CORALVILLE — Iowa Hawkeye volleyball shook off an ugly opening set Friday night and came roaring back to defeat Incarnate Word in four sets, getting a career performance from Peyton Young in her season debut.
The Hawkeyes knocked off the Cardinals 21-25, 25-23, 25-15 and 25-15 inside Xtream Arena, improving to 6-2 on the season and staying unbeaten at the Hawkeye Invitational.
Young made an immediate impact in her first appearance of the year and first career start, hammering a career-high 13 kills on just 25 attacks.
Her arrival added another weapon to an Iowa team coming off a historic sweep of Iowa State in Ames earlier this week.
Ksenija Tomic turned in another big all-around performance with 12 kills and 19 digs for a double-double, while Carmel Vares and Rosa Vesty each added 10 kills.
Hannah Whittingstall finished just short of double figures with nine kills.
Setter Jenna Meitzler directed the attack with 38 assists while contributing four kills and three service aces.
Iowa’s defense eventually overwhelmed the Cardinals.
The Hawkeyes piled up a season-high 13 blocks, with Vesty, Whittingstall and Young recording six apiece. First-year libero Henlee Moszkowicz collected a career-high 19 digs, matching Tomic for the team lead.
Jaimie Marquardt added 13 digs and Marichka Hoshylyk finished with 12.
Iowa ended the night hitting .244 while holding Incarnate Word to just .103. The Hawkeyes also established season highs with 79 digs and 13 blocks and finished with seven service aces.
“We got off to a slow start,” Iowa coach Jim Barnes said. “We adjusted a block and started playing harder. Our opponent played hard right out of the gate and that woke us up. It was great to see us block like we can and have Peyton come in and give us some relief.”
Incarnate Word landed the first punch.
The Cardinals took a 5-3 advantage in the opening set before consecutive Young kills pushed Iowa ahead 6-5.
Incarnate Word responded and regained control through the middle of the frame, building a 15-12 advantage and later forcing an Iowa timeout with the Cardinals ahead 20-16.
The Hawkeyes fought back to within 21-19 and survived two set points, but Incarnate Word eventually finished off the 25-21 victory.
Things looked even worse for Iowa early in the second.
The Cardinals used a pair of three-point runs to race ahead 9-3, prompting an Iowa timeout, then extended the advantage to 12-4.
That is when the Hawkeyes began turning the match around.
A Meitzler tip and service ace, combined with two Young kills, powered a four-point Iowa run.
The Hawkeye block then came alive.
Vesty and Young teamed for a stop at the net before Whittingstall, Vares and Meitzler helped Iowa pile up consecutive blocks and cut into the deficit.
Vares finished a long rally with a kill that ignited another Iowa surge.
The comeback was complete when Vesty and Young combined for a block that gave the Hawkeyes their first lead at 23-22.
Vesty later slammed home the set winner as Iowa escaped with a 25-23 victory and tied the match.
The momentum carried directly into the third set.
Tomic opened the scoring with a kill and Iowa jumped ahead 4-0. The Hawkeye block helped stretch the advantage to 9-2, forcing an early Incarnate Word timeout.
Iowa was in complete command by the middle of the set, leading 15-6 before Tomic gave the Hawkeyes their first double-digit advantage at 18-8.
First-year setter Nikolija Bulatovic also made her Hawkeye debut, recording her first collegiate assist and then delivering her first career kill.
Iowa cruised from there for a 25-15 victory.
The Hawkeyes kept hammering away in the fourth.
Young helped spark an early Iowa surge, while Hoshylyk delivered a service ace and Tomic continued attacking from the outside.
Iowa carried a 15-9 advantage into the media timeout and steadily pulled away.
A Vares-Young block followed by a Vares kill stretched the margin to 21-11.
Young fittingly finished the night herself, dropping a tip over the net on match point to seal another 25-15 victory.
The win improved Iowa to 2-0 all-time against Incarnate Word.
It was also Iowa’s second victory of the Hawkeye Invitational after the Hawkeyes defeated Southern Illinois in four sets Thursday.
Iowa will now play for the Hawkeye Invitational championship Saturday against Missouri State.
First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Xtream Arena. Fans who present a ticket from Saturday’s Iowa-Iowa State football game can attend the volleyball match for free.