WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – In its first road game of the season, the University of Iowa Volleyball team fell, 3-0, to No. 13 Purdue on Friday night inside Holloway Gymnasium.
Iowa was led by freshman Audrey Black, who registered a season-high and team-high nine kills. Junior Courtney Buzzerio added seven kills and freshman Bailey Ortega recorded 15 assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (Purdue, 25-19): The Hawkeyes had fast start, leading 2-1. Purdue went on five-point run to take a 7-3 lead. Back-to-back blocks by the Hawkeyes brought the score to 10-8. Two kills by Buzzerio, one kill by Ortega and a few errors by the Boilermakers tied the score at 13. Purdue went on a run to make it 17-13, forcing the Hawkeyes to call timeout. Iowa answered with a 3-0 run of their own to cut into the Purdue lead and an ace by sophomore Joslyn Boyer tied the set at 18. make it 16-17. Purdue pulled away late to take the first set.
SET 2 (Purdue, 25-15): Kills by junior Hannah Clayton, Buzzerio and Black tied up the set at four, but then Purdue went on a 12-1 scoring run, forcing an Iowa timeout. Sophomores Blythe Rients and Edina Schmidt tried to rally the Hawkeyes with back-to-back kills, but Iowa dropped the second set, 25-15
SET 3 (Purdue, 25-17): Iowa stayed close to start the third set, bu trailing 14-12, Purdue went on a quick 6-1 to give the Boilermakers a 20-13 lead. Iowa cut into the lead, making it a 23-17 deficit, but it was too little too late. The Boilermakers rattled off two more points to take the match.
NOTABLES HEAR FROM HEAD COACH VICKI BROWN
“The first set we came out with a bang with our blocks. Our conference is tough — they’ll mix it up to mess up the blocks a little bit. We lost a little bit of our focus and technique. That opened up a few more shots for them.”
“Audrey Black played really well for us on the outside. She has a great arm and it was great to see on the opposite pin. She held her own and looking forward to what she does tomorrow.”
“We’re still a little short sided on our offensive balance. Moving forward, that’s what we keep striving for, a balanced offense. That way we’re finding ways to get more kills for our team and eliminating our errors.”
NOTABLES
- It was Iowa’s first game against a ranked opponent of the season.
- Sophomore Emma Grunkmeyer made her Hawekeye debut, registered one kill and two digs.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes will take on the Boilermakers one more time Saturday night in West Lafeyette, Indiana, at 3 p.m. (CT).
