By Jess Westendorf
The Iowa volleyball team was certainly happy to be back home in Carver-Hawkeye Wednesday evening for its match against Rutgers.
The team ended its three-game skid Wednesday, winning three out of four sets to come out on top of the Scarlet Knights to improve to 19-10, 9-8 in Big Ten play.
Head coach Bond Shymansky was pleased with how the team came out and fought hard to get the win.
“It was a bit of a workman win for us; there was kind of a funky rhythm to the match,” he said. “We came out hot and then flattened out there. When we lost our focus and lost the intensity, we lost the third set. I was glad that our group showed that we could rebound and refocus in that fourth set to come out on fire.”
The Hawkeyes held onto the momentum during the first and second sets to defeat the struggling Rutgers offense with scores of 25-16 and 25-13.
Senior Ashley Mariani played a consistent game for the Hawkeyes offense, recording 13 kills and a .375 hitting percentage. Mariani was one of five Hawkeyes to have at least a .375 hitting percentage on the night. She also tacked on 2 blocks defensively.
One main focus coming into the game against Rutgers was improving the communication on the court and playing clean sets.
“[The goal was] definitely getting communication going and just trying to play as clean as we can,” said Mariani. “The first few sets we improved the communication but the third set downhill a little bit, but we brought it back during the fourth set and took care of business.”
Other Hawkeyes who stood out include redshirt freshman Meghan Buzzerio, senior Loxley Keala, and sophomore Reghan Coyle. Buzzerio had 5 digs while recording a .227 hitting percentage. Keala, a setter, also came out on fire, playing in all four sets and tallying 3 kills, 49 assists, 4 digs, and a .500 hitting percentage.
Last but not least, Coyle added to the hot Hawkeye offense. She recorded 10 kills, 1 dig, and recorded the highest hitting percentage on the team, .714. This was the second-consecutive game Coyle recorded double-digit kills.
Coming into Wednesday, it looked as though Rutgers would be a relatively easy win for the Hawkeyes. The Scarlet Knights had a 4-25 record, 0-16 in conference play. It was a must needed win for the Hawkeyes coming off the road — Iowa recently came off of a three-game losing streak. The Hawkeyes can now use this momentum heading into Saturday against No. 1 Nebraska.
“It’s always good to get a win and I think we have a lot to work on, but that is the exciting part,” said Buzzerio. “We wanted to be true to ourselves out there and make sure we play our game; we were excited to get back and now to get ready for Nebraska this weekend.”
The Hawkeyes will return to Carver-Hawkeye at 8 p.m. Saturday.
