa snapped a seven-match losing streak with its upset win over UCLA on Oct. 24.
• Rosa Vesty's team-leading and career-high 20 kills against UCLA were the most by a Hawkeye this season.
• Ksenija Tomic has double-digit kills in three straight matches.
• Setter Jenna Meitzler notched double-doubles in both matches against USC and UCLA, lifting her season total to eight.
• Hallie Steponaitis returned to the lineup and totaled 24 kills across two matches last weekend.
• Hannah Whittingstall is seventh in the Big Ten in hitting percentage (.389).
• Setter Jenna Meitzler leads the nation in assists (985) and is third in the Big Ten in assists/set (10.59). Her 57 assists against Mississippi State are the third most by a Big Ten setter this year.
• The Hawkeyes recorded 18.5 blocks against Milwaukee. That is the second-most blocks by a Big Ten team and the most in a four-set match this season. 
• The Hawkeyes swept Iowa State on Sept. 8 and won in Ames for the first time since 1997.
• Iowa completed the season sweep of in-state rivals, taking care of Drake in straight sets on Sept. 16. The Hawkeyes hit a season-high .367 against the Bulldogs.

SCOUTING #20 WASHINGTON

• Washington is 15-4 and 6-4 in conference play. The Huskies won at No. 6 Wisconsin and were swept at No. 20 Minnesota last week. Washington also has a sweep over Purdue.
• The Huskies are tied for 6th in the Big Ten.
• Outside hitter Simona Mateska is the leading offensive threat for Washington. She tallied 31 kills in the win over No. 6 Wisconsin, the most in a single match for the program since 2013. 
• Mateska leads the team in kills (250) and kills per set (3.73). 
• Second-year Andrea Fabikovicová leads the Huskies with 9.78 assists per set. 
• Anchoring the back row is first-year libero Kaitlyn Nguyen with 274 digs. She averages a league-leading 4.03 digs per set.
• The Huskies boast one of the best defenses in the Big Ten, allowing 11.41 kills per set (3rd) and a .176 hitting percentage (4th).
• Washington is 14th in the conference with a .247 hitting percentage.

SCOUTING #12 OREGON

• The Ducks are 17-3 overall and 8-2 in Big Ten play. 
• Oregon is 8-0 at home and has ranked wins over Indiana, Michigan State, Minnesota and Purdue. All three of its losses have come on the road: No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 7 Arizona State and No. 16 Penn State.
• Oregon is tied with Wisconsin for second in the Big Ten.
• Outside hitter Sjakkie Donkers leads the Ducks with 236 kills. She is 8th in the Big Ten with 3.75 kills per set. She has 13+ kills in nine straight matches.
• Sophomore Alanah Clemente follows Donkers with 225 kills. She earned Co-Big Ten Player of the Week honors on Oct. 12 for her 32-kill weekend against Michigan State and Michigan. 
• Leading the Ducks in the back row is sophomore libero Reese Sheppard. She earned the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week nod with a career-high 27 digs in a victory over Illinois at the beginning of October. 
• Junior Dalia Vîrlan is Oregon’s strongest net presence with a team-high 74 blocks. 
• As a team, the Ducks have a .250 hitting percentage, while allowing opponents to hit .201.

BREAKTHROUGH AGAINST THE BRUINS
Rosa Vesty’s career-high 20 kills pushed Iowa to a five-set win over UCLA on Oct. 24. The Hawkeyes dropped the first set before opening up a 2-1 lead heading to the fourth set. The Bruins forced a decisive set, where Iowa sealed the match with errorless offense and capitalized on four UCLA errors. Hannah Whittingstall supported Vesty with 15 kills, while Hallie Steponaitis and Ksenija Tomic each added 14. The win snapped a seven-match losing streak and was Iowa’s first-ever win against the Bruins. UCLA was receiving votes in the recent AVCA poll.

VESTY CONTINUES CAREER SEASON
Head Coach Jim Barnes highlighted fourth-year Rosa Vesty as a breakthrough candidate for Iowa’s offense during preseason meetings. Vesty has produced the two highest kill outputs this season. First, she set a career high of 19 kills at Maryland on Oct. 1. She bettered that with a 20-kill showing in Iowa’s five-set upset win over UCLA. She’s finished in double-digits seven times and led Iowa in kills in four matches. Vesty has been efficient in several matches, including hitting .556 at No. 16 Penn State, .500 versus Southern Illinois and .423 against Ohio State. After appearing in only one match a season ago, Vesty has taken a major step and appeared in 20 matches with 10 starts in 2026. 

LEADING THE CHARGE
Fourth-year middle hitter Hannah Whittingstall is the team’s leader in kills (228) and hitting percentage (.389). The San Antonio, Texas, native has started all 24 matches this season. She has finished with 10+ kills in nine matches and is coming off a season-high 16-kill performance against USC. Whittingstall is responsible for five of Iowa’s 10 highest hitting percentages this season, including a team-high .750 clip against UAlbany. On the defensive side, Whittingstall is Iowa’s blocks leader with 89. Her eight blocks against Milwaukee helped the Hawkeyes to a season-high 18.5.

B1G AT ITS BEST
This week, nine Big Ten teams are ranked in the AVCA top 25. Nebraska is the unanimous No. 1 team in the country. Wisconsin remains in the top 10 at No. 8. Purdue climbed to 11th, while Oregon dropped to 12th. Penn State moved up three spots to No. 16 following wins over Oregon and Indiana. Indiana is 19th, while Washington moved up a spot to No. 20 after beating Wisconsin in Madison. Minnesota is No. 21. Rounding out the top 25 is Michigan State, which has re-entered the rankings. Iowa is seeking its first ranked win since 2019, when it travels to Washington and Oregon this weekend.

UP NEXT
Iowa faces a split weekend beginning with a trip to No. 19 Indiana on Nov. 6 before hosting No. 21 Minnesota on Nov. 8.