Oct. 17, 2003
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – The Iowa women’s volleyball team lost its eighth consecutive match of the season Friday evening in a 3-0 loss to 13th-ranked Penn State at Rec Hall. The loss marks the Hawkeyes’ eighth consecutive sweep and seventh conference loss.
Penn State dominated the beginning of game one, pulling out to a 10-1 lead. The Hawkeyes were unable to gain momentum as they posted their second lowest point total of the season in the 30-14 loss. Iowa registered nine kills and committed 13 attack errors in 43 attempts to hit at a -.093 clip. Penn State posted 14 kills and committed only one error.
The Nittany Lions also took control of the beginning of game two, jumping out to a 7-1 lead. The Hawkeyes came back, closing the gap, 11-8, with kills by senior Abby Tjaden, juniors Laura Simpson and Carolyn Giese and freshmen Meredith Stach. That proved to be the closet the Hawkeyes could come as Penn State held a steady lead of five points or better and went on to win game two, 30-23. Iowa put together its best hitting performance of the evening, posting 17 kills while committing eight errors in 37 attempts to hit at a .243 clip.
The Hawkeyes came out of intermission with some momentum, preventing Penn State from pulling ahead early in game three. The game proved to be a fierce back-and-forth battle with neither team holding more than a point advantage until the Nittany Lions took a 15-13 lead. Errors once again proved costly for the Hawkeyes as Iowa committed six during a 15-6 Penn State run to end the game, 30-19, clinching the match for the Nittany Lions.
As a team Iowa registered 36 kills, 34 assists, three service aces, 35 digs and seven total team blocks. Penn State posted 49 kills, 48 assists, six service aces, 45 digs and 12 team blocks. The Hawkeyes hit at a season-low .050 clip. Penn State registered a .369 hitting percentage. Errors were a major factor as Iowa posted a total of 48.
Giese led the Hawkeyes with 14 kills, and four block assists. Simpson collected seven kills, four digs and three block assists. Tjaden and freshman Tiana Costanzo each tallied six kills. Junior Pam Kavadas led Iowa with 10 digs.
The Hawkeyes (5-12, 0-7) will travel to Columbus, OH, Sunday for a match at Ohio State. Competition is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. (CT) at St. John Arena.