Sept. 12, 2008
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- Iowa `Volleyblog’
AMES, IA – The University of Iowa volleyball team dropped a close match to Iowa State in Hilton Coliseum Friday night, 26-28, 25-27, 24-26. The Hawkeyes had set points in both the first and third frame, but couldn’t hold on to their advantages. Iowa falls to 3-4 overall while Iowa State improves to 6-3 and earns the first two points in the 2008-09 Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series.
“This one hurts,” Head Coach Sharon Dingman said. “It’s hard to ask much more from our players. We were in position to win, especially in sets one and three. They fought hard throughout the match and this was a great volleyball match. Iowa State executed down the stretch and we need to rebound for tomorrow. We need to come back and repeat the effort we had tonight.
Junior Megan Schipper paced the Hawkeyes with 11 kills while sophomore Aimee Huffman added nine kills with a .368 attack percentage. Senior Kiley Fister led the team with 30 assists while senior Emily Hiza had 15 digs. Sophomore Katie Kennedy added five block assists.
Iowa State stole the first set away from Iowa by a 28-26 score. Schipper led the Hawkeyes with four kills while Huffman added three.
After a tie at three, the set stayed within two points, with seven ties and two lead changes until Iowa gained an 11-10 lead of a Kennedy kill. Schipper tallied three kills in the next five rallies to take a 14-12 lead, but a small 3-0 Cyclone run gave Iowa State a 15-14 advantage. Huffman tied the set at 15 with a kill and the frame saw ties at 16, 17 and 18 before a Fister kill and a Kennedy block gave the Hawkeyes a two-point lead at 20-18. Iowa maintained its lead late in the stanza and a Laura Kremer block brought up set point at 24-21. The Cyclones rallied with four-straight points to take a 25-24 lead, forcing a Hawkeye timeout. Smale smoked a kill to tie the score at 25, but Iowa State responded to bring up another set point at 26-25. Kremer tied the score once again at 26, but the Cyclones managed to record two kills to complete the comeback.
Iowa dropped the second set by another close score, 27-25. Huffman and Schipper each had four kills while Schipper hit at a .444 clip.
Iowa State grabbed an early 5-1 lead and maintained the advantage, taking a 16-10 lead later in the set. The Hawkeyes then used a 7-2 run to bring the score within one at 18-17, but a 3-0 Cyclone surge made the score 21-17. Iowa responded with its own 3-0 run to make the score 21-20 in favor of Iowa State, but the Cyclones saw its first set point opportunity at 24-21. Yet another 3-0 Hawkeye run, capped by a Schipper service ace, tied the score for the first time in the frame at 24. Iowa State earned another set point at 25-24, but a Huffman kill knotted the score at 25. The Cyclones were able to score points in the final two rallies to sneak out its second-straight nail-biting win.
Iowa State closed the set with a 26-24 win. The frame opened close, with ties at one, two, three, four and five before a 6-1 Cyclone run prompted an Iowa timeout at 11-6. Iowa came out firing after the pause, using a 7-1 run to take a 13-12 lead and the Cyclones used their first timeout of the set. The Cyclones also responded well after their timeout with a 4-0 run to take a three point lead at 16-13. Fister then powered Iowa with excellent serving through a 6-0 surge to help Iowa regain the lead at 19-16. The Hawkeyes kept their lead, using kills from Schipper and Smale along with blocks from Kremer and Kennedy to take a 23-19 lead. Two-straight Cyclone points brought Iowa State within two at 23-20, but a Cyclone service error gave Iowa its first set point at 24-21. Iowa State once again finished strong, using a 5-0 run to close the set and match.
Iowa will wrap up action at the Iowa State Tournament Saturday when it faces Xavier (10 a.m.) and Drake (4:30 p.m.). Live stats can be found at cyclones.com.