Iowa volleyball was swept by No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 3 Minnesota, but that came with a learning curve.
By Anna Kayser
Iowa volleyball was swept by two top-Ten teams over the weekend in Carver-Hawkeye, but it proved it can compete by fueling an offensive comeback.
On Sept. 29, the Iowa offense was shut down by No. 7 Wisconsin in a 3-0 loss.
In the three sets, the Hawkeyes recorded 31 kills and 22 attack errors. They averaged a .090 attack percentage.
“I think we just came out slowly, we never really got going, and that makes it really difficult against a top-10 team in the Big Ten,” outside hitter Taylor Louis said. “I think that’s just something that we really need to improve on as a team and come out strong from the very beginning.”
The number of errors on the offensive side was a big part of the tough loss.
“At this level of volleyball, you just can’t play with that many errors,” senior middle blocker Jess Janota said. “No matter who you’re playing, you’re going to end up with an ‘L’ at the end.”
The Sept. 29 performance didn’t bog down the Hawkeyes going into the the Sept. 30 match against No. 3 Minnesota.
Despite being swept by the top-five team, the Hawkeyes battled point-for-point in sets that featured 16 ties and seven lead changes.
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Iowa bounced back from the previous night with 42 kills and only 13 attack errors, averaging a .248 attack percentage.
Freshman outside hitter Claire Sheehan and Louis led the Hawkeyes, each recording double digit kills. Senior middle blocker Kelsey O’Neill also got in on the action, helping her team with an .615 attack percentage.
A big criticism from the players after the game was their lack of ability to finish a match.
“A lot of it this week in practice was how do we focus on ourselves,” O’Neill said. “Yes, we have a different opponent each night that we play in the Big Ten, but a lot of it is self-based, so if we can figure out what we’re doing and where we’re going, that’ll help us get those last few points at the end.”
Coming off of a tough offensive night was about proving that their team is good enough to compete with highly ranked teams.
O’Neill and Sheehan said the way the team felt after the loss to Wisconsin was enough to fuel a comeback.
“I think everyone had a little chip on her shoulder, like you can’t do that to us, and we’re not going to let you do it again,” O’Neill said.
The Hawkeye identity that the team is trying to find contributes to being able to bounce back.
Head coach Bond Shymansky said the way the match against Minnesota was played was a testament to how well the team can work together.
“When you lose on Friday night, it takes something extra to get up for a Saturday night match, and that’s where you really have to look within individually as a player for your true mental toughness and to each other,” he said.
