Nov. 22, 2003
EAST LANSING, MI – The Iowa volleyball team lost its 17th conference match of the season Saturday evening in at 3-0 loss to Michigan State at the Jenison Field House.
Michigan State got off to a fast start to being game one with at 4-1 lead. Iowa came back and tied the score at 5-5. The game became a back-and-forth battle with neither team leading by more than a point until the Spartans took a 10-8 lead. Iowa continued to keep things close but Michigan State gained momentum and won the first game, 30-21.
After a tight battle to begin game two, Michigan State once again took the lead with the score, 13-9. Iowa fought back and eventually tied the score at 18-18. The Spartans then posted a 12-5 run to take the second game, 30-23.
Both teams kept things close coming out of intermission with the score tied at 6-6 to begin game three. Michigan State again took control with a 10-2 run to make the score 16-8. Iowa fought back and narrowed the gap, 19-15, but its effort came up short. Michigan State went on to take the third game, 30-23, and claimed the match.
In overall statistics, Iowa registered 38 kills, 36 assists, one service ace, 43 digs and seven total team blocks. Michigan State posted 57 kills, 50 assists, five aces, 35 digs and seven team blocks. The Hawkeyes were out-hit .306-.147.
Junior Laura Simpson led the Hawkeyes with 13 kills, five digs, two solo blocks and one assists. Junior Carolyn Giese and Jacqueline Huguelet each collected six kills. Senior Louise Bates and junior Pam Kavadas each registered 10 digs.
Iowa (6-22, 1-17) will return home to host its final two matches of the season. The Hawkeyes will face Ohio State Friday and Penn State Saturday. Both competitions are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.