Hawkeyes Drop Tough Match At No. 20 Michigan

Stats

Oct. 24, 2008

Box Score

ANN ARBOR, MI – The University of Iowa volleyball team lost a hard-fought, three-set match at No. 20 Michigan Friday, 24-26, 18-25, 23-25. The Hawkeyes fall to 12-9 overall and 4-5 in the Big Ten. The 20th-ranked Wolverines move to 17-4 overall and 5-4 in Big Ten action.

“We just made too many errors tonight,” Head Coach Sharon Dingman said. “We could have folded pretty easily tonight, but we are proud of how the team fought back numerous times. You need to fight hard on the road, and at times we sure did tonight. Michigan settled down and played great volleyball, especially in the second set. We have a day off now (Saturday), and we need to re-group and go back out hungry.”

Junior Megan Schipper led the team with 11 kills, while sophomore Aimee Huffman had 10 kills on 20 swings with only one error (.450 attack percentage). Senior Kiley Fister had a team-high 30 assists and senior Emily Hiza added 11 digs. Sophomore Katie Kennedy chipped in six total blocks (one solo, five assists) and Schipper added four.

Michigan escaped the first set with a 26-24 win. Huffman led the Hawkeyes with six kills on 10 swings with no errors (.600 attack percentage), while Schipper had five kills and three block assists. Kennedy added four block assists. Iowa did not commit a service error during the entire set.

Iowa took an early 2-0 lead and kept between a one and three point lead until a 3-0 run gave Iowa a 15-10 advantage, forcing a Michigan timeout. The Wolverines responded after the break with their own 4-0 run to come within one point at 15-14, and the Hawkeyes used their first timeout. The Hawkeyes regained a two-point lead off a Laura Kremer kill, but two-straight Wolverine points knotted the score at 16. The set saw another tie at 17 before Michigan took its first lead at 18-17. Two more Wolverine points gave Michigan a 20-17 lead, forcing Iowa to take its second and final timeout of the frame. Another Michigan point capped a 5-0 Wolverine run, making the score 21-17. Iowa battled back, using a 5-1 surge to tie the score at 22. Michigan managed two-straight points for its first set point at 24-22, but the Hawkeyes tallied two-consecutive points off a kill from Huffman and a block from Catherine Smale for a tie at 24. The Wolverines then scored two-straight points to escape with the win.

Iowa fell behind 2-0 in the match after Michigan won the second set, 25-18. Huffman hit at a .750 clip in the stanza after recording three kills on four swings without an error.

Michigan grabbed an early 8-5 lead, but Iowa kept things close as the teams traded points for 11-straight rallies. The Wolverines then scored two-straight points for a 15-11 lead. Michigan stretched its advantage to 17-12 before a service error gave Iowa a point back at 17-13. Five more Michigan points in the next seven rallies made the score 22-15, forcing Iowa to take its second timeout. Michigan held on to the lead and took a 2-0 match lead into the locker room.

Iowa fought hard in the third set, but fell 25-23. Schipper collected six kills to lead the team in the final set.

After a tie at one, Michigan went on a 6-1 run to take a 7-2 lead. The Wolverines later used a 6-1 run for a 14-7 advantage, and the Hawkeyes took a timeout. The Hawkeyes responded after the break, using a 4-0 run to come within three at 14-11. Michigan regained a five point lead later at 16-11, but Schipper sparked another 4-0 Iowa surge with two kills and a block to cut the deficit to one at 16-15. Hiza served her second ace of the frame to keep the run going at 5-0, knotting the score at 16. The set stayed close, with ties at 17, 18, 19 and 20 before a Kennedy kill gave Iowa its first lead of the frame at 21-20. Michigan then forced ties at 22 and 23 before two-straight Wolverine points ended the match.

Iowa’s next match will be Sunday when it takes on Ohio State in Columbus. First serve is set for 1 p.m. (CT).