Sept. 12, 2003
MADISON, WI – The Iowa volleyball team recorded its fourth win of the season Friday evening in a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Duke at the InnTowner Invitational in the Wisconsin Field House.
Iowa got off to a slow start to begin game one as Duke pulled out to a 7-3 advantage. The Hawkeyes fought back claiming the next six points to take a 9-7 lead. The Blue Devils once again took control and went on to win the first game, 30-21. Hitting percentage proved to be a factor as Iowa registered 10 kills while committing seven errors in 43 attempts for a .070 percentage. Duke tallied 16 kills and committed four errors in 41 attempts for a .293 hitting percentage.
Game two proved to be a close battle with neither team taking a solid advantage. With the score tied at 28-28, the Hawkeyes took an advantage with a kill by junior Carolyn Giese. Iowa then claimed game two with a kill by freshman April Mech, who missed Iowa’s last match due to injury, for the 30-28 victory. The Hawkeyes registered 18 kills compared to Duke’s 12. After intermission Iowa continued to hold the advantage, pulling out to an 8-4 lead to start game three. Duke fought back and took its first lead of the game at 15-14. The game then became a back-and-forth battle with neither team holding more than a one-point lead until the Blue Devils took a 25-23 advantage. Duke then claimed five of the final ten points for the 30-28 victory. Each team registered 17 kills but once again errors took its toll on the Hawkeyes. Iowa posted nine errors in 59 attempts for a .136 hitting percentage. The Blue Devils committed six errors in 44 attempts for a .250 percentage.
The Blue Devils controlled the momentum to begin game four, jumping out to a 10-4 lead. The Hawkeyes rallied back claming six of the next seven points the narrow the gap at 11-10 and eventually tied the match at 13-13. Iowa took its first lead of the game at 16-15 and held the advantage until Duke once again tied the game up at 19-19. The match turned into a neck-and-neck battle with neither team holding a solid lead. With the score tied at 30-30, the Hawkeyes claimed the match with two kills by sophomore Echaka Agba to send the match into a fifth game. Iowa tallied 20 kills and committed eight errors in 54 attempts for a .222 hitting percentage. Duke registered 19 kills while committing five errors for a .298 percentage.
Duke once again got off to a fast start to begin game five, taking a 5-2 advantage. The Hawkeyes bounced back narrowing the gap and eventually tying the score at 10-10. Iowa then claimed five of the final seven points for the 15-12 victory to win the match. The Hawkeyes collected 11 kills while committing only two errors for a .360 hitting percentage. Duke posted nine kills and committed three errors for a .250 percentage.
As a team, the Hawkeyes tallied 76 kills and committed 36 errors in 231 attempts for a .173 hitting percentage. Iowa recorded 93 digs and nine team blocks. The Blue Devils recorded 73 kills while committing 24 errors in 200 total attempts for a .245 hitting percentage. Duke also registered 98 digs and 11 total team blocks.
Agba recorded her third double-double of the season with 19 kills and a career-high 21 digs. Giese continued her solid play once again setting a career mark with 22 kills. Senior Jitka Stehnova narrowly missed a double-double with 55 assists and nine digs. Stehnova provided a spark with her service game, recording a career-high five aces. She also led the team with four block assists. Mech tied a career-high with 13 digs and collected eight kills. Junior Laura Simpson recorded 15 kills, six digs and three block assists. Freshman Tiana Costanzo recorded a career-high 24 digs. She has now collected double figures in digs in seven of eight contests.
The Hawkeyes (4-4, 0-0) will return to action tomorrow when they face North Carolina State. Competition is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the Wisconsin Field House.