Hawkeye’s Offense Too Much For Rutgers

Match Stats

• Iowa def. Rutgers 3-1, (25-16, 25-13, 23-25, 25-14)
• Iowa improves to 19-10, 9-8 B1G, Rutgers falls to 4-26, 0-17 B1G
• Hosted by Iowa

Reghan Coyle posted a career high .714 hitting percentage, with 10 kills no errors and 14 swings. Ashley Mariani added 13 kills and Meghan Buzzerio 10. The Hawks showed a strong front from behind the service line with 16 aces on the Scarlet Knights.

For Rutgers Lauren Cloyd posted a match-high 14 kills, while Jasmine Stackhouse recorded a career-high seven blocks along with eight kills.

Press Release

Courtesy of Iowa Athletics

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Sophomore Reghan Coyle tallied a personal-best .714 attacking percentage as the University of Iowa volleyball team captured a 3-1 victory over Rutgers on Wednesday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. With the win, the Hawkeyes are now 19-10 overall and hold a 9-8 record in Big Ten play.

“We came out pretty sharp and aggressive,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “You could see our intensity. It was a pretty good opportunity for us to get everyone involved on the roster. But our focus dropped and we dropped the [third] set. Those things are going to happen and you have to be able to respect the necessities of what’s required at a home match. We have to make sure that we give our very, very best at all moments and that’s how win sets and find success.”

Coyle had her second consecutive double-digit kill match as she garnered 10 kills against the Scarlet Knights (4-26, 0-17 Big Ten). Coyle was perfect on the night with no errors in 14 total attacks.  Ashley Mariani (13) and Meghan Buzzerio (10) also chipped in double-figure kills. This was Buzzerio’s third consecutive match and 13th of the season with double-digit kills.

As a team, the Hawkeyes racked up a .315 attacking percentage on the night. In addition to Coyle’s career-high, Lauren Brobst had five kills in six total attacks for a .833 attacking percentage, while Jess Janota (8-12) and Loxley Keala (3-6) each amassed a .500 hitting percentage.

The Hawkeyes took an early 10-3 lead in set one. This hot start was bolstered by kills from Mariani (3), Buzzerio (1) and Keala (1). Janota and Molly Kelly each contributed an ace during the stretch. The Scarlet Knights cut off the long run with a 3-1 stretch before the Hawkeyes used a 12-6 burst to extend their advantage to 23-13. Janota (1), Buzzerio (2), Mariani (2) and Coyle (1) amassed kills during the run, while Buzzerio chipped in two aces and Kasey Reuter added a block. Rutgers tried to cut off the stretch with back-to-back points, but Janota and Reuter each collected a kill to secure a 25-16 set victory.

Iowa continued their offensive firepower in set two as they jumped out to a 19-7 lead. This stretch included an 8-0 run that was sparked by a kill from Reuter and included a kill each from Buzzerio, Janota and Coyle. Rutgers cut off the run with three consecutive points before Iowa used a 5-2 stretch to give the Hawkeyes a chance to serve for match point at 24-12. Reuter’s kill then clinched a 25-13 set win for the Hawkeyes.

After dropping set three (25-23), Iowa came charging back with a dominant 25-14 set victory. As a team, the Hawkeyes tallied a .696 hitting percentage during the final set. After Iowa took a 4-1 lead, the Scarlet Knights scored back-to-back points to cut into the lead. The Hawkeyes used a 5-1 stretch, bolstered by three kills from Marini, to extend the advantage to 9-5. Iowa then went on a 16-8 run to win the set and capture a 3-1 match victory. Mariani and Brobst both racked up five kills during set four, while Coyle chipped in three.

“Saturday night – we’re doing everything we can to break the attendance record,” said Shymansky. “For volleyball, we are here in Carver, 8 p.m. start, No. 1 Nebraska and we can do it. We’ve been close and ahead for a lot of sets this season already and so we just need a few more Hawkeye fans to show up and help us put it over the top.”

Iowa continues its home stand on Saturday night as they take on No. 1 Nebraska at 8 p.m. (CT). The Hawkeyes strive to break the single match attendance record against the Cornhuskers, so fans are encouraged to arrive early and be loud.

Press Release

Courtesy of Rutgers Athletics

IOWA CITY, IOWA – Despite a third set victory to stay alive in the match, the Rutgers women’s volleyball team fell to Iowa 3-1 (16-25, 13-25, 25-23, 14-25) on Wednesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Hawkeyes (19-10, 9-8 Big Ten) earned the win in sets one and two before the Scarlet Knights (4-26, 0-17 Big Ten) rallied a third set victory to push the match to the fourth set. However, Iowa held off Rutgers by closing the win with a victory in the fourth.

For the fifth consecutive match, senior right side Lauren Cloyd led RU in kills with 13, her most in a Big Ten match this season. Freshman middle blocker Jasmine Stackhouse posted a career-high blocks with seven to go with eight kills. Senior right side Cole Trimble added in nine kills and four blocks of her own, while freshman setter Megan Sharkey posted a career-best 29 assists in the match.

Three Hawkeyes posted double digit kills led by Ashley Mariani with 13 kills. Meghan Buzziero and Reghan Coyle followed with 10 kills each. Keala contributed 49 assists in the win.

Although trailing by as many as 12 in set one, the Scarlet Knights found an 5-1 run late in the set guided by Stackhouse contributing to four blocks to cut the deficit to single digits at 23-15. However, the surge was not enough to close the margin as Iowa claimed the first set.

After the Hawkeyes generated a 2-0 lead in the match with a set two victory, Rutgers and Iowa traded points to start the third with the score tied on five occasions. With the margin knotted, 7-7, the Hawkeyes established a slight edge on the board as the Scarlet Knights trailed 11-10 midway through the set. From there, Iowa found its largest edge at that point of the set at 19-15.

RU responded with a 6-2 guided by three kills for Cloyd to tie the score 21-21. As a point-for-point battle ensued acress the final serves, the Scarlet Knights tacked on three straight points capped by a block for Stackhouse and Jillian Duffin to seal the third set victory to keep RU alive in the match.

In the fourth frame, Iowa stumped Rutgers’ momentum by capturing an early lead it would never relinquish. The Hawkeyes held off the Scarlet Knight comeback to close the contest with a win in the fourth.

UP NEXT
Rutgers closes out its 2016 campaign with three consecutive home matches. The homestand begins with Indiana on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. The Scarlet Knights then host Illinois on Friday, Nov. 25 and Northwestern on Nov. 26.

KNIGHT NOTES

Rutgers led Iowa in total team blocks, 9.5-4.0, marking the 16^th match this season that the Scarlet Knights have led in the category.

• Jasmine Stackhouse matched her career high with seven blocks. Stackhouse has posted five or more blocks in nine contests this season.
• Stackhouse finished one shy of her career best with eight kills in the match.
• Lauren Cloyd led RU for the fifth consecutive match with 13 kills, her most in a conference contest.
• Cole Trimble was one shy of her career-best with four blocks.
• Megan Sharkey posted a career-high 29 assists for her second consecutive 20+ assist performance.

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