MADISON, WI – The University of Iowa volleyball team (9-19, 3-14) fell to No. 5 Wisconsin (20-5, 16-1) in three sets on Friday night inside the UW Field House.
Sophomore Courtney Buzzerio had a team-high eight kills and 14 assists, and junior Halle Johnston notched 11 digs.
SET 1 (25-18) | Iowa matched Wisconsin’s energy in front of a packed of a packed Field House and went point-for-point with the Badgers through 14 points. Freshman Edina Schmidt led the Hawkeye offense in the first with five kills and a .273 attack percentage. However, a Wisconsin challenge stalled the Hawkeyes’ momentum as Wisconsin took a 17-15 lead to force Iowa’s first timeout. Iowa responded with a quick kill from sophomore Courtney Buzzerio, but back-to-back errors put Iowa in a deeper hole. Iowa allowed Wisconsin to go on a 5-0 run to take control and seal the first set in its favor.
SET 2 (25-13) | The second set was all Wisconsin. Iowa’s momentum from the first set carried over but didn’t last long with the Badgers taking a 6-2 lead early. A kill from sophomore Amiya Jones broke up the Wisconsin attack, but Iowa continued to fight from behind. Back-to-back Hawkeye errors ended the second set as the team took the intermission to make adjustments.
SET 3 (25-15) |The intermission allowed the Hawkeyes to make changes and lead the Badgers in blocks during the third set, 4-3. Iowa brought the score within one point at 7-6, but that was as close as Iowa got in the set. Wisconsin took a 16-8 lead before Iowa called its first timeout and trailing 22-12, Iowa called its second. Junior Griere Hughes tallied three kills out of the timeout, but the Badgers got their final three points to close out the set and match.
Sophomore Courtney Buzzerio registered her 32nd ace of the season in the first set. 32 aces is the most by a Hawkeye since 2015 (Ashley Mariani).
Sophomore Amiya Jones had a team-high .625 attack percentage (5-8).
The Hawkeyes travel to Minneapolis to face No. 7 Minnesota tomorrow night at 7 p.m. (CT). Stream the match on BTN Plus or FloVolleyball.
