CORALVILLE — Iowa Hawkeye volleyball kept putting Ohio State on the ropes Friday night, but the Buckeyes delivered the decisive points down the stretch to hand Iowa a four-set loss in its Big Ten opener September 25 at Xtream Arena.
The Hawkeyes won the opening set before falling 25-22, 22-25, 22-25 and 23-25 in front of 1,068 fans, their largest home crowd of the season.
Iowa dropped to 11-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play as its five-match winning streak ended. The defeat followed Tuesday’s victory over Milwaukee, which had pushed the Hawkeyes to their best start since 2006.
Friday’s match featured 42 ties and 14 lead changes, with Iowa unable to turn promising positions into set victories after taking the opener.
“We had a couple of breakdowns late in each because we were not on the same page down the stretch,” Iowa coach Jim Barnes said. “We will learn from tonight’s match.”
Hawkeyes strike first, Buckeyes answer
Iowa jumped ahead 4-1 in the opening set before Ohio State answered with six straight points. The Hawkeyes recovered and eventually seized control late.
Back-to-back kills from Ksenija Tomic and Hannah Whittingstall put Iowa ahead 23-21. Tomic followed with an ace, and Jenna Meitzler finished the set with a touch over the net for a 25-22 victory.
Iowa held a 3-0 advantage in service aces during the opening set.
The second set followed a similarly tight script, but Ohio State supplied the finish. Iowa tied it at 18-18 on a block by Meitzler and Hallie Steponaitis before the Buckeyes pulled away late to win 25-22.
The Hawkeyes built a 16-13 advantage in the third set after a five-point run, only to see Ohio State fight back. The Buckeyes closed the set on a 5-1 surge to claim another 25-22 win and take a 2-1 match lead.
Iowa again held early leads in the fourth, including advantages of 7-4 and 14-11. Ohio State erased the deficit, and the teams were tied at 21 before the Buckeyes finished off the match, 25-23.
Vesty leads attack, Meitzler posts double-double
Rosa Vesty paced Iowa with 15 kills on 24 swings, leading the team in kills for the second time this season. Whittingstall added 13 kills, while Steponaitis finished with 10.
Meitzler distributed 47 assists and collected 12 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.
Libero Henlee Moszkowicz led the back row with 18 digs. Jaimie Marquardt added 12, giving Iowa three players with double-digit digs.
The Hawkeyes hit .252 with 58 kills and held a 9-7 advantage in blocks. Liv Mogridge led Iowa at the net with six blocks.
The loss interrupted a strong September stretch that also included a sweep of Central Arkansas to capture the Kwik Star Klassic title.
Rutgers visits Saturday night
Iowa gets a quick opportunity to respond when it hosts Rutgers on Saturday, September 26, at Xtream Arena.
First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.