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HARRISONBURG, Va. — The University of Iowa volleyball team (1-0, 0-0) defeated Stony Brook (0-1, 0-0), 3-1, in their 2019 season opener at the James Madison University Invitational on Friday.
Senior Meghan Buzzerio led Iowa with 19 kills while junior Brie Orr added 42 assists. Junior Halle Johnston chipped in 16 digs.
HEAR FROM COACH BROWN
“Our players did a good job of coming out with a lot of energy, especially in that first set, winning 25-14. They came out with a bang and that was out initial bang. We wanted to take control of the game. Our outsides did a good job of executing whenever they received the set. Meghan (Buzzerio) hit over .500 and Griere (Hughes) hit over .600, so I am very proud of both of them. They are two veteran outsides and they stepped up. There are always things we can work on and we’ll take it to our next match tomorrow.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 (25-14) | The Hawkeyes opened the 2019 season with a fast start, going on a 10-2 run starting with a kill by junior Griere Hughes. The middles got into the action with back to back kills by sophomores Hannah Clayton and Amiya Jones. Hughes closed out the set the same way she started it with a kill along the left side.
Set 2 (21-25) | In a much more evenly contested set, the Hawkeyes and Seawolves were even until self-inflicted wounds put the Hawkeyes behind, allowing Stony Brook to gain a 15-10 advantage. M. Buzzerio finished the set with five of Iowa’s last seven kills. After a Stony Brook timeout with the score 18-22, Iowa closed the gap, but fell 21-25 heading in the third set.
Set 3 (25-16) | The third set appeared to play out like the second with both teams trading points. The Seawolves took a brief 8-11 lead before an Iowa timeout shifted momentum in the Hawkeyes’ favor. Iowa reeled off four straight points to regain the lead. Leading 18-14, Iowa forced Stony Brook’s second timeout and never looked back, going on a 7-2 run to close the set.
Set 4 (25-15 | The fourth set saw Iowa return to the energy it had during the first set, opening on a 6-2 run to force an early timeout. Stony Brook recovered to close the gap, but mental errors allowed the Hawkeyes to keep the Seawolves from tying the set. After a Hawkeye timeout, Hughes tallied three straight kills to extend Iowa’s lead as a mix of kills from Jones, Hughes, C. Buzzerio, and M. Buzzerio finished the set and match.
NOTABLES
- Sophomore Courtney Buzzerio started her first career match
- Junior Griere Hughes got first start at Iowa and set a career-high with 14 kills
- Sophomore Amiya Jones registered a career-high 12 kills.
- Freshmen Blythe Rients, Jaedynn Evans, Kyndra Hansen, and Emma Grunkemeyer made their collegiate debuts.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes conclude the JMU Invitational against No. 22 Washington State at 9 a.m. (CT) and James Madison at 6 p.m. Live results for both matches will be available on hawkeyesports.com/vblive.
