CORALVILLE, Iowa – University of Iowa volleyball overcame a 2-1 deficit to beat Northwestern in five sets at Xtream Arena on Thursday night. Iowa moved to 14-13 and 5-10 in the Big Ten.

The Hawkeyes won the first set 25-20. After losing sets two (25-17) and three (27-25), Iowa held off Northwestern in set four, 29-27. Iowa won the decider, 15-9. The Hawkeyes improved to 12-1 when winning the first set and 4-1 when getting to eight points first during the fifth set.

This was the program’s first win over Northwestern since the spring of 2021. It was Iowa’s first victory over the Wildcats at home since 2019.

Senior setter Claire Ammeraal notched her second triple-double of the season. The Madison, Wisconsin, native tallied 55 assists, 17 digs and 10 kills. She also had six blocks and hit a team-leading .400. Her previous triple-double came against Utah Tech in August.

“It’s super exciting to get a triple-double,” Ammeraal said. “It feels really good and the cool thing is that a lot of the stats that I get in triple-doubles, I cannot get without my teammates. I’m glad I have my teammates there to set me up and then in return I get to set them up.”

Iowa recorded a season-high 77 kills in the win. Four more Hawkeyes joined Ammeraal in double-figures in the kill department. Freshman Carmel Vares and redshirt sophomore Alyssa Worden led the team with 16 kills. Junior Hannah Whittingstall notched 15 kills, while graduate Chard’e Vanzandt added 14. Seven Hawkeyes joined Ammeraal in recording assists, helping Iowa put together a season-best 71-assist performance.

Defensively, the Hawkeyes dug a season-high 76 attacks and were led by senior libero Milana Moisio’s 19 digs. Following Ammeraal’s 17 digs, sophomore Jaimie Marquardt helped in the back row with 12 digs. Greta Schlichter provided a defensive boost with her seven digs.

The Hawkeyes outhit Northwestern, .261-.253 and terminated 77 kills to the Wildcats’ 68. Both teams served consistently. The Wildcats had seven aces and six errors. Iowa had five aces and five errors. The match featured 30 ties and 20 lead changes.

Up Next: Iowa welcomes No. 20 Minnesota to Xtream Arena on Sunday. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. and will be streamed on B1G+ and the Hawkeye Radio Network.

The 21st ranked Iowa Hawkeye women used a 25-0 run in the opening half to blow the game open in a 100-58 win over Drake in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes outscored Drake 62-24 in the paint and also limited to Bulldogs to 36 percent shooting.

That’s Iowa coach Jan Jensen. The Hawkeyes had six players in double figures and got 50 points from the bench to move to 3-0.

The Iowa Hawkeye men take a 2-0 record into Friday night’s game at home against Xavier. Under first year coach Richard Pitino the Musketeers are 2-1 after a lopsided loss at home to Santa Clara.

That’s Iowa coach Ben McCollum who wants to see more consistency out of his team.

The Northern Iowa men return to action Friday night by hosting Furman. The Panthers are 2-0 while Furman is 1-2 after finishing 25-10 last season and playing in the NIT.

That’s Panther coach Ben Jacobson, who wants his team to be more aggressive on the offensive glass.

The Iowa defense hopes to be better at crunch time as the 21st ranked Hawkeyes get ready to visit 17th ranked USC. Iowa is 6-3 and in all three losses the opponent has scored on its final drive, including last week’s 18-16 loss to Oregon.

That’s sophomore safety Zach Lutmer. The challenge for the defense this week will be slowing down a USC receiving corps that may be the nation’s best.

That’s Iowa corner T.J. Hall who says the Trojan offense is balanced.

A pair of top ten teams collide in Sioux City on Saturday when sixth ranked Dordt visits number nine Morningside. At 9-0, Dordt has already clinched at least a share of the Great Plains Athletic Conference crown. Morningside needs a victory to grab a share of the title and at 8-2 overall coach Steve Ryan’s team may need a win to get into the NAIA playoffs.

Two years ago in Sioux City Dordt posted a 28-24 win over the Mustangs.

Morningside quarterback Zack Chevalier says the Mustangs are treating this like a playoff game.

Chevalier has passed for more than 31 hundred yards and 37 touchdown this season and says decision making will be the key against Dordt.

In his 10th season at the helm, Joel Penner has led the rise of the Dordt program and has nearly accomplished all of the goals he set at the beginning of his tenure.

A big part of Dordt’s success has been the ability to run the ball and stop the run. The Defenders average 256 yards on the ground per game and give up just under 87 yards.

Morningside averages 329 yards of passing per game and Penner says that aerial attack is set up by an effective ground game.

If the outcome is decided by the kicking game Dordt’s Stephen Leinen could be the difference. The native of Harlan is 11-of-15 in field goals this season.

Drake still controls its own destiny in the Pioneer Football League race but the margin for error is gone. The Bulldogs are 5-1 after a 20-13 loss to St. Thomas of Minnesota heading into Saturday’s game at Dayton. At 4-2, the Flyers would grab a share of the lead and own the tie breaker with a win.

That’s Drake coach Joe Woodley. With four teams behind Drake with two losses there are a lot of tie breaking scenarios. Woodley says there is no reason to research them.

Woodley says with wins in their final two games the Bulldogs know they will be headed to the FCS playoffs.