%20--%3e%3csvg%20xmlns:inkpad='http://taptrix.com/inkpad/svg_extensions'%20height='231pt'%20xmlns:xlink='http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='796pt'%20version='1.1'%20viewBox='0,0,796,231'%3e%3cdefs/%3e%3cg%20id='Untitled'%20inkpad:layerName='Untitled'%3e%3cpath%20d='M102.252+48.3067L83.5399+48.3067L83.5399+182.202L102.252+182.202L102.252+230.822L-0.0490809+230.822L-0.0490809+182.202L18.6626+182.202L18.6626+48.3067L-0.0490809+48.3067L-0.0490809+0.300613L102.252+0.300613L102.252+48.3067ZM239.828+230.822L165.748+230.822C138.908+230.822+121.27+213.184+121.27+184.35L121.27+46.773C121.27+18.092+139.215+0.300602+165.748+0.300602L239.828+0.300602C266.669+0.300602+284.307+18.2454+284.307+46.773L284.307+184.35C284.307+213.031+266.362+230.822+239.828+230.822ZM218.816+182.356L218.816+48.4601L186.607+48.4601L186.607+182.356L218.816+182.356ZM313.448+48.3067L297.037+48.3067L297.037+0.300613L394.123+0.300613L394.123+48.6135L375.718+48.6135L392.282+159.503L426.945+0.300613L476.025+0.300613L512.834+159.503L526.178+48.6135L509.307+48.6135L509.307+0.300613L605.166+0.300613L605.166+48.6135L589.368+48.6135L560.534+231.129L482.313+231.129L451.945+95.0859L420.963+230.822L345.81+230.822L313.448+48.3067ZM588.141+182.356L605.779+182.356L640.902+0.300613L745.656+0.300613L780.166+182.356L796.577+182.356L796.577+230.975L718.356+230.975L710.994+174.687L672.19+174.687L665.288+230.975L588.601+230.975L588.141+182.356L588.141+182.356ZM706.853+132.509L691.975+39.4111L676.638+132.509L706.853+132.509Z'%20opacity='1'%20fill='%23ffcd00'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
Aug. 29, 2009
Chicago, IL – The University of Iowa volleyball team opened up the 2009 season with a dominating 3-0 win over host Loyola-Chicago in the Loyola Invitational tonight. The Hawkeyes won their season opener for the second straight year under Head Coach Sharon Dingman.
“It’s great to start the season with a win,” said Dingman. “I thought our ball handling was very strong. We dug well and we passed well. There are some things we need to improve on, but we had a strong effort overall. Aimee (Huffman), Becky (Walters) and (Megan) Schipper played great at the net tonight.”
Iowa took the first set 25-9 behind four kills apiece from Schipper and Walters. Huffman added three kills and three blocks in a set the Hawkeyes never trailed.
Iowa came out firing on all cylinders to take a 4-0 lead. Loyola-Chicago got on the board after a Hawkeye error, but Iowa bounced back with the next three points to take an early 7-1 advantage. After Loyola closed the gap to 9-5, Iowa rallied for the next nine points to take a commanding 18-5 lead. The teams then exchanged points before Iowa closed the set on a 5-0 run.
Iowa grabbed a 2-0 match lead with a 25-19 victory in the second set. Schipper and Huffman tallied four more kills each and junior Mara Hilgenberg contributed with 12 assists for the second straight set.
Iowa trailed early, 2-3, but used a 4-0 run to take a 7-3 lead and never looked back. The Ramblers rallied late to pull within three points, 22-19, but a Loyola error and two kills from sophomore Mallory Husz ended the threat and the set.
The third set featured eight ties and seven lead changes. Iowa and Loyola battled to a 13-13 score before Walters unleashed a kill to give the Hawkeyes a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The junior dominated the third set with four blocks to send Iowa to the three -set sweep.
The Hawkeyes conclude the Loyola Invitational tomorrow (Aug. 29) with a 10:30 a.m. contest vs. Marquette and a 5 p.m. meeting with Eastern Kentucky.