Oct. 4, 2003
IOWA CITY, IA – The Iowa volleyball team dropped its fifth consecutive match and fourth conference match of the season Saturday evening in a 3-0 loss to Northwestern at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The loss marks Iowa’s fifth consecutive sweep.
The beginning of game one proved to be a close battle. With the scored tied, 11-11, The Wildcats took a commanding lead and claimed 19 of the final 24 points for the 30-16 win. The Hawkeyes registered 10 kills and posted a hitting percentage of .086. Northwestern collected 19 kills and finished the game hitting at a .419 clip.
Iowa jumped out to a fast start to begin game two, taking a 7-4 lead. Northwestern fought back, tying the score at 8-8. The Wildcats then took control and never looked back as they defeated Iowa 30-19. The Hawkeyes posted a match-low nine kills and committed seven errors for a .049 hitting percentage. The Wildcats collected 19 kills and committed only five errors for a .333 hitting percentage.
After intermission, the beginning of game three proved to be a tight battle with the score tied 6-6. Northwestern once again managed to pull away, taking a 17-13 lead. The Hawkeyes managed a comeback, closing the gap, 22-20, but their effort came up short as Northwestern collected eight of the final 10 points for the 30-20 victory to claim the match. Hitting percentage and errors continued to be a problem for the Hawkeyes as they registered 32 kills while committing 24 attack errors to hit at a .062 clip. Iowa also registered four service errors, one blocking error and three ball handling errors. The Hawkeyes posted 29 assists, two service aces, 39 digs and five team blocks. The Wildcats recorded 53 kills and committed 16 attacking errors to hit at a .308 clip. Northwestern collected 50 assists, six service aces, 60 digs and 8.5 team blocks.
Junior Laura Simpson led the Hawkeyes with 11 kills. Junior Carolyn Giese collected 10 kills. Junior Pam Kavadas led Iowa with 12 digs. Senior Abby Tjaden collected four block assists. Sophomore Alexa Lingris recorded career highs with one service ace and nine digs.
Iowa (5-9, 0-4) will return to action Wednesday evening when it hosts Minnesota. Competition is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Admission is $3.