HARRISONBURG, Va. --The University of Iowa volleyball team (3-0, 0-0) defeated James Madison University (1-2, 0-0), 3-0 on Saturday night.
Junior Brie Orr was named tournament MVP and senior Meghan Buzzerio was named to the all-tournament team.
HEAR FROM COACH BROWN
“That was a very exciting three set match. JMU did not back down from us. I am excited for our MVP all-tournament player. Brie Orr won MVP and Meghan Buzzerio was all-tournament. It was really a tie. Those two were on the court the whole time, the whole tournament and executed at a very high level. I also have to throw in our core captains Brie Orr, Meghan Buzzerio, and Emily Bushman. They willed this team through the whole tournament. Emily Bushman came in late in the third set and took command and made her presence known. Our captain truly were the ones who were driving us through this match point-by-point. Great win for us and I am getting excited for the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge next week in Iowa City.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (25-21) | Iowa began on a three-point run and maintained its early lead, but JMU inched back into the set and eventually tied it at 13 to force Iowa to call a timeout. The Dukes took the lead out of the timeout and gave it right back with an attack error and ball-hitting error. Two scrappy plays shifted the momentum in Iowa’s favor leading in back-to-back kills by sophomore Amiya Jones. The set continued to see ties and lead changes and culminated with blocks from junior Griere Hughes and Brie Orr followed by a kill by sophomore Courtney Buzzerio to win the first set.
SET 2 (25-17) | Iowa took control of the second set immediately thank to back-to-back errors by the Dukes. Iowa added onto its lead with a kill from M. Buzzerio and service ace from C. Buzzerio. Iowa didn’t see another kill until M. Buzzerio made the score 14-8. Iowa continued to allow the Dukes to create their own mistakes until they called their second timeout of the set down 18-12. Iowa’s energy picked up with an ace and kill by M. Buzzerio. Iowa took the set after a Duke attack error.
SET 3 (28-26)| JMU gave the Hawkeyes a fight in the third, holding the lead for the majority of the set. Iowa didn’t tie the set until the 23rd point. Tied 25-25, a kill by M. Buzzerio gave the Hawkeyes their first lead of the set and an attack error by the Dukes gave Iowa the sweep and tournament victory.
NOTABLES
·Freshmen Joslyn Boyer and Kyndra Hansen made their collegiate debuts.
·Hansen notched her first career kill in the third set.
·Sophomore Courtney Buzzerio led Iowa with nine kills and hit .438.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes debut inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena next Friday against Colorado in the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge at 7 p.m. (CT). Tickets are available athawkeyesports.com/ticketsor over the phone at 800-IA-HAWKS.