Hawkeyes Fall to No. 23 OSU, 3-1

Stats

Oct. 30, 2011

Box Score

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The University of Iowa volleyball team fell to Ohio State, 3-1, Sunday afternoon inside St. John Arena (23-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-16). Nikki Dailey matched her career high with eight kills and Chante’ Thompson added eight kills, a career-high against Big Ten competition. Bethany Yeager picked up a match-high 17 kills for Iowa. Ohio State got a match-high 19 kills from junior Mari Hole.

“Ohio State was very physical today,” said head coach Sharon Dingman. “But I have to say I like the way we competed today. We did some very good things and we’re continuing to improve. We’re a lot better today than we were a week ago.”

The Hawkeyes won the opening set, 25-23, behind a .270 attack percentage and four kills from Alex Lovell. Iowa trailed early, 6-2, before a kill from Lovell and a pair of setter dumps rallied the Hawkeyes to an 8-8 tie. A kill and a block from Mallory Husz helped Iowa build a 13-10 lead before Ohio State strung together a six-point run to grab a three-point advantage. Another Eskew kill eventually tied the match, 18-18, before Lovell’s third kill of the frame gave Iowa a 22-21 lead. A fourth Lovell kill forced set-point, 24-22, before an Ohio State errant attack ended the set and gave Iowa the 1-0 match advantage.

The Hawkeyes stayed hot early in the second frame, using a Lovell kill and combo-block from Husz and Tiffany Nilges to grab an early 3-1 lead. Ohio State battled back to grab a 7-6 edge and held the lead until a pair of kills from Chante’ Thompson helped Iowa tie the frame, 16-16. The Buckeyes then grabbed control of the frame and held Iowa to just one Lovell kill the rest of the way en route to the 25-17 set two victory.

The Hawkeyes were victims of a another late Buckeye rally in set three. Iowa had built an early 6-4 lead behind a couple of Thompson kills, and later rallied to tie frame 15-15 on a block stuff by Husz and Nilges. But Ohio State pulled away from the Hawkeyes with a 10-2 run and grabbed the 2-1 match advantage with a 25-17 victory.

Ohio State continued its run early in the fourth frame. The Hawkeyes got another pair of kills from Thompson, but Ohio State was able to build leads of 10-4 and 17-9. A kill from Nilges sparked a 4-0 Iowa run to help trim the Buckeye lead, 17-13, but Ohio State put together another strong finish and closed the match with a 25-16 win.

Iowa returns to the court Nov. 4 when Michigan State visits Iowa City. The Hawkeyes and Spartans meet at 7 p.m. on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Ian Martin, the voice of Iowa volleyball, will broadcast the match live on Hawkeye All-Access.