CONWAY, S.C. — Propelled by freshman Lauren Brobst, junior Alessandra Dietz and sophomore Erin Radke, the University of Iowa volleyball team opened the 2013 season with a five-set, 3-2 win over Wofford (0-1) at the Chanticleer Invitational on Friday night.
In her Hawkeye debut, Brobst paced the team in kills with 23, just three kills shy of entering the Iowa record book for kills in a match. She posted a .436 attack percentage, compiling three kills in set one, five in set two, nine in the third set, three in the fourth and three in the fifth.
“Tonight was certainly good for (Brobst),” head coach Sharon Dingman said. “It was good for her confidence and good for her to understand that this is what it is going to be like. It was really fun to watch her.”
Dietz was a force to be reckoned with throughout the match. She led Iowa with a .500 attack percentage and tallied a career-high 14 kills. The middle also had a hand in five block assists.
“That is what (Dietz) is going to need to be for us and she’s been that all through training camp,” Dingman said. “She’s certainly going to make life harder for opponents. The thing about (Dietz) is that she’s just super competitive. There were times where she was taking over because she wanted to hit the ball really hard, and she did.”
Radke notched a nine kills, a solo block and three block assists in her first match back on the court following an injury that cut her 2012 season short.
The Hawkeyes started hot using a four-point run, highlighted by a pair of Radke kills, to jump out to a 5-1 advantage. It was all UI for the remainder of the set with Dietz recording five kills to further the deficit. An Alyssa Klostermann ace, the first of her Iowa career, followed by an Alex Lovell kill and service ace solidified the set one win, 25-14.
After falling behind early in the second set, Wofford charged back to stake a 13-7 advantage. Iowa’s Brobst turned it on recording four kills and a block with teammate Dietz to regain an edge 14-13. After a back-and-forth set, the Terriers used a 4-0 run to record the equalizing set victory, tying the match 1-1.
Wofford continued to possess the momentum in the third set posting a 6-2 lead early. The Hawkeyes, down 24-20, used a six-point run to steal set three 26-24. Four Brobst kills fueled the come-from-behind set win.
The Terriers took the fourth set 25-17, forcing a fifth set to determine the match winner. The Hawkeyes opened the set with a dominating block out of Dietz and Radke, and maintained the momentum en route to a 15-8 final set finish. Brobst notched the final three kills of the match, helping UI accomplish its 25th season-opening victory since 1977.
Senior Nikki Dailey dished out a team-most 31 assists, while Klostermann added 18 of her own. Senior libero Bethany Yeager paced the Hawkeyes with 26 digs.
Wofford was led by Amanda Liguori and Wendy Burnett who notched 14 and 13 kills, respectively.
