Sept. 26, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – The Iowa volleyball team opened the Big Ten season with a 3-0 loss to Purdue Friday evening at the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility.
Iowa fell behind early to begin game one as Purdue jumped out to a 7-2 lead. The Boilermakers continued to control the game and went on to the 30-21 victory. The Hawkeyes registered 12 kills while committing eight errors in 42 attempts for a .095 hitting percentage. Purdue collected 18 kills and committed six errors in 36 attempts for a .333 hitting percentage.
Iowa once again got off to a slow start to begin game one as Purdue took and early 6-2 lead. The Hawkeyes fought back and eventually took the lead at 15-13. Purdue came back claiming four of the next six points and took the lead at 17-15. Iowa once again bounced back, climbing to within a point at 24-23, but the Boilermakers took control winning the final six points for the 30-23 victory. Errors once again proved costly for the Iowa. The Hawkeyes registered 11 kills while committing nine errors in 47 attempts for a .043 hitting percentage. Purdue mustered 19 kills and committed nine errors in 62 attempts for a .161 percentage.
Iowa was unable to game momentum after intermission, posting their lowest point total of the evening in a 30-17 loss to give Purdue the match. The Boilermakers dominated the net with 21 kills compared to Iowa’s 11 and finished with a .421 hitting percentage compared to Iowa’s .176.
As a team Iowa finished the match with 34 kills while committing 22 errors in 123 attempts for a .098 hitting percentage, its second lowest of the season. Purdue collected 58 kills while committing 20 errors in 136 attempts for a .279 hitting percentage. The Hawkeyes were edged in digs with 49 compared to the Boilermakers’ 52 and service aces with two compared to Purdue’s three. Team blocks proved to be a major factor with Purdue collecting 11 compared to Iowa’s four.
Junior Laura Simpson led the Hawkeye attack with 12 kills, three digs, one block and one block assist. Junior Pam Kavadas led the team with 12 digs. Senior Jitka Stehnova collected 28 assists, nine digs and two service aces. Sophomore Echaka Agba posted seven kills and three digs. Freshman April Mech registered five kills, eight digs and two assists. Freshman Tiana Costanzo collected eight digs. Junior Carolyn Giese recorded five kills and four digs.
The Hawkeyes (5-5, 0-1) will return to action tomorrow night when they face Indiana. The Hoosiers pulled off a stunning upset with a 3-0 sweep of 18th-ranked Minnesota earlier this evening. Competition is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. (CT) at the University Gymnasium.