Olympic Spotlight: Perfect Weekends for Volleyball and Soccer

[erut17]

It was a huge weekend for Iowa sports, highlighted by dramatic wins from Hawkeye soccer and volleyball's first 2-0 conference start in more than 15 years.

#18 Iowa soccer (9-0-3, 4-0-1) picked up two more conference victories last week, beating #15 Penn State (9-3-1, 3-2) and Northwestern (5-6-2, 0-4-1) by matching 2-1 scores, pushing their school record undefeated streak to 12 games. The Hawks battled back from an early deficit against the Nittany Lions and then won on an extraordinary corner kick goal in the 88th minute against Northwestern. The Hawkeyes are firing on all cylinders right now and shot all the way up to #11 in this week's poll.

Iowa volleyball (8-6, 2-0) started its conference slate with a pair of five-set wins, beating Rutgers (5-8, 0-2) and Maryland (9-4, 0-2) in thrilling matches. The two wins gave Iowa its first 2-0 record in conference since 2008 and already exceeds last year's conference win total. The freshmen are settling in, with Malu Garcia playing particularly well last week, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors.

You can follow along with all things Hawkeye Olympic sports here.

 

[Hawkalumni7]

Amazing seasons for both scooter and volleyball. Volleyball is playing with so many freshmen and have improved dramatically. There best player Ammeraal went down the 2nd week with injury and a freshmen setter cane in and helped win 2 conference matches. Amazing.

 

[erut17]

Amazing seasons for both scooter and volleyball. Volleyball is playing with so many freshmen and have improved dramatically. There best player Ammeraal went down the 2nd week with injury and a freshmen setter cane in and helped win 2 conference matches. Amazing.

Volleyball has looked better and better each week. The Big Ten is a brutal conference but I think they've got some real potential in the coming seasons with the freshman class

 

[Row55]

Libero play with Galles has been MUCH improved. Blocking, traditionally not a strong suit for Iowa going back years and years, has been better. I thought we did a great job in the Maryland match of staying focused for all five sets. And even though we lost 3-0 to Washington, all three sets were close. Hope we can keep it going through the conference schedule!

 

[UpstreamHawkeye]

The volleyball team swept Rutgers tonight. Meanwhile, the field hockey team lost at home to Indiana. I don't remember the last time when the field hockey team lost to Indiana before today. Might this be the year when the volleyball team outperforms the field hockey team?

 

[erut17]

I think volleyball has a ways to go before they're truly competitive in the Big Ten but seeing them rack up conference wins (even against Rutgers) is a massive step in the right direction.

I think the book is out on the Field Hockey team for now. It'll take some time for the young roster to find the counter to the counter, but I think they'll be a talented group in the years to come.

 

[UpstreamHawkeye]

I think volleyball has a ways to go before they're truly competitive in the Big Ten but seeing them rack up conference wins (even against Rutgers) is a massive step in the right direction.

I think the book is out on the Field Hockey team for now. It'll take some time for the young roster to find the counter to the counter, but I think they'll be a talented group in the years to come.

I hope you are right about the field hockey team. It just seems that they peaked in the year when 4 Big Ten teams were the 4 No. 1 seeds and Iowa was the highest among them, but ended up not reaching the Final Four. It's been all downhill since then. I would have felt better had they peaked as national champions.

 

[Hawkalumni7]

Field hockey will be ok. Just need time.
I really love how much the volleyball team has improved. All these new players are learning quickly. First sweep in Xtream arena ever in Big 10 play. The coaches have brought in some really good players and they are playing with great effort.

 

[denmar81]

What was the issue with Iowa being denied a review in the field hockey game? Some saying they got screwed.