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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa volleyball team (3-2, 0-0) fell to No. 16 Washington (3-1, 0-0), 3-1, in the final match of the 2019 Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge on Saturday night.
Senior Meghan Buzzerio tied a career-high with 23 kills, junior Brie Orr tallied a season-high 43 assists, and junior Halle Johnston recorded 22 digs.
Meghan Buzzerio was named to the all-tournament team. She finished with 36 kills in the tournament.
HEAR FROM COACH BROWN
“In both matches this weekend, we continued to fight. No matter where we are in the set, we always fight until the final whistl.e I am proud of that being our M O. Kyndra made a debut of being our fulltime outside hitter. She did a good job of staying composed even after they went after her. She did a really good job. Meghan Buzzerio is holding the weight of what we are giving her. She is taking the responsibility of taking our team forward. Amiya Jones got into double digits and one of our biggest challenges going into the weekend was defense and we got 10 team blocks. The players are buying into it and these are good signs.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (33-31) | The first set became the set that never ended. After falling behind 17-22, the Hawkeyes battled back beginning with a huge block from sophomore Hannah Clayton and freshman Kyndra Hansen. Iowa went on a 5-1 run to tie the score at 23. With the set hanging within reach for both teams, Iowa and Washington battled past 25 points and all the way to 31 points before a Huskie kill and Iowa ball-handling error gifted the Huskies the first set of the day.
SET 2 (25-23) | Washington gained the advantage early and held on to the lead until the 15th point when a service error by the Huskies gave Iowa its first lead of the set. The Hawkeyes and Huskies battled back and forth with a string of kills by senior Meghan Buzzerio, including the kill to give Iowa its 23rd point and tie the match forcing a Washington timeout. Out of the timeout, Washington struck with a kill and a fierce block to take the second set.
SET 3 (25-20) | The Hawkeyes took control of the third set thanks to a five-point run with kills from sophomore Courtney Buzzerio, senior Meghan Buzzerio, and sophomore Brie Orr. Washington made a run to force an Iowa timeout with the Hawkeyes leading 21-19, but a setting error by the Huskies gifted Iowa the extra motivation it needed to close the set with kills from Meghan Buzzerio and Orr.
SET 4 (25-23) | The fourth set saw Iowa and Washington trade leads through 15 points until the Hawkeyes called their first timeout of the set tied at 15. After another 10 points of back-and-fort volleyball, Iowa called its second timeout trailing 19-20. Clayton added a kill following the timeout to give Iowa a one-point lead, but Iowa couldn’t muster any more kills and fell 23-25.
NOTABLES
- Freshman Kyndra Hansen notched her first career start and added a career-high eight kills.
- Sophomore Amiya Jones added a season-high 10 kills.
- Iowa recorded a season-high 10 team blocks, led by Clayton’s five block assists.
- Sophomore Brie Orr led all players with a .438 hitting percentage (8-1-16).
- The 33-31 first set is the highest scoring first set since 2018 when Iowa and Drake played to a 34-32 set in Des Moines.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes travel to the South Dakota Tournament Sept. 13-14 in Vermillion, South Dakota. The Hawkeyes are slated to face Wyoming, UC Davis, and South Dakota.
