Iowa Falls to No. 4 Wisconsin
CORALVILLE, IOWA — The University of Iowa volleyball team was defeated by Wisconsin, 3-0, on Saturday night at Xtream Arena.
Courtney Buzzerio paced the Hawkeyes with 15 kills. Bailey Ortega tallied 27 assists, while Mari Hinkle led all players with 9 digs. Audrey Black hit a match-high .556.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (Wisconsin, 25-16): Scoring rallied between the two teams until the Badgers took the first big lead, 8-4. Iowa fought back, closing the spread to two points, 8-10. Wisconsin began to pull ahead again, 15-9, and continued their run, 19-10. The Hawkeyes fought back with high energy and long rallies, 15-23. Despite Iowa’s relentless pursuit, Wisconsin took the first set by nine.
SET 2 (Wisconsin, 25-23): Set two featured five ties within the first ten points. Wisconsin was the first team to pull away, 13-10, and continued to climb, 17-12. Iowa fought back to close the gap, 16-18. An ace from Mari Hinkle followed by a kill from Buzzerio tied things up, 21-21. Iowa took their first lead of the set, 22-21, and recorded their first 4-0 run of the night. Things tied up between the teams yet again, 23-23. The Badgers closed out the second set, winning by two.
SET 3 (Wisconsin, 25-20): The third set started with two ties before the Hawkeyes took the first lead, 7-4. Wisconsin brought the energy, leading to back to back ties at eight and nine. The Badgers continued to score, 15-11. With scrappy play and big kills, Iowa closed the gap to two points, 17-19, and the Hawkeyes closed the spread to one point, 19-20. Despite the Hawkeyes efforts, Wisconsin stayed up through the end, winning by five.
HEAR FROM COACH DAVE BROWN
“I couldn’t be more proud of them this weekend. Mistakes were made tonight and then we forgot about them. We had short term memory loss, which is the best thing a volleyball player can have. I felt the energy from the bench, I felt it from the girls on the court, and they all worked together tonight. It was cool to see that. They bounced back from a lot, coming back from three and four point deficits, which we have not been able to do this season. And again — thats coming from the number four team in the country. I’m very proud of their effort.”
UP NEXT
Iowa hosts Minnesota at Xtream Arena on Thursday, Nov. 11. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.