Oct. 3, 2009
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COLUMBUS, OH – The University of Iowa volleyball team dropped a three-set match to Ohio State Saturday night at St. John Arena. Senior Megan Schipper and junior Aimee Huffman led Iowa with nine kills apiece. Junior Mara Hilgenberg dished 30 assists and senior Christina Meister picked up 10 digs to lead Iowa.
“We have to figure out what we’re doing,” said Coach Dingman. “We have to limit our hitting errors and not give opponent so many easy points. It’s disappointing. We had a lot of energy last night and we weren’t able to carry that over into tonight.”
The Hawkeyes dropped the opening set, 25-17. Huffman paced the Iowa offense with four kills. Hilgenberg dished eight assists and Meister picked up three digs. Ohio State came out swinging in set one, attacking at a .464 clip while collecting 17 kills.
Iowa opened the first set with back-to-back kills from junior Becky Walters, but Ohio State quickly answered with a 6-1 run to seize control of the opening set. The Buckeyes eventually built a 23-11 advantage before Iowa extended the set with a kill from sophomore Tiffany Nilges, an ace from junior Signe Mueller and a Katie Kennedy. A late four-point run brought Iowa within seven, 24-17, but Ohio State hammered a kill, their 17th of the set, to claim a 1-0 match advantage.
The Hawkeyes dropped the second set, 25-20. Husz and Schipper attacked with three kills apiece. Hilgenberg dished 10 assists and Meister picked up five digs in the contest.
Ohio State continued to roll early in the second set, building an early 5-2, lead before Huffman followed three straight Husz kills with an ace to give Iowa a 6-5 advantage. Ohio State would battle back to stake a 15-12 edge before a Nilges kill and Huffman ace pulled Iowa within one, 15-14. The Buckeyes then answered with two straight points to extend the lead back to three before Nilges struck again with a kill and an ace to close to within one, 17-16. The Buckeyes then used a 7-2 run to force set point, 24-18. A Schipper kill and Walters block fought off set point and pulled Iowa with four, 24-20, but OSU finished with a kill to take a two-set match lead.
Iowa dropped the third set, 25-22. Iowa picked up 15 kills in the set, including five from Schipper and four apiece from Walters and Huffman. Hilgenberg added 12 assists and Nilges paced the defense with three digs.
Two Ohio State errors and a Walters kill gave the Hawkeyes a 3-1 early lead in set three, but Ohio State answered with a 6-1 run to take a 7-4 advantage. The teams traded point until the 12-9 mark. Iowa then used a Buckeye error, a Schipper ace and a Walters kill to tie the set, 12-12. Following an exchange of points, the Hawkeyes retook the lead, 17-15, with a kill each from Kennedy and Schipper and a service ace from Nilges. Ohio State then answered a timeout with a 4-1 run to retake the lead, 19-18. Walters and Huffman then sandwiched a Buckeye point with a pair of kills to tie the set, 20-20, before OSU ended the match with a 5-2 run to with the match in straight sets.
Iowa returns home to host Michigan in its Big Ten home opener Friday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
