Iowa Volleyball Ends Season On High Note

Iowa volleyball put collectively its greatest week of the season final week, notching a pair of convention wins, dashing Michigan’s event hopes, and showcasing a few of that potential I have been speaking about all season. It was a tricky season for the Hawkeyes general, however provided that it was their first underneath Coach Barnes and the Massive Ten’s perennial place atop the school volleyball hierarchy, there’s an actual case to be made that the season was a hit.

Iowa’s first match of the week passed off on Wednesday when the Hawks hosted Michigan. The Wolverines have been firmly on the bubble coming into the match and knew they needed to deal with enterprise in opposition to a struggling Hawkeye squad. Early on, it seemed as if they might just do that, profitable the primary set 25-9 and the second 25-19. The identical points that plagued Iowa all 12 months popped up once more within the early units. The Hawks struggled to get into their offense attributable to passing errors or hitting errors, and the struggling assault ultimately allowed Michigan to put on the Hawkeyes down. 

I’ve tried to emphasize all 12 months that although the outcomes have not all the time matched, the crew seems prefer it’s bettering. It is one thing I’ve seen each within the play and within the tradition across the crew. These Hawks really feel like they belong on the courtroom with the remainder of the Massive Ten and the ultimate three units of Wednesday’s match proved that. As a substitute of folding, the Hawkeyes bounced off the mat and punched again. They managed the third set, shrugging off every Michigan try at a comeback, and gained 25-18. The Wolverines seemed a bit stunned on the Iowa battle for many of the set however got here out able to go for the fourth set. That set was a back-and-forth affair with the Wolverines desperately making an attempt to keep away from the winner-take-all fifth set and the Hawkeyes doing every thing potential to play spoiler. Michigan bought it to match level at 24-22, however the Hawkeyes rallied again with a 4-0 run to take the fourth set 26-24.

At this level, the Hawks had all of the momentum and the desperation was clear from Michigan. Iowa went up 8-4 early within the fifth in opposition to a Michigan crew that seemed like they have been urgent, feeling their postseason hopes slipping via their fingers. The Wolverines mustered one final push to tie the set at 13, however Iowa put them away with a 15-13 ultimate set win, securing their greatest win of the season and dashing any hopes of a Michigan postseason bid.

The Hawks adopted up their enormous win with one other five-set thriller on Saturday over Michigan State. Iowa got here out swinging and took the primary set, however MSU shortly recovered to take units two and three. Once more, the Hawks may have folded. Highway match, finish of the season, let-down after an enormous win, the reasons would have all been comprehensible. As a substitute, the Hawkeyes rallied but once more to take an exciting fourth set, 25-23. Iowa refused to let the Spartans put collectively an enormous run and at any time when the match getting away from them the Hawks discovered a approach to aspect out and cease the bleeding. And as soon as it bought to crunch time, Iowa was cool, calm, and picked up.

The fourth set win was nice, however these Hawks knew the job wasn’t completed. The fifth set began with the perimeters buying and selling factors till Iowa pulled forward 9-7. A Spartan error and Hawkeye kill pushed the rating to 11-8 after which Iowa put collectively a 4-1 run to take the set and the match 15-9.

I can solely think about the validation this crew should really feel after lastly breaking via for a few convention wins. The crew has scratched and clawed all season and although the outcomes did not all the time match, you would inform this group was near placing it collectively. Coach Barnes’ offense needs to run via the center hitters and that is solely potential with sturdy passing on serve obtain. If the passes are too far off the web, the center set is not an choice and that makes Iowa far simpler to defend. Throughout Iowa’s struggles, the offense seemed uneven and inconsistent, however credit score to each the gamers and coaches for staying dedicated to the plan. Barnes patiently tinkered with lineups (together with discovering a approach to get the underclassmen increasingly more concerned because the season continued) and the gamers did not hold their heads if their roles shifted and as a substitute labored diligently to enhance their recreation. 

It is all simply extra proof that there is a actually sturdy tradition inside this crew. You see it within the gamers transferring from place to place with out grievance. You see it within the upperclassmen mentoring their friends throughout timeouts (lots of these upperclassmen having misplaced taking part in time to those self same friends), and also you see it in the best way this group fights again point-to-point, set-to-set, and match-to-match. I’ve watched my share of dangerous groups as a Chicago sports activities fan and performed on my fair proportion rising up and it is simple to turn into complacent because the losses pile up, however this crew by no means confirmed a touch of that. It did not matter in the event that they misplaced the prior set by one or twenty-one, they nonetheless had religion in themselves and their crew. 

There’s nonetheless clearly work to do. Even with the 2 wins to shut the season, their report was nonetheless simply 10-21 on the 12 months and 4-16 in convention, however all of that work turns into a lot simpler while you begin to see the sunshine on the finish of the tunnel. Two wins to shut out the 12 months, together with one over a tournament-caliber crew, is the right approach to carry momentum into the offseason. In case you squint, there is a profitable season inside that report for Coach Barnes and the Hawks. I am regularly rising increasingly more assured that it is going to be even simpler to search out within the coming years.