EVANSTON, Ill. – University of Iowa volleyball fell short in a reverse sweep attempt on Friday night inside Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Hawkeyes move to 12-11 on the season and 3-8 in the Big Ten.

After losing the first two sets 25-22 and 25-19, respectively, Iowa responded with 25-23 and 25-18 set wins. The Hawkeyes couldn’t convert the reverse sweep and fell in the fifth set, 15-10.

Iowa played aggressively at the net and outhit the Wildcats .346 to .297, with 70 kills to their 62 kills. The Hawkeyes held the advantage at the net, recording 10 blocks while Northwestern only had two. From the service line, Northwestern had the distinct advantage. The Wildcats had 12 aces and seven errors. Iowa had four aces and 14 errors.

Iowa’s middles were explosive on Friday, combining for 26 kills. Junior Hannah Whittingstall recorded 14 kills on 21 swings with one error and hit a team-high .619. Sophomore Aleksandra Stojanovic terminated 12 kills and hit .400. She led the team with seven blocks.

Senior Claire Ammeraal and redshirt sophomore Alyssa Worden recorded their seventh and third double-doubles, respectively, of the season. Ammeraal dished out 52 assists with 11 digs, while tallying three kills. Worden ended with 13 kills and 10 digs and hit .360.

Iowa had five hitters record double-digit kills during the match. Graduate Chard’e Vanzandt led the team with 17 kills. Freshman Carmel Vares had 11 kills and five blocks on the night.

Iowa finished with a 1-4 record in the Big Ten Discover Volleyball Challenge matches.

Up Next: Iowa (12-11, 3-8 B1G) travels to Champaign to take on Illinois on Sunday afternoon. First serve is set for 1:00 p.m. inside a sold out Huff Hall. The match will be streamed on B1G+ and the Hawkeye Radio Network.