Sept. 5, 2004
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NORMAL, IL – After winning a grueling five-game match on Friday evening, the Hawkeyes had just a night’s rest to get ready for their next match in the Barker GMC Classic. Iowa faced a University of Denver team still looking for their first win of the 2004 season, but they would have to keep waiting as the Hawkeyes won the match 3-0. In the first game, the Pioneers came out to lead 16-11, but mistakes allowed the Hawkeyes to creep back into the match. Iowa trailed 21-15, but three Denver errors in a row brought them to within three points, 22-19. An amazing save by Denver halted the Iowa team for a moment, but Megan Gatens and Laura Simpson teamed up for a double block to pull Iowa within one, 27-26. The Hawkeyes took advantage of two more Pioneer errors to take the 29-27 lead and Simpson finished off the game with a kill to get the 30-28 win. Errors plagued both squads in game two. Midway through, Carolyn Giese tied to score up at 15 and the teams went on to trade points back and forth. Pam Kavadas served an ace after consecutive errors by Denver to give Iowa the lead, 21-19. A Denver time-out worked to stop the Hawkeye momentum, and the errors began to pile up on the Iowa side. The Pioneers pulled ahead 29-28, but a Simpson kill prevented them from the win. With Iowa hanging on 32-31, Kavadas found herself behind the line again and Tiana Costanzo and Giese blocked an errant serve reception to give Iowa the 33-31 victory. Game three was all Iowa as the Hawks pulled out to a 15-8 advantage. A kill by Denver’s Alyssa Hampton and an ace serve made it 16-10, but Iowa continued to pull away. Jacquline Huguelet caught Denver off-guard for an ace to give Iowa a 29-20 advantage and Iowa won their second match of the tournament on a Pioneer hitting error. The final score was 30-20. “Right now we’re excited,” said Iowa head coach Cindy Fredrick. “The girls are excited to be starting the season undefeated at 2-0, and it’s even better getting this victory in three games.” Sophomore outside hitter Tiana Costanzo led the Hawkeyes with 10 kills in 20 attempts. She also added 12 digs for Iowa. Middle blocker Carolyn Giese contributed 9 kills. Pam Kavadas had 17 digs and 2 ace serves for Iowa. Sophomore Chelsey Garrett was credited with 26 assists. Iowa was much more efficient attacking the ball and as a team had a .210 hitting percentage; Denver hit .094 in the match. In the third game, Iowa hit at a .321 clip compared to a -.030 attack percentage by Denver. The Pioneers had six team blocks compared to four blocks by the Hawkeyes. Denver connected for 44 kills out of 127 attempts. Iowa was successful in 36 out of 100 kill attempts. “Right now the girls are doing a good job of staying calm and not getting frustrated if we get behind,” said Fredrick. “We are just going to enjoy this now and hope to keep the momentum going.” Iowa hopes to continue their win streak against the host school, Illinois State, tonight. Illinois State won their first match against Denver on Friday night and take on Wright State this afternoon.