Hawkeyes Fall to Red-Hot Drake

Stats

Sept. 14, 2010

Box Score

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DES MOINES – The University of Iowa volleyball team ran into the hottest team in the country Tuesday night, falling in five sets to Drake at the Knapp Center. Drake, who entered the contest as the only team in the nation to win its first 13 matches of the season, rallied from one set down to escape its home court with its 14th straight win.

Freshman Nikki Dailey led Iowa’s effort with a career-best 32 assists. Mallory Husz, Becky Walters and Megan Eskew each recorded double-digit kills and Bethany Yeager picked up a team-high 19 digs.

The Bulldogs, who had won 16-straight sets entering the contest, looked like the hot squad as they built an early 12-4 lead in the opening frame. The Hawkeyes then used three Drake errors and consecutive kills by Walters and Eskew to slow the Bulldog attack and pull within striking distance, 14-9. A five-point run pulled Iowa within one, 16-15, before three attack points evened the score, 23-23. A kill by Drake forced set point, 24-23, before three straight kills by the Hawkeyes ended the frame and gave Iowa a one-set match advantage, 26-24.

Drake answered Iowa’s set one victory with a 25-21 win in set two. The Bulldogs jumped to an early 3-0 lead and led by as many as six points late, 23-17, before Walters narrowed the gap with a kill and back-to-back aces to pull within two, 23-21. Drake then called a timeout and was able to convert consecutive points to close the set, 25-21.

The Bulldogs kept the pressure on the Hawkeyes and led the entire third set en route to building a 2-1 match advantage. Iowa fought off four set-points with scores from Husz, Allison Straumann and Walters, but the Bulldogs were able to hang on for a 25-19 win.

The Hawkeyes and Bulldogs battled to 15 ties and seven lead changes in the fourth frame. Trailing 21-20, Iowa used a pair of kills to grab a brief 22-21 lead. Drake then answered with a score to knot things at 22-22 before Iowa grabbed a two-point edge with a kill from Walters and a block from Husz. Facing set-point, Drake closed within one, 24-23, before Husz picked up a kill to win the set, 25-23, and force the decisive fifth set.

The Bulldogs jumped ahead early in the rubber set, grabbing a 5-1 lead and never looking back. Eskew hammered a couple kills to pull Iowa within two points, 8-6, but Drake scored seven of the matches final nine points to pull out the dramatic five-set victory, 15-8.

Iowa returns to action Sunday afternoon at Northern Illinois. The Hawkeyes’ final non-conference match begins at 3 p.m.