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COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Bolstered by a career-high eight blocks from Jess Janota and 12 kills by Meghan Buzzerio, the University of Iowa volleyball team swept Maryland 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-19) for the second time this season. The Hawkeyes are on a five-match winning streak and have a 15-4 overall record with a 5-2 Big Ten record this season.
“It’s a great dominant road win for us right now,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “Obviously we are very proud of our group and what we are doing right now. Five-match win streak right now in Big Ten play, we are sitting at 15-4, but here it goes. I’m a typical coach. We will celebrate this one for about two seconds and then we are already thinking about Ohio State tomorrow night in Columbus.”
In addition to her career-high in blocks, Janota racked up 10 kills and a .444 hitting percentage. Buzzerio’s 12 kills led to a .333 hitting percentage, while Ashley Mariani amassed nine kills for a .600 hitting percentage. Overall, the squad hit .318 on the night. Additionally, the Hawkeyes collected 55 digs; the team was led by Keala Loxley, who had a personal-best 18 digs.
A kill by Lauren Brobst to open the match sparked an early 3-1 Hawkeye lead in set one, but Maryland responded quickly responded with a 4-0 run of their own to take a 5-1 lead. The two teams then went back-and-forth in a set that featured 13 ties and six lead changes before the Hawkeyes captured a 25-23 victory. Mariani led the squad with five kills on six attempts for a .833 attacking percentage.
Maryland jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in set two, but the Hawkeyes responded quickly as Mariani, Keala and Buzzerio each had a kill to cut the Terps’ lead to 6-5. Maryland used another 4-1 run to extend their lead again, but the Hawkeyes used a 5-1 run of their own, bolstered by two blocks from Janota, to cut the home team’s lead to 12-11. After trailing 20-21, Iowa used a 4-0 run to take a 24-21 advantage. Maryland scored three in a row to knot the set, but Brobst’s kill gave the Hawkeyes a match-point situation before Iowa captured a 26-24 win in set two.
Iowa took a 4-2 advantage to begin the third set, but Maryland cut into the lead to leave the Hawkeyes with a 6-5 lead. A kill by Keala began a 6-2 run for the visiting team as Iowa took a 12-7 lead. Maryland then went on a 4-1 run, but a kill by Mariani and a block by Janota stopped the Terps in their tracks. Iowa ‘s 4-0 run gave the Hawkeyes a 24-17 advantage. After Maryland took back-to-back points, a kill by Buzzerio secured the 25-19 set victory and the 3-0 match sweep.
The Hawkeyes take the court again tomorrow as they take on No. 19 Ohio State in Columbus Ohio. The first serve is slated for 5 p.m. CT.
