Not in Our House!
By Kate Constable
After a tough road of conference play, the Women’s Hawkeye Volleyball team finally received their much deserved conference win. The Hawks took down number 16th ranked Michigan Wolverines Saturday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, winning the match 3-1.
Becky Walters (via Hawkeyesports.com)
Sharon Dingman talks about win over Michigan
Mallory Husz comments on Michigan victory
After losing the first set 20-25 the Hawks battled back to claim the next three sets. Senior Becky Walters and junior Mallory Husz had an outstanding performance. However, it was a total team effort that caused the Hawks to be so successful. Each player contributed just as much as the next and everyone brought their best game to the court.
Coach Sharon Dingman noted, “I’m really proud of how we played and really happy for the players. This is one of the few matches I think that everybody played well.”
The Hawks were able to fluster Michigan, causing them to feel out of sync. Michigan focuses much of their game on kills; therefore they were not able to execute as well as they had hoped due to the Hawks tough defense. The Carver crowd helped played a huge role in the teams win. The gym went crazy last night during the final points, as the Hawks closed out each set. We have not seen such an atmosphere at Carver in a long time.
This win has brought the Hawks a lot of confidence as they finish off the season. Husz commented that if they can beat a top ranked conference team like Michigan, they could beat anyone. Last night they sent a warning to every team who thinks that they can take the night off when they play the Hawks. There is no quitting when you are on this team. Everyone’s attitude is positive and the girls come to compete every night, knowing that they have just as good of a chance of winning as anybody else.
With only four games left the team looks to finish the season off on a high note. “We can still do some pretty cool things, these last games need to be our NCAA Tournament and that’s how we have to approach it. I know it’s such a cliché to keep getting better but clearly that’s what we need to do,” commented Dingman after the game.
The Hawks look to get another win next weekend as they travel to take on Illinois next Friday at 7:00pm.
Time to Get Even!
By Kate Constable
(Photo via Manfred Brugger/Iowa State Daily)
The Women’s Hawkeye Volleyball team has a big weekend ahead of them. They will be completing Friday and Saturday in two conference games against Michigan powerhouses, Michigan State and University of Michigan.
These upcoming games will be critical as the Hawks look to build their win category within the conference. In the last meeting between these two teams, the Hawks fell in both matches, losing 3-1 to Michigan State and 3-0 to Michigan. With only one win within the conference and an eleven game losing streak, the Hawks are hungry for a win.
However, these wins are not going to come easy. Friday night the Hawks take on Michigan State who is 3-9 in the conference and is currently sitting one spot above Iowa at number 10. In their last match against each other Iowa came out strong, winning the first match and showing a lot of intensity. The next three matches were won by Michigan States but were very close, with the Hawks losing by as little as two points.
We can expect a very fun-to-watch volleyball game on Friday. Michigan State poses a very good challenge for our Hawkeyes being the Spartans are on a six game losing streak. Hopefully the Hawks will be able to use this to their advantage and muster up enough determination to win.
Saturday will present an even bigger challenge for the Hawks as they take on the 2nd ranked team in the conference, University of Michigan. Michigan ran the show last time the two teams met in late September for the Hawks opening conference game.
Michigan’s success came from early leads in each of the three sets. If the Hawks want to try and stay with them on Saturday, they will need to have an outstanding performance in all aspects of their games.
The first serve will begin at 7:00pm at the Carver Hawkeye Arena, both Friday and Saturday. Go Hawks!
Rebuilding? I Think Not
By Kate Constable
The Hawkeye volleyball team continued their losing streaking, taking on Purdue and Indiana this past weekend. We continue to see a pattern as they fell 3-0 in both matches. Ten of the Hawks past eleven losses have been 3-0, questioning the strength of the team.
Iowa volleyball in Carver Hawkeye Arena (Photo via replayphotos.com)
Despite the fact that their season has not been successful as they would have hoped in terms of their record, the team continues to keep their heads held high as they look to finish off the season.
One major issue that seemed to hold the Hawks back this past weekend was their ability to execute. Purdue dominated the entire match on Friday, winning each set with at least a 9-point cushion. With a game like this, it is only fair to say that the Hawks did not come prepared to play. They were outplayed not only at the net, but their serving and passing struggled as well. The same seemed to happen today against Indiana, as the 16-9 Hoosiers won each set with ease.
As the team continues to struggle throughout the season, there seems to be more and more misconceptions floating around that this season is one for rebuilding. Although the team is young, starting three freshmen this past weekend, there is not a thought in these girls’ minds that they are rebuilding their squad. The team may be young but the freshmen are contributing just as much as the upper classmen. Bethany Yeager, Nikki Daily and Chanté Thompson all started against Indiana. Yeager recorded a team-best 11 digs and Thompson matched her career-high with 6 kills.
Regardless of the loss, it seemed to be the underclassmen that fought hard to keep the game alive.
The volleyball season extends far beyond most other fall sport, creating an opportunity to end the season on a high note. However, with a 1-13 record in conference play, the Hawks only have 6 games left to turn things around. They are back in action on Friday November 12, ready to take on Michigan St. The Hawks lost the last meeting between the two teams 3-1. Nonetheless, they came out strong, winning the first set and fought hard in the next three, loosing by as little as two points.
The Hawks will be at home to take on Michigan State and Michigan this weekend. With the determination and desire to win that this team has shown, we can expect to see two great volleyball matches this coming weekend.
