Hawkeyes Topped by Northwestern

EVANSTON, Ill. – University of Iowa volleyball was defeated in straight sets by Northwestern 25-17, 25-22, 25-23 inside Welsh-Ryan Arena on Thursday night.

Iowa dropped to 13-16 overall and 2-13 in the Big Ten.

Liv Mogridge led the Iowa attack with nine kills on 22 swings. Rosa Vesty turned in seven kills. Jenna Meitzler and Hallie Steponaitis each had six kills, while Carmel Vares recorded five and led the team with a .333 hitting percentage. The Hawkeyes were held to a .198 hitting percentage in the match.

Meitzler finished with 26 assists and neared a double-double with eight digs. 

Libero Allison Berent led the team in digs with 13 and was the only Hawkeye in double figures. Marichka Hoshylyk finished with seven digs in the back row. Iowa tallied more digs than Northwestern, 42-41. Vesty led the Iowa squad with three blocks.

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (NORTHWESTERN 25-17)
Iowa won the opening point on a kill from Hallie Steponaitis. Rosa Vesty and Liv Mogridge teamed up for a block to put Iowa up, 4-2. Hannah Whittingstall got on the board with a kill moments later. Northwestern’s decisive 6-0 run that pushed the Wildcats up 14-7 was the difference in the set. Despite a left-side kill from Mogridge, back-to-back aces by Jaimie Marquardt and consecutive kills from Vesty that trimmed the deficit late, Iowa could not recover from a 20-10 hole. Carmel Vares fought off Northwestern’s first set point with her first kill, but the Wildcats converted on the ensuing rally to close out the frame.

SET TWO (NORTHWESTERN 25-22)
The Wildcats seized early control, building a 10-4 cushion. Following an Iowa timeout, the Hawkeyes answered with a 3-0 run behind kills from Whittingstall and two from Hallie Steponaitis. Another 3-0 surge, capped by an ace from Jenna Meitzler, forced a Northwestern timeout at 12-11. Northwestern regained a 15-13 edge at the media break, and although Whittingstall and Vesty teamed up for a block to tie it at 15-15, the Wildcats pushed back ahead 20-17. Two Northwestern errors pulled Iowa within one before a Wildcat sideout and a Hawkeye miscue prompted an Iowa timeout at 22-19. Kills from Meitzler and Mogridge kept Iowa within striking distance at 23-21. Another Mogridge termination staved off a set point before an Iowa service error sealed the set for Northwestern.

SET THREE (NORTHWESTERN 25-23)
Iowa jumped out to a fast start behind an ace from Whittingstall and back-to-back kills by Vesty. Northwestern called a timeout after Iowa built a 9-5 lead. Meitzler kept the Hawkeyes firmly in front at 12-9 with a setter dump. But Northwestern answered with a 4-0 run to knot the frame at 13-13 and prompted an Iowa timeout. The Wildcats edged ahead 15-14 at the media break and created separation by stringing together consecutive points for a 19-16 cushion. The teams traded sideouts through much of the late going until a tandem block from Mogridge and Vesty trimmed the deficit to 23-22 and forced a Northwestern timeout. After exchanging kills down the stretch, the Wildcats converted on match point with a final termination to close out the match.

Up Next: Iowa visits No. 1 Nebraska on Saturday at 6 p.m. (CT). The match will be streamed on B1G+ and the Hawkeye Radio Network.