Oct. 10, 2003
MADISON, WI – The Iowa women’s volleyball team lost its seventh consecutive match of the season Friday evening, falling to 21st-ranked Wisconsin (3-0) at the Wisconsin Field House. The loss marks the Hawkeyes seventh consecutive sweep.
The beginning of game one proved to be a close battle with the score tied, 4-4. Wisconsin then took control collecting eight of the next nine points to take a 12-6 advantage. The Hawkeyes answered, posting a 5-1 run with kills by freshman Tiana Costanzo, junior Carolyn Giese and senior Jitka Stehnova to close the gap, 13-11. The Badgers once again took control, extending their lead, 22-15. The Hawkeyes posted a 6-1 run to come within two points, but Wisconsin managed to pull away. With the score at 23-21, the Badgers claimed seven of the final 10 points for the 30-24 victory. Simpson led the Hawkeye attack with four kills. Giese, Stehnova and senior Louise Bates each added two.
Iowa began game two with the momentum as it jumped out to a 7-3 lead with three kills by Simpson. The Badgers fought back and tied the score, 9-9. Wisconsin took its first lead, 13-12 and never looked back. Iowa collected only seven more points in the 30-19 loss. Simpson collected five kills. Junior Pam Kavadas added eight digs.
The beginning of game three once again proved to be a back-and-forth battle. With the scored tied, 5-5, the Badgers posted a 5-0 run for the 10-5 lead. Iowa tried to manage a comeback and narrowed the lead, 21-18, but Wisconsin managed to pull away with nine of the final 14 points for the 30-23 victory to claim the match.
Errors once again proved to be the deciding factor for Iowa as the Hawkeyes registered 30 attack errors, one blocking error and two ball-handling errors. Iowa posted 39 kills, 36 assists, 48 digs and eight total team blocks. Wisconsin collected 53 kills, 47 assists 59 digs and 12 team blocks. Iowa was out-hit .252-.067.
For the seventh consecutive match, Simpson led the Hawkeye attack with 14 kills and six digs. Giese added six kills. Kavadas finished with 19 digs. Stehnova narrowly missed a double-double with 32 assists and eight digs. Senior Abby Tjaden collected four kills, one solo block and three block assists. In her first action in three matches, Costanzo posted four kills and six digs. Sophomore Lauren Bruckner added five digs.
The Hawkeyes (5-11, 0-6) will travel to University Park, PA, next Friday to face 11th-ranked Penn State. Competition is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. (CT).