By James Kay
The Hawkeye volleyball team is coming off a loss to No. 19 Ohio State and seeking to re-establish its identity. This weekend won’t get any easier for the Hawkeyes; they will go up against No. 3 Minnesota and No. 4 Wisconsin.
After the loss to Ohio State, Iowa head coach Bond Shymansky said in a press release that his team needed to “go back to the drawing board.”
Senior Jess Janota feels confident the team can quickly rebound.
“I think we just need to find who we are again,” she said. “We have to maximize our strengths and use them to our advantage. We can’t get too caught up in, ‘Oh my god, we were on such a good run but now look where we are.’ We just have to get back on track and finish out the rest of the Big Ten schedule.”
Getting back on track might prove to be a daunting task, because Wisconsin has been dominant on the road this season (8-1). The Badgers also took out the Buckeyes in straight sets when the teams met on Sept. 9. The Buckeyes failed to reach 20 points throughout the match, which could be concerning to the Hawkeye team that got pummeled by Ohio State in straight sets a week ago.
However, the team has many factors working in its favor. The Hawkeyes have been dominant at home, where they have put up an 8-1 record, including a five-set win over Purdue, which at the time was ranked 17th in the nation.
Redshirt sophomore Kasey Reuter believes the atmosphere at Carver-Hawkeye could give the Hawkeyes an edge over their opponents.
“Carver is a lot different from a lot of other arenas because it is much larger,” Reuter said. “It definitely gives us an advantage, and it’ll take them some time to get acclimated to the arena. For us to really use that to our advantage will really be a good thing for us this weekend.”
Shymansky echoed that belief.
“The home-court advantage and culture we have built around our game environment is really helpful for our group, and it is certainly intimidating for our opponents,” he said. “We are excited and proud of that progress and are excited to see that our attendance continues to grow and multiply.”
The Hawkeyes have fed off their fans’ intensity, outslugging their opponents 411-322 at home. They also have their highest attendance total since 2002, which could distract a Minnesota team that has struggled on the road recently. The Gophers have traveled to their opponents’ arena the past two weeks, which could be a reason they haven’t performed up to their high standards.
“We love our atmosphere this year, and the crowd’s support has been great,” Janota said. “Everyone is more confident at home, but we are going up against some challenging opponents, so we need to bring our A game.”
The Hawkeyes will take on Minnesota at 6 p.m. today at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, then face Wisconsin at 7 p.m. Saturday.
