Hawkeyes Fall to No. 24 Buckeyes, 3-1

Stats

Sept. 23, 2011

Box Score | Photo Gallery

• Download your Iowa Hawkeye iPhone app!
• Iowa and the Big Ten Network
• Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
• 24 Hawkeyes to Watch

IOWA CITY, Iowa– The University of Iowa volleyball team fell 3-1 to No. 24 Ohio State Friday evening at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The loss ended Iowa’s seven match winning streak. Freshman Alex Lovell led Iowa with 19 kills and sophomore Nikki Dailey dished out 41 assists. Sophomore Bethany Yeager recorded 19 digs and freshman Kari Mueller tied her personal best with 13 digs.

“It was a tough loss,” said head coach Sharon Dingman. “It feels like we were punched in the gut. We’re not here to win sets, we need to play to win matches, and tonight we simply didn’t play well enough to win the match. It’s disappointing.”

Lovell dominated the net in the opening frame, collecting nine kills to rally Iowa to a 25-23 victory. The set was tied at four before Ohio State jumped ahead with a 10-2 run. The Hawkeyes would later answer a Dingman timeout with a 7-2 run to pull within two points, 15-13. Iowa continued to close the gap, pulling within one, 21-20, before grabbing its first lead of the match, 22-21. Iowa closed the set with an 8-2 run that included four kills from Lovell. Dailey recorded 14 assists while Eskew and Yeager both picked up three digs.

Ohio State took set two, 25-20. The Buckeyes opened the set with a 10-3 run that was unanswered by the Hawkeyes. Ohio State controlled the set, allowing Iowa only one 3-0 run. Lovell led Iowa with six kills. Dailey recorded 10 assists and Yeager collected seven digs.

Ohio State continued to control the momentum in set three and rolled to a 25-14 win. The Buckeyes started the frame with a 6-1 run that was quickly answered by a 6-1 Iowa run. Tied at seven, Ohio State regained the lead, scoring five straight points. The Buckeyes then scored 12 of the set’s final 16 points to grab a 2-1 match advantage. Lovell put down four kills and Dailey collected another eight assists. Eskew and Mueller each picked up four digs.

Ohio State looked to take an early advantage in set four with an opening 4-0 run. The Hawkeyes later answered the Buckeyes with the help of three consecutive kills from senior Tiffany Nilges to tie the score at 12. Ohio State controlled the remainder of the set and finished the match with an 8-2 run. Nilges led the Hawkeyes with five kills.

Iowa returns to Big Ten action on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena Saturday at 7 p.m. against No. 5 Penn State.