Buckeyes Drop Hawkeyes

Stats | Boxscore

Oct. 27, 2012

Box Score

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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa volleyball team fell in straight sets to No. 20 Ohio State on Saturday night (17-25, 24-26, 12-25). The match was played on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The win improves the Buckeyes’ record to 17-7 overall and 8-4 in Big Ten play; the Hawkeyes fall to 10-15 and 2-10 in league action.

“Our floor defense was not very good,” said head coach Sharon Dingman. “If we are going to give ourselves a chance, we have to improve that and keep executing.”

Rachael Bedell paced Iowa with 13 kills, hitting .400. The junior has registered double-digit kills in seven of the last eight matches.

“Rachael had a great match,” said Dingman. “She executed and competed hard. She did everything she could to put us in a position to succeed tonight. She tries to make things happen for us.”

Junior Nikki Dailey led Iowa with 21 assists and 12 digs, recording her team-leading 16th double-double of the season. She has recorded seven double-doubles in conference action. Classmate Bethany Yeager, who ranks fifth all-time in program history with 1,427 career digs, recorded 10 digs. Sophomore Erin Leppek posted a season-best six kills, hitting .333. Fellow sophomore Kari Mueller notched a career-high two services aces.

In the opening frame, Ohio State jumped out to a 16-5 lead and never looked back on its way to a 25-17 first set victory. The Buckeyes hit .268 in the set and limited the Hawkeyes to a .118 attack percentage. Dailey turned in seven digs and Alessandra Dietz paced Iowa with three kills.

The league foes went back-and-forth throughout the second set. The frame saw 12 tie scores and three lead changes. The Hawkeyes earned set point at 24-23 before the visitors scored the final three points to win the frame, 26-24. Iowa hit .281 in the set, while Ohio State turned in a .293 attack percentage. Bedell registered a set-best seven kills and Yeager notched a set-high six digs.

Following the intermission, Ohio State opened a 9-4 lead to force a Hawkeye timeout. The Buckeyes’ momentum continued, leading to a 14-6 advantage and Iowa’s second timeout of the set. The visitors claimed 11 of the final 17 points to win the set and the match, 25-12. Ohio State hit .515 in the frame, while limiting the Hawkeyes to a .079 hitting percentage. Bedell equaled a set-high with five kills.

Iowa continues action next weekend on the road. The Hawkeyes travel to Michigan State next Friday (5:30 p.m. CT) before playing at Michigan next Saturday (6 p.m. CT). The match against the Wolverines can be seen live on BTN.com.