Iowa Wins 7th Straight Match

Sept. 19, 2015

Box Score

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa volleyball team improved its win streak to seven matches with a 3-0 win over Coastal Carolina on Saturday morning in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The streak is the longest for the program since 2011.

With the win, the Hawkeyes improve to 9-3 on the season, while Coastal Carolina falls to 7-4.

“We were super efficient from an offensive standpoint,” said UI head coach Bond Shymansky. “We hit 371. That’s a great sign for us and again we had really good balance. We’ve swept every match we’ve played this weekend. That what top-25 caliber team’s should be doing.”

The Iowa offense was firing on all cylinders as the Hawkeyes finished the match with a .371 attack percentage. Three Hawkeyes reached double digits in kills. Sophomore Jess Janota (12 kills, 16 total attempts, 1 error) led the Hawkeyes with a career-high .688 attack percentage, a mark that ties for ninth all-time at Iowa. Freshman Reagan Davey paced the Hawkeyes in kills with a career-high 14, while junior Lauren Brobst added 11. Junior Loxley Keala ran the Iowa offense, dishing out 40 assists.

The Hawkeyes used a .615 attack percentage to secure a 25-12 set-one victory. Iowa’s front row tallied 17 kills on 26 attempts and only one error in the set. Davey led the Hawkeyes with five kills, while Brobst added four, and junior Ashley Mariani and senior Mikaela Gunderson each added three.

After trading points early in set two, the Hawkeyes used a 7-1 run to create distance. Keala and Mariani served up the run, while Janota (3) and Davey (2) added kills. Iowa fought off a late Chanticleer surge with a four-point swing to take the second set, 25-20. Janota and Davey recorded seven kills apiece in the set, while Keala dished out 18 assists.

Iowa got out to an early 4-1 lead in the third set before the Chanticleers rallied to take a 9-8 lead. The Hawkeyes answered with a 7-1 run that was assisted by a pair of kills by Janota and Brobst. Iowa remained in control from there, winning the third set, 25-21.

Sophomore Annika Olsen led the Hawkeye defense with 13 digs, while Koukol also reached double digits with 10. Mariani served up a season-high five aces on the afternoon and led the team with four blocks.

The Hawkeyes conclude Holiday Inn Hawkeye Challenge action this afternoon, hosting in-state rival Drake at 3:30 p.m. (CT). Admission is free.

“I’m looking forward to completing the in-state hat-trick,” said Shymansky. “We beat Iowa State last weekend and we want to beat Drake today. I really want to reclaim this territory. This is the Hawkeye State and it needs to be that way.”