Oct. 30, 2004
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The Iowa volleyball team (9-15, 1-11) fell to Northwestern (8-12, 3-7) in Big Ten play here tonight. The Hawkeyes continue to struggle with self-inflicted errors and dropped the match in three games (30-23, 30-28, 30-16).
In game one, the Hawkeyes capitalized on a Wildcat serving error to earn a sideout and Carolyn Giese immediately followed with an ace to put Iowa up 6-3. Later, the Hawkeyes found themselves down 15-12, when Megan Gatens earned a kill from the outside. Iowa continued to keep the match close, and trailed just 24-20, when the Wildcats went on a roll. With Northwestern ahead 29-23, senior Laura Simpson came up with a big kill to earn a sideout, but Iowa ended up losing the game, 30-24, on a hitting error.
Iowa connected for just 12 kills in the first game for a .136 hitting percentage. Giese, Simpson, and Gatens each had three kills for Iowa.
The Hawkeyes managed to overcome the Wildcats’ momentum in game two to lead 11-10. Northwestern later went up 15-14, when senior Carolyn Giese saw a gaping hole in the front line for a tip, and Lauren Bruckner served for several points to put Iowa back on top 17-15. The two squads then went back and forth, with Northwestern eventually earning a 24-11 advantage. Iowa came back to tie the game, 26-26, when Northwestern clawed their way out to a 29-27 lead. Iowa earned a sideout and was serving, 29-28, but lost the game when Leah Delcourt hit an errant pass by the Hawks.
The Hawks hit much better in game two with a team attacking percentage of .256. However, serving continued to be a problem with Iowa committing three service errors in the game, as well as two miscues on serve receive.
Game three saw the Wildcats jump out to a 14-7 lead, which turned out to be impossible for the Hawkeyes to overcome. Trailing 20-12, Meredith Stach won a battle at the net to earn a sideout, but Northwestern came right back with a kill. The Wildcats weren’t about to let the Hawks spoil their homecoming with a come-back victory and went on to win easily, 30-16.
Carolyn Giese led the Hawkeyes with 11 kills and had a .240 hitting percentage. Laura Simpson and Megan Gatens each had six kills, as well. Justeen Patton connected for 29 assists. Pam Kavadas had 19 digs for Iowa to go along with two ace serves. Lauren Bruckner also had two aces and Giese had one.
Iowa had 5.5 team blocks to seven total blocks by Northwestern. The Hawkeyes finished the match with a .129 attacking percentage, which was lowered by a -.030 hitting percentage in the final game of the match. Northwestern finished with a .312 hitting percentage and was led by Lindsay Anderson with 20 kills.
“It’s just disappointing right now,” said Coach Cindy Fredrick. “We’re really not giving ourselves a chance to win right now. We’re not taking care of the small things or the big things, which takes away our chances of winning.”
Iowa continues Big Ten play next week at home against Ohio State and Penn State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes face the Buckeyes at 7 p.m. on Friday night and will take on the Nittany Lions at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.