Oct. 20, 2007
Evanston, IL – The University of Iowa volleyball team lost at the hands of Northwestern, 3-0, Saturday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Hawkeyes fall to 9-12 overall and 1-9 in Big Ten action.
Sophomore Megan Schipper led the Hawkeyes with 10 kills while freshman Katie Kennedy added nine. Freshman Aimee Huffman put up seven total blocks.
Iowa dropped a tough first game, 31-29. The Hawkeyes held a comfortable lead to start the game, using a 9-4 run to gain a 15-10 lead, but Northwestern managed to knot the score at 16. The Wildcats took a 17-16 lead on the next rally and kept the advantage until Iowa took a 25-24 lead. Northwestern tied the game again at 27, but a Laura Kremer block followed by a Northwestern error gave Iowa game point at 29-27. Northwestern responded with four-straight points to earn the comeback victory.
The Wildcats took a 2-0 match lead with a 30-22 win in game two. Schipper recorded three kills with a .429 hitting percentage in the game, but four early Wildcat blocks set the tone. Iowa used three and a half blocks later in the match to cut the Wildcat lead to six, but couldn’t push ahead.
Northwestern took an early 2-1 lead and never trailed. Iowa fought back with three separate 3-0 runs, one of which was in the middle of a 6-2 surge, to bring the Hawkeyes within four at 23-19. The Wildcats kept the lead and used their own 7-3 run to close the game.
Iowa stormed out to an early 6-1 lead in game three, but Northwestern went on their own 6-1 surge to the game at seven. The Wildcats took a slim, 8-7 lead, but a Schipper kill knotted the score at eight. The game saw ties at nine and 10 before Northwestern took the lead for good at 11-10. The Hawkeyes kept the game within three points until the Wildcats finished the game on an 11-3 run to end the match.
Iowa returns to action Friday against Ohio State. Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
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