Top Ranked Penn State Sweeps Iowa

Stats

Nov. 1, 2008

Box Score

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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – The University of Iowa volleyball team was defeated by No. 1 ranked Penn State Saturday, 16-25, 13-25, 16-25. Iowa falls to 13-11 overall and 5-7 in Big Ten action. Penn State remains undefeated at 24-0 and still has not lost a set this season, winning 72-straight frames.

Junior Megan Schipper led the Hawkeyes with 11 kills, with senior Catherine Smale adding six. Sophomore Mara Hilgenberg had a team-best 15 assists and senior Kiley Fister chipped in eight. Senior libero Emily Hiza had a team-high nine digs.

Iowa dropped the first set by a 25-16 score. Schipper had six kills in the frame to lead the Hawkeyes.

Penn State jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, but the Hawkeyes battled to within one point at 6-5. Penn State then used a 5-1 run to gain an 11-6 advantage. Later in the set, Iowa took kills from Schipper and sophomore Becky Walters along with a double block from Schipper and senior Laura Kremer for a 13-10 deficit. Penn State then opened up a 19-12 lead, and held on to take the first stanza.

Penn State took the second set, 25-13. The Nittany Lions hit .517 en route to the set win.

The Nittany Lions took a 3-0 lead to start the second set, but two Penn State errors made the count 3-2. Penn State then used a 3-0 run for a 6-2 lead and stretched the advantage to 10-5. Iowa battled back with a 5-2 run for a 12-10 score, but a 6-2 run by the home team forced a Hawkeye timeout at 18-12. Penn State closed the set with a 5-0 run to take a 2-0 match lead.

Penn State completed the sweep with a 25-16 win in the third set. Smale and Schipper each had three kills in the stanza.

Iowa took its first lead of the match off a Walters kill to start the third set. Penn State quickly regained the lead with four-straight points to ignite a 5-1 run. The Nittany Lions later used a 4-0 surge to take a 13-5 lead. The teams traded points for a 15-8 score, but a 5-0 Penn State run made the count 20-8. The Hawkeyes wouldn’t go away quietly, putting together a 4-1 run for a 21-12 score. Iowa battled back late with three points in four rallies for a 24-15 score, but a Penn State kill ended the match.

The Hawkeyes return home to face nationally-ranked Illinois Friday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.