Sept. 6, 2003
AMES, IA – The Iowa volleyball team concluded competition at the Cyclone Challenge Saturday afternoon with a 3-2 loss to Kentucky and a 3-0 sweep of Western Illinois in Hilton Coliseum. The Wildcats were crowned champion of the challenge and host Iowa State finished runner-up. Iowa began the day with a close game one against the Wildcats. After a back-and-forth battle, Kentucky managed to pull away for the 30-26 win. Iowa registered 14 kills while committing only three errors for a .333 hitting percentage. The Wildcats recorded 22 kills with six errors for a commanding .421 hitting percentage.
Game two once again proved to be a fierce battle. The Hawkeyes managed to pull away at the end for the 30-28 win. Iowa again recorded 14 kills and committed five errors. Kentucky tallied 13 kills and nine errors for a .118 hitting percentage. After intermission Iowa once again took the advantage with a 30-27 win in game three to take the match lead at 2-1. The Hawkeyes registered 16 kills and four errors for a .273 hitting percentage. Errors proved costly for the Wildcats as they finished the game with a .075 hitting percentage (14-11-40).
The Hawkeyes lost momentum in game four as Kentucky cruised to a 30-22 win. The Wildcats doubled Iowa in kills with 18 compared to Iowa’s nine. With the fifth and final game on the line, Iowa mistakes proved costly as the Hawkeyes registered seven kills and four errors. Kentucky tallied eight kills and committed no errors en route to the 15-9 win to claim the match.
As a team Iowa recorded 60 kills, 41 digs and nine total team blocks compared to Kentucky’s 75 kills, 59 digs and 10 team blocks. The Wildcats also held the advantage with 12 service aces compared to Iowa’s three.
Junior Laura Simpson led the Iowa attack with 18 kills, two service aces and four digs. Junior Carolyn Giese recorded 13 kills and five block assists. Senior Louise Bates tallied career-highs with seven kills and five block assists. Senior Jitka Stehnova narrowly missed her fifth double-double of the season with eight kills, 43 assists and seven digs. Junior Pam Kavadas and freshman Tiana Costanzo each recorded 10 digs. Freshman Chelsey Garrett saw her first Hawkeye action and recorded 1 block assist.
The Hawkeyes finished the Cyclone Challenge in style with a decisive 3-0 win over Western Illinois. Iowa doubled the Westerwinds in kills with 18 compared to Western Illinois’ nine in a 30-17 game one win.
The Hawkeyes played one of their best games of the tournament in game two. Iowa registered 18 kills while committing no errors for a .450 hitting percentage. Errors proved costly for the Westerwinds as they recorded eight kills and eight errors for a .000 hitting percentage. The Hawkeyes went on to win game two, 30-16.
After intermission, Iowa once again came out and dominated, defeating Western Illinois 30-21 to win the match. The Hawkeyes posted 22 kills in the final game, its highest game total of the tournament.
As a team, Iowa recorded 58 kills, 63 digs and eight total team blocks compared to Western Illinois’ 28 kills, 37 digs and two blocks. The Hawkeyes dominated with a .378 hitting percentage (58-13-119) compared to the Westerwinds .085 (28-18-117).
Simpson once again led the Hawkeyes with 20 kills and only three errors in 35 total attempts for a season-high .486 hitting percentage. Simpson was the only Hawkeye to be named to the all-tournament team. Bates recorded a career-high 16 digs. Stehnova recorded her fifth double-double in six matches with 40 assists and 12 digs. Giese registered 10 kills, fours digs and three block assists. Costanzo tallied 10 kills. Kavadas recorded nine digs. She now has 649 career digs, moving her to 20th in Iowa’s all-time records, surpassing Ginger Lorentson and Staci Morley (647).
The Hawkeyes will return to action Tuesday when they travel to Des Moines, IA, to face intrastate rival Drake. Competition is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the Drake Knapp Center.
Iowa-Kentucky Box Score in PDF Format
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Iowa-Western Illinois Box Score in PDF Format
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