Oct. 15, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – The University of Iowa volleyball team fell to the No. 21 Purdue Boilermakers, 3-0, Saturday night in West Lafayette, IN. Iowa (13-8, 3-5) fell by scores of 30-25, 30-23, 30-23.
Things started off well for the Hawkeyes in game one, who raced out to a 4-1 lead and held it most of the game. A Catherine Smale kill gave Iowa a 23-21 lead, but the Boilermakers rattled off four-straight points in taking their first lead of the game. Smale cut the lead to one at 25-26 with a kill, but it was as close as the Hawkeyes would get, as the Boilermakers ended the game with three straight kills. Purdue finished game one hitting a robust .359, while the Hawkeyes hit just .147.
In game two, Purdue jumped out to an early lead before the Hawkeyes clawed back to tie things up with a block by Megan Gatens and Stacy Vitali, then took a 15-14 lead on a block from Vitali and Melanie Meister. The Boilermakers came back with five-consecutive points to take a lead they would not relinquish. Iowa managed to fight off a pair of game points before finally succumbing 30-23.
After breaking an early 5-5 tie, Purdue controlled the game the rest of the way en route to taking the match 3-0. A Laura Kremer kill combined with an Purdue attack error managed to cut the lead to three at 26-23, but it was as close as the Hawkeyes would get, as the Boilermakers scored four straight to end the match.
Vitali, who was playing against her sister Sarah – a senior with Purdue, led the Hawkeye attack with 12 kills. She and sophomore Megan Gatens had a team-best .500 attack percentage.
The Hawkeyes return to action Friday when they host the No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions. The match is set for 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
MATCH SUMMARYIOWA 25 23 23No. 21 Purdue 30 30 30