Hawkeyes Defeat Florida International in 4

Sept. 13, 2014

Box Score

BROOKINGS, S.D. — The University of Iowa volleyball team recorded its third-straight win with a four-set victory over Florida International (3-7) Saturday morning. The Hawkeyes remain undefeated (3-0) in 2014 SDSU Challenge play and are 7-2 on the season.

Each squad rallied back and forth for set one, which included 10 ties and four lead changes. The Hawkeyes came out on top, using a Jess Janota kill to break a 25-25 tie and win the set 26-25. Both teams hit a dismal .098. Alex Lovell and Janota posted six kills apiece to lead the Hawkeye offense to its win.

Iowa outhit Florida International .107 to .058 in set two, but errors proved to be the difference maker as the Panthers recorded a 25-20 win to even the match 1-1. The Hawkeyes strung together a 5-0 late run with kills from Taylin Alm and Alessandra Dietz, a Michelle Fugarino service ace and a Danielle Cabel block to get within four before a Panther kill could end the set.

The Hawkeyes used a four-point rally — fueled by a Lovell kill, Dietz service ace, Mikaela Gunderson and Lauren Brobst block and Janota kill — to establish an early 4-0 lead and never surrendered it en route to their 25-18 set three win.

The teams battled through nine ties and four lead changes before Iowa put the match away with a 25-23 set four victory. The Hawkeyes used a pair of runs to squander Florida International’s lead and pull ahead 24-22. Kari Mueller, who came off the bench, and Fugarino served up the rallies, which were highlighted by a pair of Gunderson and Klostermann blocks and kills from Gunderson and Lovell and a Fugarino service ace. A Panther error ended the set and the match.

“We’re clearly not a morning team,” head coach Bond Shymansky said. “We had a slow start and a sloppy effort. We were really fortunate to come out of that with a win. The support really came from our bench with players stepping into the match at critical times and coming up with good performances.

“It’s really good knowing we have depth and we can draw from more people. We’re going to need that depth and confidence from everybody as we move into the meat of the season.”

Lovell recorded her second-straight double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs, while Janota contributed 13 kills. Setters Kaylee Smith and Klostermann dished out 26 assists apiece, libero Fugarino posted a team-high 19 digs and Gunderson led the way with six blocks.

Iowa concludes 2014 SDSU Challenge play with a 7 p.m. (CT) match against tournament host Jackrabbits. Links to live video and live stats are available at hawkeyesports.com.