Nov. 5, 2004
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The Iowa volleyball team (9-16, 1-12) was defeated by seventh-ranked Ohio State (22-1, 12-1) tonight in three games. The Buckeyes won their second match over the Hawkeyes this season with scores of 30-22, 30-20, and 30-18.
“I would say that Ohio State is the best in the Big Ten right now. They have a quick offense, and they consistently perform very well. No one else has a Stacey Gordon; she’s phenomenal,” said Iowa Coach Cindy Fredrick.
The Hawkeyes stayed close for much of the first game, and took advantage of several Ohio State hitting errors to lead 8-5. Stacey Gordon tied the game up at 9-9 with a kill and then the Buckeyes rolled to a 15-10 lead. Down just 17-14, Iowa committed three unforced errors in a row and Ohio State’s Danielle Meyer slammed home a kill to give her squad a 21-14 lead. The Buckeyes won the game on a hitting error by Jacqueline Huguelet.
Carolyn Giese and Tiana Costanzo each had four kills to pace the Hawkeyes. Iowa had a .159 attacking percentage in the first game compared to .304 by Ohio State.
The Buckeyes had control of game two from the start. Giese had a kill to tie the game at three points apiece, but Ohio State followed with four kills in a row to take a 7-3 lead. The Hawkeyes went on a few runs throughout the game, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Buckeyes from winning, 30-20.
Stacy Vitali, seeing her first action in two weeks, led Iowa with six kills. Justeen Patton connected for 11 assists. The Hawkeyes had a .275 hitting percentage. Iowa had two team blocks compared to just one by Ohio State in the second game.
Iowa struggled offensively in the final game of the match. Ohio State again jumped out to an early lead, and led the rest of the game. Unforced errors plagued both teams, but the Buckeyes went on to win 30-18. Stacy Vitali led the Hawks with ten kills on the night and Carolyn Giese was next with nine. Justeen Patton had 29 assists and five kills. Pam Kavadas led all players with 22 digs.
Stacey Gordon had 21 kills for Ohio State and led her team with 14 digs. Setter Marisa Main was credited with 34 assists.
The Hawkeyes hit at a .122 clip for the match compared to a .352 hitting percentage by the Buckeyes. Ohio State had 5.5 blocks and Iowa had two. Ohio State also had three service errors compared to two aces by Iowa.
“We did some good things tonight. Our offense looked good in the first game and we transitioned well in the first two games. However, we continue to have trouble with consistent setting,” said Fredrick. “Right now the tough thing for us is trying to get people back on the court. It was nice to see Stacy Vitali back and to have Laura Simpson playing, too. They’re both at about 60 percent right now. Hopefully, Chelsey Garrett will be able to play next week and then we’ll just pray that our bad luck is over.”
Iowa hosts sixth-ranked Penn State tomorrow night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The match will begin at 7:30 p.m. because of the Iowa-Purdue football game in the afternoon.