Oct. 3, 2010
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IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa volleyball team hosted Purdue Sunday afternoon. The Boilermakers opened the match with a quick tempo, outlasting Iowa in three straight sets to earn the conference win. Freshman Nikki Dailey led Iowa with a team-high 15 assists and eight digs. Becky Walters contributed a team-best nine kills.
“We just couldn’t get in sync all afternoon,” said Head Coach Sharon Dingman. “The passing needed to be better and we could’ve used a lot more energy. It’s tough to win in this conference if you don’t bring your best effort to each match.”
Walters led the team’s offensive efforts in the first set, recording three kills. Megan Eskew and Allison Straumann each recorded a kill, while Paige Stevens earned two assists. The Hawkeyes capitalized on seven Purdue errors, but the Boilermakers rebounded to earn the 25-12.
The Hawkeyes recorded 10 kills in the second set, including three points from Dailey, but were unable to sustain a lengthy rally and dropped the frame, 25-14.
The third set proved to be a battle following the intermission. Iowa opened the frame by forcing a Purdue error, but the Boilermakers answered with a kill to start a back and forth affair. Purdue eventually pulled ahead after a three-point run to make it 12-8. Walters then recorded a kill to pull Iowa within three, and Eskew hammered a pair of kills to narrow the gap to one, 13-12. Purdue would eventually stretch its lead to five points, 18-13, before Iowa answered back with an 8-3 run. Straumann highlighted the rally with back-to-back kills to force Purdue to take a time out with the score knotted at 21. Hawkeye freshman Rachael Bedell answered the timeout with a service ace to give Iowa the lead, 22-21, but Purdue was able to regroup and score four of the match’s final six points to escape with the 25-23 win.
The Hawkeyes return to action Wednesday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa hosts Minnesota at 6 p.m. The match will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.