Iowa wins final two matches of the Hawkeye-Holiday Inn Challenge

Sept. 18, 2004

Final Stats

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The Hawkeye volleyball team bounced back from a disappointing loss last night to win their last two matches of the Hawkeye-Holiday Inn Challenge. Iowa swept their final opponents in three games each. The Hawks defeated Furman 30-20, 30-24, and 30-14 and downed Chicago State 30-27, 30-23, and 30-20.

Iowa struggled in the serving column earlier in the tournament, but against the Furman Paladins they found their groove behind the line. Iowa served 11 aces in the match, including five by Justeen Patton and three by Pam Kavadas.

The Hawkeyes dominated the first game against Furman, jumping out to a 14-8 lead on two consecutive kills by Tiana Costanzo. The Paladins managed to score a few points, but Patton closed the game with two ace serves to give the Hawkeyes the 30-20 victory.

In the second game, Iowa was ahead 17-11 when Furman made a small run. The Paladins earned a side-out on an attacking error by Iowa and then scored three points on kills to close the gap to 17-15. Carolyn Giese stopped the effort with a kill. Iowa went on another roll, with Patton serving four points to a 25-17 advantage. Iowa was forced to call a time-out when Furman came back to 26-21, but the Hawkeyes eventually won 30-24.

Iowa controlled game three from the start with Lauren Bruckner serving three points right away. Iowa then built up a double-digit lead, 17-7, on a Paladin service error. The squads traded points from there on, but the large advantage was too much for Furman to overcome. Kavadas served two aces in a row to end the game, 30-14.

Costanzo, battling an illness, led Iowa with 12 kills and Giese contributed ten at a .444 clip. Patton had 29 assists and five ace serves to go along with six digs. Kavadas was the overall dig leader for Iowa with 16.

In the final match of the tournament, the Hawkeyes took on Chicago State. Iowa pulled ahead to a 17-11 lead in game one, but the Cougars crept back into the game on several Iowa hitting errors. Iowa again went ahead 23-18 when Chicago State came alive and tied the game up at 27-27. Giese slammed a kill to give Iowa the side-out and the Hawks earned the 30-27 victory on an attacking error by the Cougars.

The second game was similar to the first with the Hawks jumping out to a 21-12 lead and Chicago State charging back into the game. The Cougars were able to get as close as 26-22 when Kavadas went behind the line for three points to put Iowa on top 29-22. The Hawks won 30-23 on a service error by Stacey Cole.

Iowa got down to business in the final game of the match after the Chicago State took a 15-14 lead. Patton served four points for Iowa to go ahead 19-14. Later, with Iowa on top 24-19, Jacqueline Huguelet served five straight points before Chicago State earned a side-out. The Cougars handed the 30-20 victory to Iowa on an attacking error.

Huguelet and Vitali each had 11 kills in the match. Laura Simpson was part of seven blocks. Patton connected for 31 assists and also was credited with one solo block and one assisted block. Kavadas had 18 digs and Huguelet and Bruckner each had 10 digs, as well. The Hawkeyes had 13 team blocks compared to just three by the Cougars.

“Tonight our passing was good and that’s why Justeen was able to do a lot of things and set a lot of people. Lauren and Pam also did a good job of passing,” said Fredrick. “Our blocking was also very good tonight.”

“I was very confident in our hitters this weekend,” said Patton. “That’s huge for a setter to be able to set anyone and know that the ball is going to go down. “

Patton and Vitali made the All-Tournament team for the Hawkeyes. Eastern Washington’s Lizzy Mellor was the MVP and was joined by teammate Keva Sonderen. Furman’s Whitney Purser and Ally Hock and Chicago State’s Stacey Cole rounded out the tournament team.

Iowa begins the Big Ten conference schedule next week, hosting Michigan on Friday, September 24, and Michigan State on Saturday. Both matches are slated for a 7 p.m. start time.