Nov. 28, 2008
- Iowa and the Big Ten Network
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
- Iowa volleyball wallpaper
- Iowa `Volleyblog’
EAST LANSING, MI – The University of Iowa women’s volleyball team ended the 2008 campaign with a hard-fought, four-set loss at Michigan State Friday, 26-28, 25-15, 22-25, 15-25. Iowa ends the season with a 14-18 overall record and a 6-14 mark in Big Ten play.
Despite the loss, Head Coach Sharon Dingman and her staff guided the 2008 Hawkeyes to their most successful season in recent memory. The Hawkeyes recorded the most overall wins (14) and conference wins (six) since the 2000 season. Iowa has also guaranteed itself at least a ninth place finish in the Big Ten, which is the highest finish for a Hawkeye squad since 2000.
Senior Emily Hiza was just two digs shy of tying the all-time career digs record at Iowa, and finished with 22 in the match. Hiza ended her career with 1,929 career digs. Senior Catherine Smale led the Hawkeyes with 18 kills on a .381 attack percentage. Sophomore Katie Kennedy chipped in 10 kills and hit at a .471 clip, and also added seven block assists. Junior Megan Schipper also had 10 kills. Senior Laura Kremer had seven kills, while senior Kiley Fister had a team-best 44 digs.
Iowa dropped an exciting first set, 26-28. The Hawkeyes hit .333 as a team and were led by Smale and Schipper, who had five kills each.
Michigan State jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but the Hawkeyes fought back within one point with a 5-2 run to make the score 6-5. The Spartans then opened up the score with a 6-2 surge for a 12-7 score. Iowa used its first timeout of the frame after Michigan State gained a 16-10 lead. After a Michigan State point made the score 17-10, the Hawkeyes used a massive 11-3 run to take its first lead of the stanza at 21-20. The teams then traded points, with ties at 21, 22 and 23 before a Spartan kill gave them set point at 24-23, and the Hawkeyes used their second timeout. Sophomore Aimee Huffman recorded a kill to tie the score at 24, but another Michigan State point gave them their second set-point chance at 25-24. The Spartans then committed a service error to knot the score at 25. Another Michigan State kill gave the Spartans their third set-point chance, but Smale silenced the crowd with a kill. The Spartans managed two-straight points after the Smale kill to win the set.
Iowa tied the match at one set each with a 25-15 win in the second frame. SMALE, KENNEDY and SCHIPPER each had three kills in the frame, and the Hawkeyes limited the Spartans to a -.045 attack percentage.
Iowa started the second set on fire, opening with an 11-1 run. The Hawkeyes used four Spartan errors, four blocks and three kills in the run. Michigan State managed one point for an 11-2 count, but another 4-0 Hawkeye run made the score 15-2. Michigan State wouldn’t go away quietly, using a 7-2 run for a 17-9 score. Iowa maintained its lead throughout the later portions of the stanza until a Kennedy block gave Iowa set point at 24-14. Michigan State tallied one point for a 24-15 score, but a Michigan State error gave Iowa the set.
Michigan State took an early 6-2 lead in the third set, but Iowa knotted the score at six with a 4-0 run. The set then saw seven ties until Iowa took an 18-16 lead. Michigan State then recorded two-straight points to force a tie at 18. The set was tied at 19 and 20 before Michigan State took a 22-20 lead. The teams traded points until a Michigan State kill brought up set point at 24-22, and a service ace ended the frame.
Iowa fell into an early 9-4 deficit to start the fourth frame and Michigan State followed with a 7-3 surge to take a 16-7 advantage. The Spartans held on to their lead and used a 5-1 run late in the set for a 22-11 lead. Iowa tried to come back with three points to make the count 24-15, but Michigan State held on for the win.
Smale, Kremer, Fister and Hiza played their final match in Black and Gold Friday night. The Hawkeyes will return 14 players for the 2009 season.