Oct. 16, 2010
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The University of Iowa volleyball team dropped a straight set contest to Penn State tonight; 25-16, 25-22, 25-19. The Hawkeyes battled the three-time defending champions in each frame, nearly stealing the second set, but No. 9 Penn State hung on for the 3-0 win. Rachael Bedell and Mallory Husz led the Iowa offense with seven kills apiece. Megan Eskew played an all-around game for Iowa, recording six kills, seven digs and a service ace.
“Megan Eskew’s energy drives this bus and she had this team competing tonight,” said Head Coach Sharon Dingman. “Unfortunately, we just didn’t have an answer for Arielle Wilson tonight. She was able to get her kills at the net and there wasn’t much we could do about it.”
Lauren Friedman came off the bench and contributed four kills in the opening set, but Penn State attacked at a .353 clip and claimed set one, 25-16. The Nittany Lions jumped to an early 9-3 lead before Iowa answered a Dingman timeout with a 4-1 run to claw back into the set, 10-7. Two Rachael Bedell kills and a Megan Eskew service ace kept Iowa in the set, 16-11, but Penn State finished with a 6-3 run to finish the frame.
“Lauren came in and played well tonight,” said Dingman. “She’s been practicing well and she took some nice swings tonight. It’s fun to see her get some kills.”
| Iowa vs. Penn State | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| Iowa (1-7, 6-11) | 16 | 22 | 19 |
| Penn State (5-3, 15-4) | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Statistical Leaders | |||
| Kills: Bedell, Husz (UI) 7 | Brown (PSU) 15 | |||
| Assists: Paige Stevens (UI) 16 | Carpenter (PSU) 34 | |||
| Digs: Bethany Yeager (UI) 14 | Benitez (PSU) 10 |
Iowa played with a renewed confidence in set two, opening the frame with consecutive kills from Husz and Eskew. Penn State kept pace with the Hawkeyes until Iowa forced a PSU error and another Eskew kill pushed Iowa’s lead to 10-6, its largest of the match. The Nittany Lions later answered with a three-point run to tie the frame, 15-15, before eventually battling through five ties to grab their first lead, 20-19. Iowa got three combined kills from Walters and Bedell down the final stretch, but Penn State hung on and escaped with a 25-22 win in set two.
Iowa continued to battle early in set three, hitting back and forth until PSU knocked off six straight winners to grab a 9-3 lead. Husz picked up four kills and Stevens dished seven assists in the frame, but Penn State clinched the match with a 25-19 win.
The Hawkeyes return to action Oct. 22 when they welcome Wisconsin to Iowa City for their annual Pink Match, an event staged each year to raise breast cancer awareness. Iowa hosts the Badgers at 6 p.m. inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.