The Iowa volleyball team picked up four wins at the Columbia Invitational tournament in New York City on Sept. 16-17. The Hawkeyes defeated St. Francis (N.Y.), 3-0, and Columbia, 3-1, on Sept. 16, then claimed the tournament title when they took down Binghamton, 3-0, and St. John’s, 3-1, on Sept. 17.

The tournament increased Iowa’s winning streak to seven matches and brought the team’s season record up to 10-3 at the end of nonconference play.

The Hawkeyes’ match against St. Francis lasted only one hour and 15 minutes; Iowa brought down the Terriers in straight-sets, (25-19, 25-21, 25-16).

Iowa had to fight harder against Columbia (25-19, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20) after the Lions took the second set from the Hawkeyes, but the Black and Gold came out on top for the second tournament win.

The Hawkeyes then defeated Binghamton, (25-20, 25-15, 25-16) in another quick game, but struggled more against St. John’s. They lost the second set again, but came back to claim the match, (25-21, 18-25, 25-21, 25-18).

"We played with a lot of confidence [Sept. 17]," head coach Sharon Dingman said in a release after the St. John’s match. "We’ll always take a win, especially when playing four games in two days, but this win was really nice.

"We looked confident and composed, and we played really well."

— by Molly Irene Olmstead