Iowa Blocked by Michigan State

Nov. 24, 2006

Box Score

IOWA CITY – The University of Iowa volleyball team was defeated by the Michigan State Spartans (30-24, 30-20 and 30-26) Friday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa falls to 13-18 (2-17), while Michigan State ups its record to 19-11 (10-10).

The match was decided at the net, where the Spartans out-blocked the Hawkeyes 15.5 (5 solo, 21 assist) to nine (1 solo, 16 assist).

The Hawkeye attack was led by sophomore Catherine Smale, who had a team-best 11 kills. Senior Jen Barcus recorded eight kills, while freshman Alicia Johnson added six.

On defense, sophomore libero Emily Hiza posted a team-best 16 digs.

The Spartans were led by Katie Johnson (16 kills) and Ashley Schatzle (15 kills).

In game one, the Michigan State attack was relentless, as they out-hit the Hawkeyes .484 to .216. Iowa managed to keep things interesting, however, and the game featured six lead changes and nine ties early on. Trailing 14-12, the Hawkeyes rattled off four straight points on a pair of Barcus kills, followed by one each from Johnson and Schipper to take a 16-14 advantage. Unfortunately for Iowa, Michigan State then took 12 of the next 14 points to build a commanding lead they wouldn’t give up.

In game two, the Iowa offense struggled with errors (13) and hit -.055 after jumping out to an early 4-1 lead. The Spartans quickly rebounded to take a 8-5 lead, only to have Iowa jump right back into things and tie the game at 11-11. Michigan State caught fire after that pulling away before scoring nine of the last 10 points to end the game at 30-20.

Game three was closer, with the teams staying neck-and-neck through the first 20 points. A Spartan blocking error gave Iowa a 20-20 tie, but Michigan State came back with four straight to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The Hawkeyes fought off a pair of match points before a Katie Johnson kill ended things.

Iowa will wrap up its 2006 season tomorrow night with a match against Michigan. First serve will cross the net at 7:30 p.m.

MATCH SUMMARYMichigan State 30 30 30IOWA 24 20 26