Iowa City Today

The University of Iowa women's volleyball team lost a close five-set match to Oregon at Matthew Knight Arena on Friday night. Despite having four match points, the Hawkeyes were unable to secure the win and fell 19-17 in the final set.

Iowa's record now stands at 10-5 overall and 1-2 in Big Ten play. The team has played five matches that have gone to five sets this season, winning only one.

Offensively, Iowa relied on its outside hitters. Graduate Chard’e Vanzandt and freshman Carmel Vares each recorded 18 kills. Redshirt freshman Hallie Steponaitis made her first career start and contributed a personal best of nine kills. Middle hitters Hannah Whittingstall and Aleksandra Stojanovic combined for eight kills and each served three aces. Senior setter Claire Ammeraal had a season-high 49 assists along with nine digs. Senior libero Milana Moisio led the team with 13 digs, while redshirt sophomore Alyssa Worden added 11.

Iowa finished with more kills than Oregon (60-59) and more service aces (9-8). However, Oregon committed 13 service errors but compensated by outblocking Iowa 13-6 and outhitting them .272 to .239. The fifth set was closely contested, featuring multiple match points saved by both teams before Oregon secured the victory.

Head coach Jim Barnes commented on the team's performance: “We played tough on the road and had chances to win the match. Credit Oregon for turning it around at the end of the fifth set. We showed a lot of heart tonight and were just one play away from winning it.”

The match summary detailed how momentum shifted throughout all five sets, with both teams trading leads in key moments.

Next, Iowa will travel to Seattle to face Washington on Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network and available via Hawkeye Radio Network.