The Hawkeyes battle but lose to No. 13 Ohio State and No. 1 Penn State

By Kyle Mann
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It’s been a tough start to the conference season for the Iowa volleyball program, and that continued this past weekend.

The Hawkeyes were defeated by No. 13 Ohio State on Oct. 2 and top-ranked Penn State on Oct. 3.

Iowa has now opened Big Ten play with four matches against three top-13 opponents, and despite losing the matches by a combined score of 12-1, the team has been competitive.

The Hawkeyes fell behind early in the first set in Columbus but fought back to even the score at 10. As has been the case through many Big Ten sets thus far, the Hawkeyes remained close and jostled with the Buckeyes for much of the set but surrendered a 3-0 run to lose the set, 25-22.

Ohio State then claimed a comfortable-but-not-coasting second set, 25-19.

Iowa was finally able to claim a set, as the team jumped out to a 7-2 lead, something it has done several times. The Hawkeyes have typically lost momentum and relinquished their early leads, but they used three kills each from sophomore Jess Janota and junior Lauren Brobst to maintain the advantage all the way to a 25-18.

Iowa struggled with Nebraska’s strong blocking last week, and Ohio State’s sealed the fourth and final set. The Buckeyes used eight team blocks in the set alone to secure the set and a match victory, 25-11.

Ohio State was able to clamp down on the Iowa offense, limiting Janota to only 5 kills while Brobst and freshman Reagan Davey logged only 6. The team collectively hit a .122 and was led by senior Mikaela Gunderson with 10 kills.

The offense was back on track against the Nittany Lions, and Iowa used a 7-1 run in the opening set to take a lead before being tied at 12. The Hawkeyes roared out of a time-out to claim an 18-13 lead in the most hostile territory.

However, the Nittany Lions aren’t a perennial title-favorite by accident. Penn State fought back to avoid being shocked at home, stealing the set, 26-24.

That was all the dramatics that Penn State needed to serve as a wake-up call for the second set; it unleashed a .607 attack percentage making only one error in a 25-16 second set victory.

The third set was a final opportunity for the Hawkeyes to make a statement, despite an eventual loss. They again leapt out to a 7-3 lead, but fell behind, 16-13. After a coach Bond Shymansky time-out, however, the Hawkeyes launched a 6-2 run to reclaim a 19-18 lead.

It was a back-and-forth affair through the conclusion of the match, but tied at 23, Penn State logged back-to-back kills to end the match, 25-23.

Janota led with 10 kills, with Brobst and Davey at 9 and 8, respectively.

After the weekend, the Hawkeyes sit at 10-7, 0-4 in the conference. They will next play at home against No. 23 Michigan on Wednesday.

Follow @KyleFMann for Iowa volleyball news, updates, and analysis.