Nov. 22, 2013
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POST MATCH INTERVIEW WITH COACH DINGMAN
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — University of Iowa volleyball battled for a 3-2 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers on Friday night. It is the second time the Hawkeyes have topped the Hoosiers in five sets in 2013. With the win, Iowa moves to 2-15 in Big Ten play, 11-18 overall, and halts an eight match skid. Indiana drops to 1-16 in conference action and 9-19 overall.
Iowa opened the match with a three-point run to post a lead and used kills by Alyssa Klostermann, Erin Radke, and Lauren Brobst to push further ahead. The Hoosiers were able to get within three of Iowa, but the Hawkeyes never surrendered their lead en route to the 25-16 set one win.
Rachael Bedell and Brobst led the Iowa effort with three kills each, while Alex Lovell added two. The Hawkeyes outhit the Hoosiers .333 to .100.
After falling behind 5-1 in the second set, the Hawkeye offense awoke outscoring the Hoosiers 9-2 to jump ahead 10-7. A kill apiece from Alessandra Dietz, Lovell, Erin Leppek and Bedell, and a Brobst and Leppek combination block keyed the Hawkeye push. The Hoosiers cut the deficit down to one point, but Iowa withstood the pressure to record the 25-20 set two victory.
Bedell posted four kills to lead the Hawkeyes in the set and Leppek contributed three kills on five attempts. Iowa outdid the Hoosiers hitting .220 to their opponent’s .023.
The teams grappled through 16 ties and a five lead changes in the third set, but it was Indiana that edged out Iowa for a 25-23 win. The Hoosiers followed with a dominant 25-14 fourth set victory to force a fifth, match-deciding set.
Iowa and Indiana were neck and neck early in the fifth set, which contained six ties and two lead changes. With the score knotted up 9-9, the Hawkeyes used a 5-0 run fueled by a Radke kill, a Brobst kill, and a Leppek solo block to steal the momentum and pull ahead 14-9. After the Hoosiers scored two, Hawkeye right side hitter Brobst used a kill to end the set, 15-10, and close the match in Iowa’s favor 3-2.
“I thought (the match) was spectacular,” head coach Sharon Dingman said. “Both teams played so hard. What I liked about our team was when we got down by 10 or 12 in that fourth set, we talked to the team about creating more energy and creating some momentum to go into the fifth. That was exactly what we did. We played like we had all the momentum and all the energy. I really credit our team for being able to do that.
“Just from the play perspective, Radke and Brobst were huge. When you have a right side attack and you have two good outsides in Lovell and Bedell it makes the game a little bit easier to play. I thought our setters were very, very good tonight, and Bethany Yeager played so well. She passed great, and she was the one who really took it upon herself to create that energy we needed. I really thought Bethany Yeager played every bit like a senior.”
Iowa outhit Indiana .214 to .208 in the match with a well-rounded offensive attack. Brobst led the way with 13 kills, followed by Lovell (12 kills), Radke (nine kills), and Bedell (eight kills). The Hawkeye blocking front was also strong, as the team posted eight solo blocks and 11 total. Dietz matched her career-high with three solo stuffs, while Lovell and Leppek each added two solo blocks.
Nikki Dailey and Klostermann dished out double-digits in assists with 19 and 15, respectively, and Yeager recorded a team-high 15 digs. Earning double-doubles in the match were Klostermann (15 assists and 12 digs) and Lovell (12 kills and 11 digs).
The Hawkeyes continue their road trip tomorrow night at No. 25 Purdue. The match is slated to begin at 6 p.m. CT.