COLLEGE PARK, Md. – University of Iowa volleyball junior outside hitter Courtney Buzzerio recorded her fifth double-double (13 kills, 15 assists) in her last six games and attacked at a season-high .417 clip, but it wasn’t enough as Iowa fell, 3-0, to Maryland inside the Xfinity Center Pavilion.
Junior middle blocker Hannah Clayton also registered double-digit kills (10), with a .500 attacking percentage. Clayton has hit above .400 in four of her last five games.
“Clayton and Buzzerio have continuously shown they can take charge of the match,” head coach Vicki Brown said. “Not only on the stat line, but with good leadership.”
Iowa lost the first set, 25-21, despite hitting .275 to start the match. The Hawkeyes dropped set two, 25-16, and set three, 25-20.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (Maryland, 25-21): Sophomore libero Joslyn Boyer’s ace capped off a 4-0 run to help Iowa to take a 12-11 lead. Then, the momentum shifted in favor of Maryland. The Terrapins rattled off four straight points, forcing Iowa to call timeout. Maryland’s lead ballooned to a 20-14 advantage, forcing the Hawkeyes to use their second timeout. Iowa responded with two kills out of the timeout and two more kills by Clayton and Buzzerio brought Iowa’s deficit to two, 23-21, forcing Maryland to use a timeout. The Terrapins, however, won the next two points to secure the first set.
SET 2 (Maryland, 25-16): Iowa opened the set with a 3-0 lead, before falling behind 5-4 and 11-9. Maryland used a 5-0 run to take a 20-13 lead. Iowa responded with back-to-back kills by junior middle blocker Amiya Jones and Clayton, but the deficit was too much to overcome. The Terrapins would win five of the final six points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
SET 3 (Maryland, 25-20): With Iowa leading 6-5 after a kill by sophomore Blythe Rients, Maryland scored seven of the eight next points to take a 12-7, forcing the Hawkeyes to call timeout. Iowa won two of the three next points, and then used a 4-0 run a few rallies later to trail by only one, 15-14. The Hawkeyes tied the set at 16 and 17 but could never retake the lead. Trailing 20-17, Iowa used its last timeout. The Terrapins outscored Iowa 5-3 down the stretch to win the set and match.
MORE FROM COACH BROWN
“We have players that can contribute to what is needed to win, but we have to maintain rhythm and completive drive.”
NOTABLES
- Maryland, who leads the Big Ten in blocks per set, recorded 15 blocks to Iowa’s three.
- Iowa recorded more kills (39) than Maryland (37), but committed 22 attacking errors to Maryland’s seven.
- Boyer recorded her second straight and 10th match with at least 10 digs.
UP NEXT
Iowa hosts No. 4 Nebraska on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (CT) inside Xtream Arena. The match is set for 7 p.m. (CT) and will be televised on Big Ten Network.
