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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Three Hawkeyes reached double-figure kills as the University of Iowa volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to Purdue on Saturday night on Belin Court inside Holloway Gymnasium.
“The unfortunate part is we just didn’t maintain intensity,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “That’s really the biggest part. When you are on the road in this kind of environment, you have to maintain intensity. We had the lead in the third set and gave it away, and the fourth set we are tied up at 13 and they got some serious momentum and we needed to keep our intensity and focus there. I feel for our gals. They are frustrated because they want to keep winning, and they can smell and taste how close it is, but we are just going to keep going and working to get better.”
Reghan Coyle paced the Hawkeyes (18-10, 8-8 Big Ten) with 12 kills, while Meghan Buzzerio had 11 kills and Jess Janota racked up 10 kills. Janota also chipped in a .391 hitting percentage. Loxley Keala collected 42 assists and nine digs, while Annika Olsen amassed 12 digs. Kasey Reuter chipped in four kills.
“Kasey Reuter did a great job coming off the bench and adding a lot for us offensively in our left side hitter spot,” said Shymansky. “Coyle did a fantastic job. Janota did a fantastic job and Buzzerio is making teams pay for not paying attention to her. We had good things going, but you have to keep them going when you are at this level, so we will get back to work.”
Purdue (16-11, 6-10 Big Ten) jumped out to a 6-1 lead in set one before the Hawkeyes caught fire and went on a dominating 20-9 run – which included a 7-0 stretch – to take a 21-15 advantage. Back-to-back points by Lauren Brobst and Janota sparked the stretch that was bolstered by kills from Janota (3), Brobst (2), Buzzerio (2), Coyle (2) and Ashley Mariani (3). Janota also chipped in an ace and a block to aid the run. Purdue attempted a comeback with a 6-3 run to cut the lead to 24-21, but a Buzzerio kill clinched the set for the Hawkeyes.
The home team took a 12-4 lead to begin set two, but Iowa battled back with a 5-1 run to cut the home team’s advantage to 13-9. The Boilermakers used a 4-2 burst to extend the advantage, but a kill by Mariani sparked a 5-2 run by the Hawkeyes to cut into the lead before Purdue secured a 25-19 set victory to draw the match even at 1-1. Coyle led the set with four kills, while Janota chipped in three.
The Hawkeyes got off to a fast start with a 7-2 advantage in set three, but Purdue responded with a 6-2 run of their own to cut Iowa’s lead to 9-8. Janota, Buzzerio, Mariani and Coyle each chipped in a kill to aid Iowa’s early lead. After back-and-forth points, the Boilermakers used an 8-4 run to take a 21-20 advantage before they captured a 25-22 victory in set two and a 2-1 match lead. Mariani and Janota led set three with four kills each.
Coyle and Buzzerio had a hot start in set four with three kills and two kills, respectively, to give the Hawkeyes a 6-5 lead. The Boilermakers then used a 7-2 stretch to take a 12-8 advantage before Iowa called a timeout. The break in action sparked three consecutive points by the Hawkeyes with kills from Coyle and Buzzerio and a block by Janota to leave the home team clinging to a 12-11 lead. Purdue answered with a 5-1 run to extend the lead before they won set four 25-15.
The Hawkeyes return home on Wednesday to take on Rutgers in a 7 p.m. contest in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.