Hawkeyes Fall 3-0 in Madison

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Oct. 16, 2011

Box Score

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MADISON, Wis. — The University of Iowa volleyball team dropped a three-set decision to Wisconsin this afternoon inside the UW Field House (25-16, 25-22, 25-21). Tiffany Nilges led Iowa with 14 digs and a match-high 11 kills for her third double-double of the season. Nikki Dailey returned to her home state to dish a match-high 27 assists.

“Both teams played really well,” said head coach Sharon Dingman. “Our team really looks forward to playing Wisconsin because we’ve had success in the past, but we have to develop that mentality against every opponent. I’m really proud of the way we played and if we can keep this approach, we’ll start seeing better results.”

The Hawkeyes got five kills each from Rachael Bedell and Megan Eskew in the opening frame, but it wasn’t enough as Wisconsin hit .355 to earn a 25-16 win. Bedell slammed three kills in the early going to help Iowa rally to a 10-10 tie. She later added her fourth kill to pull the Hawkeyes within one, 14-13, but the Badgers ran off eight of the next nine points to break open the set and cruise to a 1-0 match advantage.

Iowa trailed 23-17 in the second frame before a pair of Badger errors and kills from Chante’ Thompson, Alex Lovell and Emily Yanny pulled the Hawkeyes within a point, 23-22. Wisconsin then scored on an errant free ball and a cross-court kill to escape with a 25-22 win. Iowa had raced to leads of 10-8 and 13-12 in the frame, but the Badgers used a 4-1 run to create some separation and eventually hung on for the win. Yanny, a native of Wisconsin, led Iowa with three kills in the frame.

The third set started with an exchange of points that resulted in a tie at every score up to 9-9. The Hawkeyes grab the first advantage, 12-9, with kills from Alex Lovell and Tiffany Nilges, and later stretched their lead to four, 16-12, behind Nilges’ fourth kill of the set. Consecutive kills from Lovell resulted in an 18-15 Iowa lead, but Wisconsin battled back with a 5-1 run to grab a 20-19 edge. A Badger error and Eskew kill helped Iowa regain the lead, 21-20, but Wisconsin finished the set with five straight points to earn a 25-21 win and complete the three-set sweep.

“We’re young and we have to learn how to win these matches,” said Dingman. “But the only way to learn how to win is to start winning. I think we played as well as I’ve seen us play in a long time, and I feel good about the effort, but we have to expect better results.”

Today’s match will be televised at 5 p.m. today on BTN.

The Hawkeyes return to the court Wednesday at Nebraska. The Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers play at 7 p.m. inside the NU Coliseum. Ian Martin, the voice of Iowa volleyball, will broadcast the match live on Hawkeye All-Access, a subscription service committed to providing quality coverage of Hawkeye athletic events.