Nov. 1, 2003
IOWA CITY, IA – The Iowa volleyball team lost its 12th conference match of the season Saturday evening in a 3-0 loss to 20th-ranked Wisconsin at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
After a close battle to begin game one, the Hawkeyes quickly gained momentum, posting a 9-4 lead. Iowa continued to hold the advantage with an 18-12 lead. The Badgers fought back, posting a 5-0 run to pull within a point. Wisconsin stayed with Iowa and tied things up at 23-23. The Badgers claimed their first lead of the game at 27-26. Iowa was unable to answer as Wisconsin collected the final three points for the 30-26 victory. As a team, Iowa posted 13 kills and 17 digs. The Hawkeyes were edged in hitting percentage, .277-.250. Junior Laura Simpson collected four kills and three digs. Junior Carolyn Giese and freshmen Tiana Costanzo and Jacqueline Huguelet each registered three kills.
The beginning of game two was a hard-fought battle with neither team leading by more than a point until Wisconsin took a 6-4 lead. The game remained close with Wisconsin holding the advantage. Iowa managed to tie things up at 22-22 and took its first lead of the game at 23-22. With the score tied, 26-26, the Badgers claimed the final six points for the 30-26 win. The Hawkeyes and Badgers each collected 17 kills, but Iowa was out-hit .204-.102. Simpson and Giese each collected five kills. Simpson also posted five digs. Senior Jitka Stehnova registered 12 assists and five digs.
After intermission, Wisconsin came out with the momentum, jumping out to a 10-4 lead to force an Iowa timeout. The Hawkeyes slowly crept back and with the score 22-14, Iowa posted a 5-0 run to close the lead, 22-18. Wisconsin continued to hold the lead and went on to take game three, 30-24, to claim the match. Hitting percentage proved to be a factor as Iowa was out-hit .186-.000.
For the match, the Hawkeyes recorded 40 kills, 36 assists, one service ace, 54 digs and five total team blocks. Wisconsin posted 55 kills, 49 assists, five service aces and 52 digs. Iowa was out-hit .223-113.
Simpson finished the match with a team-high 13 kills and season-best 14 digs to record her first double-double of the season. Stehnova posted 28 assists and 12 digs for her seventh double-double of the year. Giese collected 10 kills and two block assists. Costanzo finished with seven kills and eight digs. Huguelet registered six kills and six digs. Junior Pam Kavadas finished with 12 digs. Senior Abby Tjaden led the team with one solo block and two block assists.
Iowa (5-17, 0-12) will travel to Evanston, IL, Friday to face Northwestern. Competition is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Welsh Ryan Arena.