IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa volleyball lost, 3-0, to eighth-ranked Minnesota on Thursday at Xtream Arena.
Amiya Jones had the highest attack percentage for the Hawkeyes, at .500. Bailey Ortega totaled a team-best 20 assists, while Courtney Buzzerio led the squad with eight kills.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (Minnesota, 25-23): The first set was back-and-forth throughout featuring 12 ties. Minnesota was the first to 15, but Iowa quickly came up right behind them. The Gophers began to pull ahead, 19-15, but Iowa answered with four straight points on kills by Addie VanderWeide, Edina Schmidt, and Hinkle, and an ace by Hinkle. With the score even at 22, the Gophers scored the final three points to take the opening set.
SET 2 (Minnesota, 25-14): The Gophers built an early five-point cushion, 9-4. Minnesota’s lead jumped to 13-6. The Gophers maintained their advantage and won the second set by 11. Buzzerio and Vanderweide each had three kills for the Hawkeyes.
SET 3 (Minnesota, 25-17): Iowa came out strong scoring two straight points to start the third set. Points went from team to team, staying within a three-point spread up to 14-11. From there, the Gophers steady grew their lead and ultimately won the set by eight to win the match.
HEAR FROM COACH DAVE BROWN
“Offensively, we are doing some really good things. William runs a lot of the offense, and his calls tonight were great. We really diversified who we were setting the ball to and definitely in that first set it showed.”
“It starts at the net for us. Our block needs to be more aggressive and we need to do a better job. One block in three sets isn’t enough, especially against a team that hits that well. I thought we had a couple good block touches, but we need block kills.”
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes host Maryland on Saturday in their home finale. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. (CT) at Xtream Arena.