Sept. 25, 2010
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EAST LANSING, Mich. – The University of Iowa volleyball team fell to Michigan State tonight, 3-1, at the Breslin Center. The Hawkeyes snapped out of a funk and grabbed an early lead with a 25-21 win in the opener, but Michigan State stole the next three frames and held on for the match victory.
Freshman Rachael Bedell paced the Iowa offense with 13 kills. Junior Paige Stevens dished a team-high 22 assists and freshman Bethany Yeager picked up 16 digs. Senior Becky Walters, who was a game-time decision with an ankle sprain, collected eight kills and eight blocks.
“I liked our intensity tonight,” said Head Coach Sharon Dingman. “I love what Becky did. We didn’t know if she would play until a few minutes before the match and she showed a lot of heart. I thought Rachael played well and I thought Ally (Straumann) gave us a very good effort. We know every match in the Big Ten is going to be tough, but I’m glad to see the effort was there and we made some improvements.”
The Hawkeyes led from start-to-finish in their 25-21 opening set victory. Walters and Bedell led Iowa with three kills apiece as Iowa attacked at a .240 clip. The Hawkeyes led by as many five before MSU pulled within one point, 22-21. Walters then rewarded a Dingman timeout with a kill and Straumann followed with a service ace to force set point, 24-21. Michigan State then sent an attack wide to give Iowa the set one victory.
| Iowa vs. Michigan State | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
| Iowa (0-2, 5-6) | 25 | 21 | 22 | 25 |
| Michigan State (1-1, 9-4) | 21 | 25 | 25 | 27 |
| Statistical Leaders | |||
| Kills: Rachael Bedell (UI) 13 | Rathje (MSU) 15 | |||
| Assists: Paige Stevens (UI) 22 | Emro (MSU) 24 | |||
| Digs: Bethany Yeager (UI) 16 | Zlabis (MSU) 16 |
Michigan State turned the score around and captured set two, 25-21. The teams were knotted early, but Iowa used a 4-0 run to eventually take a 12-9 lead. The Spartans rallied to tie the frame, 13-13, before consecutive kills by Mallory Husz helped Iowa regain the lead, 15-13. State than answered with five straight points and never looked back, holding on to tie the match, 1-1.
Michigan State grabbed a 2-1 match advantage with a 25-22 win in set three. Iowa took advantage of a couple MSU errors and a pair of kills to grab an early 4-0 lead, but the Spartans answered back with four points to tie the frame, 4-4. MSU eventually grabbed the lead, 10-9, and held the advantage until a Walters stuffed block tied the frame, 22-22. MSU then answered with three straight points to escape with the set win.
The Spartans pulled off some late heroics again in set four. Trailing 15-13, Iowa used a Husz kill, Walters block and Yeager ace to take a one-point lead, but MSU battled back to force match point, 24-21. The Hawkeye were able to fight off three match points, but the Spartans benefited from a kill and a Hawkeye miscue to win the set, 27-25.
Iowa returns to action Friday, Oct. 1 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes host Indiana at 6 p.m. (CT). Game time was originally scheduled for 7 p.m. but has been moved ahead one hour to accommodate weekend football traffic. Visit hawkeyesports.com for ticket information and for links to live audio and video.