Oct. 3, 2008
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- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
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- Iowa `Volleyblog’
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – The University of Iowa volleyball team dropped a hard-fought, three-set match at Purdue Friday night, 22-25, 23-25, 22-25. The loss snapped Iowa’s seven-match winning streak and dropped the Hawkeyes’ record to 10-5 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten.
“We put ourselves in a good position to win every set,” Head Coach Sharon Dingman said. “We just couldn’t come through with our execution. Give credit to Purdue, especially its blocking, but we need to hit better. Our team did battle when they got down and played some pretty good volleyball. We just need to minimize some errors tomorrow night.”
Senior Catherine Smale led the Hawkeyes with 13 kills, while junior Megan Schipper tallied a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs. Senior Kiley Fister had a team-high 29 assists.
The match didn’t lack intensity at the start, with Purdue coming away with a 25-22 win. The first set saw 13 ties and seven lead changes, with the score never separating by more than four points. Smale, sophomore Aimee Huffman and Schipper each had four kills in the frame.
Iowa stormed out to an early 5-1 lead, but Purdue bounced back to the score at six. The set saw five more ties with both teams never gaining more than a point advantage until a Purdue error gave the Hawkeyes a 15-13 lead. The Boilermakers fought back and forced six more ties until taking the lead for good at 21-20. Purdue later brought up set point at 24-21 and eventually went up 1-0 in the match with a 25-22 win.
Purdue managed to escape the second set with a 25-23 win. Smale led the Hawkeyes with seven kills and a .500 attack percentage, while Schipper had five kills.
The teams traded points at the start before the Boilermakers took a 5-4 lead. Purdue stretched its lead to 10-6, forcing a Hawkeye timeout. Iowa came out strong after the break and kept the score close until a 5-0 run, capped by a Laura Kremer kill, gave the Hawkeyes a 16-15 advantage. Purdue then took a 20-17 lead on the heels of a 5-1 run, but the Hawkeyes responded with their own 6-3 surge to knot the count at 23. The Boilermakers managed to score two points in the next two rallies, however, to close out the set.
Purdue wrapped up the match with a 25-22 win in the third set. The third stanza was an exciting end to a close match, with eight ties and four lead changes.
The third set also started close, with ties at three, five, seven, eight, nine and 10 before a 6-2 Boilermaker run gave Purdue a 16-12 lead. Iowa kept things close, bringing the score within two at 16-14. Later, with the score at 18-14, the Hawkeyes put together a 5-0 surge to gain a 19-18 lead. Purdue then used its own 4-0 run to take a 22-19 lead and later gained match point at 24-20. Iowa made things interesting, using two Purdue errors to come within two points at 24-22, but a Boilermaker point ended the match.
Iowa will face 19th-ranked Illinois Saturday at 7 p.m. in Champaign.