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LONG BEACH, Calif. — The University of Iowa volleyball team caught fire in the third and fourth sets to capture a 3-1 victory over Long Beach State on Saturday night in the final match of the LBSU Invitational.
FIGHT FOR IOWA
Taylor Louis registered a career-high 16 kills and a .364 attacking percentage. This marks the second time this season Louis has had double-digit kills. Jess Janota chipped in 12 kills, a .429 attacking percentage, and four blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 (25-23) | The Hawkeyes came out on top of a hard-fought first set that featured nine ties and two lead changes. With the score knotted at 23-23, Gabrielle Orr and Reghan Coyle tallied back-to-back kills to secure a 1-0 match lead for Iowa.
Set 2 (22-25) | The second set saw more back-and-forth action with 20 ties and seven lead changes before Long Beach State won the set, tying the match at 1-1.
Set 3 (25-16) | Trailing 4-6, the Hawkeye exploded on a 15-6 run to take the lead. The Beach cut Iowa’s advantage to 20-16 before a Meghan Buzzerio ace sparked a 5-0 stretch for the Hawkeyes to win the set and extend the match lead to 2-1.
Set 4 (25-21) | After a back-and-forth opening, Iowa used a 10-3 run to take a 15-9 lead. LBSU cut the Hawkeyes’ lead to 23-21, but back-to-back kills by Louis clinched both the set and the match.
HEAR FROM COACH SHYMANSKY
“We had a few too many errors as attackers in the first two sets. I’d like to watch us assert ourselves like we did in sets three and four, but it was a nice comeback victory after the loss to Stanford this morning. Taylor Louis again really leading the charge offensively, and Jess Janota doing what we know she can do. She really went into beast mode as a hitter for us and got the slide attack going. The surprise of the night was Brie Orr, getting really offensive with nice kills as well as setting a really nice game. I thought our serving and passing, especially our passing, was just phenomenal. That’s a good sign for us as we get deeper into the non-conference schedule.”
“I can’t wait to be back in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. We play Friday at noon and 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye and then Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. The football game kicks off early and then people can come on over and cheer on the Hawkeyes in Carver-Hawkeye.”
NOTABLES
- This is the first time the Hawkeyes have topped LBSU in program history. Iowa is now 1-3 all-time against the Beach.
- The Hawkeyes are 1-0 this season in four-set matches.
- Orr recorded a career-high nine kills and a personal best 43 assists.
- The .375 attacking percentage in set three marks Iowa’s highest attacking percentage in a set this season.
RECORDS UPDATE
- Iowa: 2-1
- Long Beach State: 1-2
UP NEXT
- Iowa: Nebraska-Omaha (0-3) | Hawkeye Classic | Carver-Hawkeye Arena | Friday, Sept. 1 | Noon (CT)
- LBSU: vs. Montana (2-0) | Wolverine Invitational | Orem, Utah | Thursday, Aug. 31 | 6 p.m. (CT)
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