CORALVILLE, Iowa –The University of Iowa Volleyball team came up short in its second match against Indiana, falling 3-2 in a five-set thriller inside Xtream Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Junior Courtney Buzzerio registered her third career triple-double (11 digs, 21 assists, and 13 kills) in the loss. Buzzerio is the only Hawkeye in program history to record multiple triple-doubles and the feat has only been accomplished five times in the last 20 years at Iowa.
“Courtney’s leadership is 100 percent through action,” head coach Vicki Brown said. “She’s very stoic. The thing with Courtney is that she’s finding this year, as a junior, is her contribution in points can be spread out. She’s in a groove right now and she’s learning how to work out of those moments when a team challenged her in a different stat line.”
Iowa won the first (30-28) and fourth sets (25-23) and Indiana took the second (25-14), third (25-18), and fifth (15-13) sets.
For the second straight match, junior Hannah Clayton recorded 13 kills. In two matches this weekend, Clayton registered a team-best 26 kills, with a .488 attacking percentage.
“It’s tough for middles to put together back-to-back matches, especially on the attack, because now the defense is adjusting from last night,” Brown said. “The fact she was able to come back out and still have a nice offensive stat line, it shows her experience in this conference.”
Sophomore Joslyn Boyer (21 digs) and freshman Bailey Ortega (29 assists) recorded career highs in Iowa’s first five-set match of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (Iowa 30, Indiana 28): Iowa started strong with back-to-back kills by freshman Audrey Black, who finished with nine kills. Down 5-2, Iowa went on a 6-1 run, including back-to-back aces from junior Maddie Slagle to take an 8-6 lead. Up 20-19, Ortega was awarded an ace after a lengthy review to give Iowa a 21-19 lead, but Indiana answered to tie the game at 23. Iowa faced three set points, before winning the opening set on a kill by sophomore Edina Schmidt, followed by an Indiana attacking error that was upheld by another challenge.
SET 2 (Indiana 25, Iowa 14): The Hawkeyes opened the set with a 5-3 lead, courtesy of aces by sophomore Blythe Rients and freshman Leanne Lowry and kills by Buzzerio, Black and Clayton. With the set tied at 13, Indiana went on a 9-0 run to put the set out of reach. The Hoosiers closed the set on a 3-0 run.
SET 3 (Indiana 25, Iowa 18): Indiana took a 3-1 lead to start the third set. Iowa tied it at six with back-to-back kills by Clayton and Schmidt. Down 11-9, an Indiana 5-1 run brought the score to 16-10. Out of the timeout, Iowa finds a 4-1 run to cut Indiana’s lead to 20-16. The Hoosiers finished the set on a 5-2 run to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
SET 4 (Iowa 25, Indiana 23): Iowa was off to a strong 3-1 start in the fourth set highlighted by a Clayton kill. Indiana went on a 5-1 run to take a 6-4 lead. Trailing 10-8, Iowa went on 4-1 run to grab a 12-10 lead. The Hawkeyes used a 3-0 run to make it 22 all, forcing an Indiana timeout. Iowa finished off the set with a kill by Black to even the match, 2-2.
SET 5 (Indiana 15, Iowa 13): The Hawkeyes and Hoosiers traded points, bringing the score all square at five. Iowa led 7-5 and 11-9, but Indiana responded to tie the final set at 11. Iowa’s Schmidt forced an Indiana timeout after an ace. The Hoosiers went ahead 13-12 after the timeout and took two of the three next points to take the match.
NOTABLES
- Iowa recorded a season-high 11 aces, with four Hawkeyes recording two aces.
- Junior Maddie Slagle recorded a season high 10 digs and matched career high of two aces.
UP NEXT
Iowa will travel to Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State on Feb. 12 at 5 p.m. (CT) inside the Covelli Center.
