Oct. 1, 2010
Box Score | Iowa vs. Indiana Photo Gallery | Video interview with S. Dingman
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IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa volleyball team defeated the Indiana in its Big Ten home opener, 3-2, tonight inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes won the first, third and final sets to claim the match.
“Big win for our team tonight,” said head coach Sharon Dingman. “We haven’t been on the winning end in awhile, so it certainly feels good to come out on top. Being a conference match makes the win that much more significant. Our schedule never gets easy, so we’re thrilled get the victory.”
Iowa captured the first set of the match, 25-18, leading the entire frame. Senior Becky Walters paced the Black and Gold in the first set with five kills, including a smash following a timeout that gave Iowa a 22-18 advantage. Junior Mallory recorded two kills down the stretch to lead Iowa to the opening set victory.
Indiana turned the score around and captured set two, 25-23. After a kill from Walters, Indiana called timeout late in the set with the score 24-21. The Hawkeyes continued their rally and battled within one, 24-23, but Indiana benefited from a kill to win the set.
The Hawkeyes led from start-to-finish in their 25-18 third set victory. Husz led Iowa with three kills and Megan Eskew and Rachel Bedell contributed two kills apiece. The Hoosiers were able to tie the score twice early on but Iowa attacked the rest of the set for a victory.
| Iowa vs. Creighton | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
| Indiana (0-3, 12-3) | 18 | 25 | 18 | 25 | 15 |
| Iowa (1-2, 6-6) | 25 | 23 | 25 | 19 | 17 |
| Statistical Leaders | |||
| Kills: Becky Walters (UI) 19 | Benson (IU) 18 | |||
| Assists: Paige Stevens (UI) 36 | Chaudoin (IU) 38 | |||
| Digs: Bethany Yeager (UI) 32 | Haverly (IU) 18 |
The Hoosiers turned the momentum around in the fourth set, sprinting out to a 15-5 advantage. The Hawkeyes responded by taking five straight points towards the end of the match, tying the score 19-19. Indiana took a timeout and came back to score the last 6 points to win the set 19-25.
In a thrilling battle in the final set, the Hawkeyes won 17-15. Indiana tied up the set twice but the Hawkeyes never allowed the Hoosiers to take the lead. Indiana tied the set, 15-15, at the end of the match but made two crucial attack errors in the end to allow Iowa to capture the win. Walters helped the Hawkeyes close out the match with five kills in the fifth set.
Walters led Iowa with 19 kills, one short of matching her career high. Yeager also nearly matched a career high, picking up 32 digs, one off her personal best. Paige Steves dished a team-high 36 assists and Walters added a team-best six blocks.
“Becky was amazing tonight,” said Dingman. “She demanded that ball in the fifth set and she didn’t disappoint. Her attitude was a big part of the entire night. She competed every point all night.”
Iowa returns to action Sunday inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes host Purdue at 2 p.m. (CT).