Buffs Remain Unbeaten Against Iowa

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Colorado volleyball took down Iowa 3-1 (25-15, 25-22, 23-25, 25-15) here Friday afternoon to remain unbeaten to start the 2021 season.
 
The Buffs (3-0) took care of Iowa (0-3) thanks to strong serving with nine aces from all six serving players and nine team blocks on defense. Leah Clayton led the attack with 17 kills and a .310 hitting percentage in a double-double performance with 11 digs, an ace and a solo block.
 
Jill Schneggenburger also had a good performance with 11 kills and a .333 hitting percentage as well as two aces and eight digs. Meegan Hart and Maya Tabron both had nine kills as Hart hit for .333 with four total blocks, tying Jenna Ewert for the team-high in blocks as Ewert added 43 assists, nine digs and five kills.
 
On the defensive side, Tabron and Brynna DeLuzio each put up 13 digs, while Savannah Perry owned the service line for the Buffs with three aces.
 
CU did their best to contain Iowa's Courtney Buzzerio who had 16 kills and 16 digs but was limited to a .175 hitting percentage. Kyndra Hansen had 10 kills for a .156 hitting percentage as only five Iowa players hit for kills in the match.
 
Colorado finished the match hitting .245 while holding the Hawkeyes to a .119 team hitting percentage.
 
The Buffs return to action tomorrow at 3 p.m. MT to play host Illinois in the team's final match of the 2021 Pac-12/BIG TEN Challenge.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1: Colorado jumped out to an early lead, but Iowa went on a small run to tie things up at five apiece. CU took a quick 12-9 lead behind Clayton's three early kills. The Buffs pushed to a 19-11 lead with three blocks early as well as three aces. Colorado hit set point with a 10-point lead, finishing off the set with an Alexia Kuehl kill two plays later. The Buffs held Iowa to a -.086 hitting percentage in the set.
 
SET 2: The Buffs started out well with a 5-3 lead. Iowa took the lead at 9-8 as their hitting began working. Colorado called timeout as Iowa earned its fourth ace and a 15-12 lead. The Buffs rallied back to take a 20-19 lead, forcing Iowa into a timeout late in the second with Schneggenburger hitting .700 with seven kills from the right side. Iowa challenged a late pancake but were unsuccessful. After another Tabron kill, Iowa called its final timeout down 23-20. Set point came at 24-20, with CU finishing it off three plays later with an Iowa service error. Clayton finished with eight kills and a .316 hitting percentage while Schneggenburger had seven with .700 hitting. Tabron, Schneggenburger, Clayton and DeLuzio all had five or more digs.
 
SET 3: Iowa got out to a good start with an 8-6 lead on the Buffs. A kill by Kuehl followed by a block by her tied things up at 10 all. Colorado's seventh block and sixth ace came in the middle of third, forcing an Iowa timeout down 17-15. Schneggenburger and Clayton both had nine kills with Schneggenburger hitting an outstanding .438 with a pair of aces and six digs. The Buffs challenged a net violation at 18-17 unsuccessfully. CU hit the 20-point mark with a lead of one as Clayton joined Schneggenburger with 10 kills. Iowa put down two points and took the lead, forcing a CU timeout down 21-20. The teams traded points with a pair of Hart kills to a 23-22 Iowa lead. Clayton put down a kill to tie things at 23 all and force an Iowa timeout. Buzzerio put down a kill to get to set-point, then a block gave the Hawkeyes the set. CU hit just .136 in the set but put down three blocks.
 
SET 4: Colorado took a quick 6-3 lead as Clayton put down a quick four kills in the set. Iowa couldn't stop the bleeding and called a timeout down 9-3 early. Clayton put down her 16th kill and fifth of the set to give CU a 14-5 lead with a .308 hitting percentage for herself. Colorado called timeout up 18-12 after Iowa put together four-straight behind three kills by Hannah Clayton. The Buffs responded with three-straight of their own to force a final Iowa timeout at 21-12. Match point came at 24-13 off a Savannah Perry ace, then CU finished it up with an Iowa attack error.
 
QUOTES
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
Really happy with our team today, especially with the serve/pass game. The only set I felt we were swerving a little soft was set 3 and you see the result. Another great offensive match from Leah and I was happy with Jill settling into playing opposite for us tonight. Tomorrow will be another step up in level and looking forward to the challenge.