Badgers Down Hawkeyes in Madison

Stats | Boxscore

Nov. 16, 2012

Box Score

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MADISON, Wis. — The University of Iowa volleyball team dropped a three-set decision at Wisconsin on Friday night (19-25, 16-25, 17-25). The Badgers used a .384 attack percentage and owned a 48-29 advantage in kills to earn the 3-0 victory inside the Wisconsin Field House.

The Badgers, who celebrated senior night, move to 17-13 overall and 5-12 in Big Ten play, ending a four-match skid; the Hawkeyes fall to 10-20 and 2-15 in league action.

Junior Bethany Yeager, who ranks fifth all-time in program history with 1,491 career digs, recorded eight digs to pace Iowa. She has eclipsed 500 digs (502) in each of the last two seasons. Yeager paced the Hawkeyes with 527 digs a year ago, leading Iowa in digs for the second time in as many seasons. Classmate Nikki Dailey paced the visitors with 21 assists. Senior Allison Straumann added seven digs.

The Badgers claimed the opening set, 25-19, behind a .351 attack percentage and 16 kills. Wisconsin led the frame, 15-14, before using a five point run to force a Hawkeye timeout and take control at 20-15. Junior Rachael Bedell and sophomore Alessandra Dietz both posted four kills. Dietz paced Iowa with a .571 hitting percentage, while the visitors hit .189 as a team.

Wisconsin hit .552 and utilized three blocks in the second frame on its way to a 25-16 set victory and a 2-0 match lead. For the second time in as many frames, the Badgers held a one-point lead (14-13) before using a scoring run (6-1) to take control. Leading 20-14, the home team captured five of the final eight points. Sophomores Alex Lovell and Erin Leppek led the Hawkeyes with three kills apiece, hitting .400 and .286, respectively. As a team, Iowa turned in a .138 attack percentage. Dailey paced Iowa with 10 assists for the second-straight set.

Following the intermission, the Badgers built a five-point advantage at 15-10, and maintained their lead throughout en route to a 25-17 set and match victory. Wisconsin hit .273 in the final frame, limiting Iowa to a .000 attack percentage.

The Hawkeyes return to the court on Saturday, traveling to No. 14 Minnesota (6:30 p.m. CT). The match can be seen live on BTN.com. 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.