CORALVILLE, Iowa — The University of Iowa volleyball team defeated Iowa State in straight sets on Saturday night at Xtream Arena in the final game of the Cy-Hawk Series Tournament.
Courtney Buzzerio tallied 15 kills, Mari Hinkle recorded 8digs, and Bailey Ortega notched 26 assists to lead the Hawkeyes.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (Iowa, 25-20): Scoring went point-for-point from the start. The Hawkeyes pulled energy from multiple hits by both Buzzerio and Amiya Jones — a dynamic duo in the front row. Iowa took the first big five-point lead at the 17-12 mark with no timeouts left for the Cyclones. Iowa State tried to climb back, but to no avail against Iowa’s scrappy play and powerful attacks.
SET 2 (Iowa, 25-19): Iowa State came in right off the bat challenging Iowa, aiming their serves and swings to open court. The Hawkeyes came back and held pace with aces and kills as the score stayed level. The first team to pull away from the game of cat and mouse was Iowa, 18-14. This lead featured back-to-back kills from Addie VanderWeide. The Hawkeyes forced a Cyclone timeout when the lead became substantial at 22-16. Iowa stayed up, taking the set.
SET 3 (Iowa, 25-21): The trend continued with long rallies between the teams and the initial score going back and forth. The Hawkeyes were the first to pull ahead with a four-point lead, 17-13. The Cyclones rivaled back, climbing to a one-point deficit, 20-19. Ultimately, Iowa prevailed.
PHOTOS
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH VICKI BROWN
“To get the first win, and for it to be against Iowa State, I’m overjoyed. The team has worked hard to get themselves to this position that we’re in right now and get this win. I’m a true Hawkeye, so I definitely love beating Iowa State. One thing that was just so different for us was our pass-serve game. We passed well, then we got Iowa State out of system. To be able to have both of those in our favor, positioned us to have a lot more options. At the service line, we had the opportunity to keep those points going.”
NOTABLES
- Jones hit a season high .636.
- Buzzerio had 15 kills. She has had double figure kills in all seven games to begin the season.
- VanderWeide had her fourth straight match with double figures tallying 10 kills.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes travel to Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Fri., September 17 for the first match of the Mile High Invitational against Incarnate Word. First serve is scheduled for noon (CT).
