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IOWA CITY, Iowa – Senior Lauren Brobst garnered her 1,000 career kill as the University of Iowa volleyball team fell to No. 4 Wisconsin in three sets on Friday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes are now 15-7 on the season and 5-5 in league play.
“The growth inside our program is so noticeable to so many people, and we are adding other pieces to what we typically do well,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “We typically run offense well. Tonight it was a little shaky at times, but we added floor defense tonight. That was the best floor defense that I’ve seen us play all season. All these different elements that are coming together around our program and inside of our team, this is how we are going to build a championship program in the Big Ten.”
Overall, Brobst had 10 kills on the night, which included five in set two. Jess Janota racked up a team-high 13 kills, while Annika Olsen paced the team with 22 digs. Loxley Keala collected 38 assists and nine digs.
With the score knotted at 3-3 in set one, Wisconsin (16-3, 8-2 Big Ten) used a 5-0 run to take the lead before kills by Reghan Coyle and Ashley Mariani and an ace by Alexa Ito cut into the Badgers lead to leave the score at 8-6, Wisconsin. The visiting team extended its lead to 23-11 before Iowa called a timeout. The timeout proved effective as the home team went on a 5-1 run bolstered by four kills from Janota and a kill from Coyle. The rally, however, fell just short as the Badgers secured 25-15 win in the first set.
After Wisconsin took an early 7-3 advantage in set two, the home team used a 4-1 run to cut into the lead. The teams traded points before the Badgers took an 18-15 lead. Brobst then stepped up and amassed three kills in Iowa’s 3-1 run. During the stretch, the senior collected her 1,000th career kill. Wisconsin used a 4-1 run to take a 23-19 advantage before they captured a 25-20 set win.
Wisconsin scored the first point in set three before Janota recorded three consecutive points to give the Hawkeyes a 3-1 lead. The two teams went back-and-forth in a set that featured six lead changes and 16 ties before the fourth-ranked Badgers secured a 25-23 set three victory to clinch the match.
Iowa continues their four-match home stint on Friday as they host Northwestern at 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The contest is a goldout and the first 1,000 fans will receive a free t-shirt.