Sept. 17, 2011
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NEW YORK — The University of Iowa volleyball team topped Binghamton in straight sets Saturday morning at the Columbia Invitational. Tiffany Nilges and Alex Lovell led Iowa with eight kills apiece to give the Hawkeyes their sixth straight win. The winning streak match’s Iowa longest since the team won its first six games of 2009.
Megan Eskew and Bethany Yeager each picked up 10 digs. Nikki Dailey dished a game-high 27 assists and a career-best four service aces.
“I wouldn’t have predicted a 3-0 win before the match,” said head coach Sharon Dingman. “We were battling ourselves more than anything this morning, so it was nice to see the team come together. We had some hitting errors that need addressed, but we’re glad to get the win.”
The Hawkeyes used an early four-point run to take control of their 25-20 set one victory. Binghamton pulled within two points, 17-15, before Iowa forced a pair of errors and used a kill from Mallory Husz to build a five-point edge. Chante’ Thompson, making her first start of the season, eventually ended the frame with her team-best fourth kill of the set.
The Hawkeyes cruised to a 25-15 win in set two. Iowa built leads of 8-2 and 21-9 en route to the win. Eskew led the Hawkeye effort with four kills in the frame.
Iowa trailed set three 4-0 before Lovell, Nilges and Eskew combined for five consecutive kills to give Iowa a 5-4 advantage. A pair of aces from Kari Mueller and a back-to-back kills from Husz helped Iowa break a 9-9 tie, and an 8-2 run at the end of the frame sealed the 25-15 victory.
“The players said before the trip they wanted to come out here and get four wins,” said Dingman. “We’ve got the first three, but this afternoon we have a great non-conference challenge. St. John’s is very good team that’s tough to prepare for.”
The Hawkeyes return to the court against St. John’s at 1:30 CT in their final contest of the Columbia Invitational. Fans can follow the action on hawkeyesports.com via The Official Iowa Volleyball Blog.
| Binghamton vs. Iowa | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| Binghamton (6-9) | 20 | 15 | 15 |
| Iowa (9-3) | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Statistical Leaders | |||
| Kills: Nilges, Lovell (UI) 10 | Partaleva (BU) 9 | |||
| Assists: Nikki Dailey (UI) 27 | Dettmann (BU) 18 | |||
| Digs: Eskew, Yeager (UI) 10 | Chambers (BU) 7 |