Match Stats
- Iowa def. Wright State 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-22)
- Iowa moves to 1-0, Wright State falls to 0-1
- LBSU Invitational, Long Beach, California
- Match Stats
The Iowa Hawkeyes opened up their 2017 season with a win, marking the 3rd-straight season in which they’ve won their first match of the season.
Statistically, the difference between the teams was not huge. Wright State out-blocked Iowa 7-4 and both teams had 3 aces and 16 hitting errors. Iowa, however, was more potent on the outside than was WSU, and were more than twice as efficient (.265-.122).
The Hawkeyes were led by 13 kills (1 error, 22 swings) from junior wing Taylor Louis, who had 15.5 points in all. This was Louis’ first match for Iowa after transferring from Marquette, where she was a First Team All-Big East player and AVCA Honorable Mention All-American after leading the Golden Eagles in kills and points last season.
In total, 15 of the 16 players on Iowa’s roster played in the game.
Wright State’s top scorer was Megan Hopkins, who had 5 kills, 4 block assists, and a solo block.
Press Releases
Courtesy Iowa Athletics:
Courtesy Wright State Athletics:
LONG BEACH, Calif. — The University of Iowa volleyball team claimed a 3-0 victory over Wright State on Friday afternoon, holding the Raiders to a .122 attacking percentage in the season opener at the LBSU Invitational.
FIGHT FOR IOWA
Taylor Louis lit up the court in her first match as a Hawkeye, amassing 13 kills and a .545 attacking percentage. Louis added three blocks for Iowa.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 (25-22) | After a slow start in a back-and-forth set that featured 10 lead changes and 15 ties, the Hawkeyes found their rhythm towards the end the set and secured a 25-22 set victory. Louis garnered six kills, including set point, to lead Iowa.
Set 2 (25-16) | The Hawkeyes took an early 5-2 lead and never looked back as they took a 2-0 match advantage. Iowa held a 17-10 lead when Wright State scored three consecutive points in an attempted comeback, but the Hawkeyes went on a 6-1 run with kills by Cali Hoye (2) and Taylin Alm (1) to extend the lead to 23-15. A Gabrielle Orr kill secured the set win.
Set 3 (25-22) | With the score knotted at 13-13, a kill by freshman Claire Sheehan sparked a 7-1 run, giving the Hawkeyes a 20-14 lead. The Raiders cut Iowa’s lead to 24-22 before Reghan Coyle‘s kill secured a 3-0 match victory for the Hawkeyes.
HEAR FROM COACH SHYMANSKY
“It was nice to get most of our Hawkeyes involved today. We had a lot of good contribution from different places. There are some basic things we can take care of, like better serving and better passing. We have to work through those nerves a little too. We have three young players out there and a couple of new players in different positions. It was a little rusty at times, but we got it going. You can see as the match went on, our offense started getting better, our passing got better and everything improved as we went through the course of the match. We are going to need to play better and be more focused tomorrow when we take on Stanford.”
NOTABLES
- Iowa is now 3-0 all-time against Wright State.
- The Hawkeyes have won 9 out of the last 10 season openers, including each of the last three years.
- Hoye racked up a career-best seven kills.
- Jess Janota and Coyle each had five kills, while Coyle had a .400 attacking percentage.
- Orr led Iowa with 38 assists in her first match as a Hawkeye.
RECORDS UPDATE
- Iowa: 1-0
- Wright State: 0-1
UP NEXT
- Iowa: vs. No. 2 Stanford (0-0)| LBSU Invitational | Long Beach, Calif. | Saturday, Aug. 26 | Noon (CT)
- Wright State: vs. Long Beach State (0-0) | LBSU Invitational |Long Beach, Calif. | Friday, Aug. 25 | 9 pm (CT)
FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
For an inside look at the Iowa Volleyball program and access to exclusive coverage, “like” University of Iowa Volleyball on Facebook and follow @IowaVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.
Courtesy Wright State Athlletics:
The Wright State volleyball team opened the 2017 campaign as they fell to Iowa of the Big Ten 3-0 (22-25, 16-25, in the opening match of the LBSU Biden Invitational at Long Beach, CA Friday afternoon.
First Set Highlight
The first set was a back and forth affair as the Raiders held their biggest lead at 15-11 before the Hawkeyes won 25-22. As a team, the Raiders collected 11 kills.
Second Set Highlights
Iowa jumped to an early lead and were able to post the second-set win 25-16.
Third Set Highlights
The third set was tight and was tied at 13 each midway though but Iowa was able to pull away a little but not until the Raiders collected four straight points late to make it 24-22. The Hawkeyes (1-0) won 25-22. The Raiders had 10 kills in the final set.
Newcomer Abby Barcus and senior Katie Klusman each had seven kills to lead the Raiders as Megan Hopkins finished with five. Jessie Thorntoncollected 15 digs as Maddie Lohmeier posted 19 assists and five blocks.
Next Up
The Raiders (0-1) will play host Long Beach State Friday night at 10 pm eastern. The match can be seen live by clicking here.
Leave a Reply