Sept. 17, 2013
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MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The battle between Iowa and Milwaukee required a fifth set to determine the victor Tuesday night. The Hawkeyes came out on top, outlasting the Panthers 17-15 in the fifth set to take the match 3-2. With the win, Iowa remains undefeated, 6-0, against Milwaukee all-time.
“I thought it was really tremendous,” head coach Sharon Dingman. “Winning on the road is fun, but winning on the road against a really good Milwaukee team should just fill our players with confidence moving into a really big match Saturday against Iowa State.
We just stayed steady. We didn’t try to do crazy things, and I thought that was really good.”
After falling behind 4-2 early, the Hawkeyes used an Alyssa Klostermann service ace followed by an Erin Radke and Emily Yanny duo block to fuel a four-point run and take a 6-4 lead in set one. Iowa maintained control until a Panther scoring drive allowed Milwaukee to edge ahead 14-13. Four ties followed, before a Rachael Bedell kill and an Alessandra Dietz and Bedell block pushed the Hawkeyes ahead. Iowa would not surrender its lead for the remainder of the set recording a 25-23 win. Alex Lovell solidified the win tallying the final three kills of the set.
Milwaukee took the reins in the next two sets rallying back to record wins in set two, 25-20, and set three, 25-18.
Iowa used a pair of Lovell kills, an Erin Leppek kill, Klostermann service ace and Lauren Brobst kill to steal the momentum from the Panthers and jump out to a 7-2 fourth set advantage. The Hawkeyes sustained their lead for the remainder of the set to record the 25-19 win and push the match on to a fifth, deciding set. Bedell and Brobst propelled the squad offensively posting four kills each, while Lovell contributed three.
The fifth set was a thriller that included four ties late in the set and needed extra points to finalize the match winner. Iowa took control early with a four-point drive, however the Panthers clawed their way from behind to tie it at eight apiece. A Bedell kill followed by a pair from Radke had the Hawkeyes running, but Milwaukee responded with a 5-0 run to stake a 13-12 lead. The Hawkeyes and Panthers went back and forth tying at 13, 14 and 15 before Iowa used a Lovell kill, Brobst and Leppek block and a final kill from Lovell to close it out 17-15.
Iowa presented a well-rounded offensive attack in the match with Lovell (17), Bedell (13) and Radke (10) reaching double figures and Brobst contributing nine kills and hitting .412. Bethany Yeager recorded a team-most 22 digs, and Lovell’s 18 digs secured a double-double. Leppek’s six blocks paced the team and equaled her career-high mark.
“I thought Lauren Brobst and Erin Radke came up absolutely huge for us,” Dingman said. “They were both really critical to our success tonight. To have those two show up, compete and take swings like they did will really help our team in the long run.”
The Hawkeyes return to Iowa City to take on Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk series rival Iowa State on Saturday, Sept. 21. Fans are encouraged to wear black to the 7 p.m. CT Black Out match and the first 250 fans in the door will receive a free black t-shirt. Following the match, Iowa will hold an autograph session.