CONWAY, S.C. — The University of Iowa volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on Saturday to open the season at the Coastal Carolina Invitational. The Hawkeyes were edged in the opener to Duke in five sets, 3-2, before falling in straight sets to host Coastal Carolina, 3-0, in the nightcap at The HTC Center.
Iowa attacked at a .257 clip against the Blue Devils and four Hawkeyes had at least five kills in an opening match that lasted two hours and 19 minutes.
Senior outside hitter Courtney Buzzerio recorded a career-high 28 kills with a .407 attacking percentage and seven digs. Twenty-one of her kills came over the final three sets. Sophomore setter Bailey Ortega tallied a career-high 45 assists.
Buzzerio led the way against Coastal Carolina with 14 kills, while senior Amiya Jones notched eight kills of her own. Jones had a .353 attacking percentage and four service aces.
Coastal Carolina out-blocked the Hawkeyes, 15-1.
HOW IT HAPPENED
VS DUKE
SET 1 (Iowa, 25-16): The Hawkeyes jumped out to an early 14-9 lead, and after a pair of back-to-back Kyndra Hansen kills the Blue Devils called a timeout. Out of the timeout, Iowa pushed the lead to 21-13. The Blue Devils scored two to narrow the lead to six, but the Hawkeyes pulled away to take the opening set.
SET 2 (Duke, 25-14): Duke raced to a 10-3 lead to open the second set. The Hawkeyes and Blue Devils traded points as the Duke lead stayed at seven. The Blue Devils maintained the lead the rest of the way to even the match.
SET 3 (Iowa, 25-22): The Hawkeyes opened the third set grabbing a 9-4 lead. Duke would go on an eight-point run to take a 12-11 lead. Things went back-and-forth leading to a 16-16 tie before the Hawkeyes inched away and take the set, 25-22. The third set had nine ties and five lead changes.
SET 4 (Duke, 25-22): The fourth set featured 10 ties and two lead changes. With the score knotted at 9-9, Duke scored seven of the next 10 points to lead 16-12. The Hawkeyes battled back to trim the deficit to as little as 24-22 before Duke captured the set forcing a fifth set.
SET 5 (Duke, 15-13): The Blue Devils jumped to an 8-4 lead before the Hawkeyes scored four-straight to tie things up, 8-8. Things went back-and-forth before Duke scored two straight points out of a timeout to break a 13-13 tie and win the match.
VS COASTAL CAROLINA
SET 1 (Coastal Carolina, 25-20): The first set was a back-and-forth affair with neither team grabbing a significant lead, as the score was tied 8-8, then 12-12, and 18-18. A 3-0 Chanticleer run forced an Iowa timeout. The Hawkeyes cut the deficit to one before Coastal Carolina pulled away to win the set.
SET 2 (Coastal Carolina, 25-17): The Chanticleers pulled out to a 9-5 lead and ultimately extended that to 15-10. Coastal Carolina outscored the Hawkeyes 10-7 the rest of the way to take the second set.
SET 3 (Coastal Carolina, 25-20): Coastal Carolina built a 14-4 lead against the Hawkeyes to open the set. The Chanticleers maintained that 10-point lead forcing an Iowa timeout with the Hawkeyes trailing 18-8. The Hawkeyes clawed back cutting the lead to as few as four points, but the comeback ultimately fell short.
NOTABLES
- Courtney Buzzerio’s 28 kills against Duke is tied for 13th most in a single game in school history.
- Hannah Clayton moved to 18th all-time in school history in blocks (245), passing Laura Simpson.
- Junior transfer Mari Hinkle and freshman Addie VanderWeide made their Hawkeye debuts.
UP NEXT
Iowa travels to Champaign, Illinois, on Sept. 3-4 to face Colorado and No. 4 Washington in the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge.
