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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The University of Iowa volleyball team battled, but fell to No. 22 Michigan, 3-1, Saturday night in Cliff Keen Arena. The Hawkeyes fall to 10-4 overall and 0-2 in Big Ten play with the loss, while the nationally-ranked Wolverines improve to 11-2 on the season and 1-1 in conference action.
“I was talking to the group after the match about how I was proud of their competitiveness, their fight, and their fire,” said UI head coach Bond Shymansky. “It just took us an hour to get a jump start. You compete against Big Ten teams on the road, and they there are big tasks all the way through. We just came out and didn’t really execute early on.”
Michigan came out hot in set one, scoring five straight points to take a 7-1 lead. The Hawkeyes climbed their way back within striking distance with a 5-2 rally with kills from freshman Cali Hoye (2), sophomore Reghan Coyle (1), and seniors Lauren Brobst (1) and Ashley Mariani, and a block by Mariani and redshirt freshman Meghan Buzzerio. The Wolverines fought back, taking a seven-point lead to force an Iowa timeout. The Hawkeyes responded with a 6-2 run to behind kills from Brobst (2), Coyle (1), Hoye (1), and junior Jess Janota (1) to pull within three, 24-21. Iowa could not overcome the deficit; however, as the Wolverines held on to win, 25-21.
The Wolverines utilized a 5-1 run to grab an early lead in set two. The Hawkeyes rallied, scoring three straight points on a pair of Coyle kills and a Wolverine attack error to pull within one, 5-4. Michigan responded with a 5-1 swing to create distance (12-7). They held on from there, fighting off a late 4-1 Iowa run to win the set, 25-19. Michigan hit .538 in the set and utilized four service aces and four blocks to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Michigan grabbed an early 8-4 lead in set three, before the Hawkeyes clawed their way back. Iowa used an 8-1 run to take a 12-9 advantage. Brobst registered two blocks and a kill, Janota recorded a pair of kills and a block assist (Coyle), while senior Loxley Keala served an ace. Michigan fought back, registering a 7-2 run to take a 22-20 lead. Back-to-back kills by Coyle and Hoye tied the set, 22-22, before Michigan used a pair of kills to take a 24-23 lead. After an Iowa timeout, the Hawkeyes went on a 4-1 run behind kills from Mariani and Brobst and a block assist by Janota and Keala to seal the, 27-25, set-three victory.
After a back-and-forth battle to start set four, the Wolverines utilized a 10-2 run to take a 17-8 lead. Iowa rallied late behind back-to-back blocks from Coyle and Janota, but could not overcome the deficit as Michigan went on to win the set, 25-17.
“I really like how we stuck with it tonight, which I think is really important,” said Shymansky. “There were a lot of good things happening. It was just our serve and pass game early on. That’s about nerves. As a coaching staff, that’s something that we have to work at to lead our group better and make sure they are better prepared and feel that confidence.”
Brobst led the Iowa offense with 13 kills, while Janota added 10, and Mariani and Buzzerio each registered nine. Keala dished out a team-high 47 assists, junior libero Annika Olsen paced the team with 19 digs, and Janota tied her career high with a team-high six blocks.
The Hawkeyes return to action on Wednesday, hosting Maryland at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. First serve is set for 7 p.m. (CT).
