Aug. 26, 2006
IOWA CITY – In front of a wild, record-sized crowd, the Iowa volleyball team dropped their first match of the year to in-state rival Iowa State, 3-2, Saturday night in the final game of the Hawkeye Challenge. The Cyclones took the first round of the Hy Vee CyHawk Series by scores of 28-30, 26-30, 30-25, 30-22 and 15-5.
A school volleyball record 1,690 people turned out to support the Hawkeyes in North Carver.
“It was a really great crowd tonight,” Iowa Head Coach Cindy Fredrick said. “Anytime you get Iowa and Iowa State in the same building, you know the fans are going to come out.”
The Hawkeyes gave the fans a lot to cheer about early, taking the first two games and putting visions of a sweep in the minds of the Black and Gold fans.
Iowa State had other plans, however, and battled back to take the next two games and force a decisive game five. The Cyclones left no doubt in the final game, jumping out to an early lead and coasting to the win.
“In the first two games, I thought we passed really well and got some really strong play out of our middle hitters,” Fredrick said. “In game three, Iowa State made some adjustments and really clamped down in the middle, forcing our outside hitters to try and pick up the slack.”
Senior middle blocker Melanie Meister, who represented Iowa on the all-tournament team with Kiley Fister and Jen Barcus, had a team-best 15 kills. She hit at a .279 clip and added seven blocks. Barcus and Tiana Costanzo each had 12 kills.
For the Cyclones, Katie Jessen led all players with 25 kills and was named Hawkeye Challenge MVP. Teammates Erin Boeve and Katie Churm, along with Drake’s Liz McNulty were also named to the all-tournament team.
The Hawkeyes will return to action next weekend at the Bluejay Invitational in Omaha, NE.
MATCH SUMMARYIowa State 28 26 30 30 15IOWA 30 30 25 22 5