College of Charleston
Iowa
Iowa Volleyball Wins Challenge, Defeats CofC, 3-0
9/15/2007 4:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The Iowa volleyball team defeated the College of Charleston, 3-0, Saturday night to claim the 2007 Hawkeye-Holiday Inn Challenge championship. The Hawkeyes took the three games by scores of 30-26, 30-24 and 30-24.
Charleston falls to 5-5 overall while Iowa improves to 8-3.
Megan Eskew led the Hawkeye attack with 15 kills while Megan Schipper added 14. Becky Walters had seven kills, two solo blocks and four block assists while Hiza had 15 digs.
Whitney Russell led the Cougars with 12 kills, while Lindsey Kane followed with 10 and 39 assists. Cole Dawley led defensively with 11 digs.
Iowa trailed most of game one until knotting the score at 18-18. A small 4-1 run gave the Hawkeyes a 22-19 lead that eventually became a 27-21 advantage after an Aimee Huffman kill. A College of Charleston service error along with a Walters kill brought up game point and another Cougar error gave Iowa a 1-0 advantage.
Both teams traded points to start the second game until the Hawkeyes went on a 7-3 run to take a 17-13 lead. Iowa maintained its lead until the Cougars clawed back to within three points at 27-24, but a College of Charleston error along with a Huffman ace and a Catherine Smale kill gave the Hawkeyes a 2-0 lead.
The Hawkeyes fought back from a 10-3 deficit in game three to tie the match at 14-14 and again at 16-16. Iowa took a 17-16 advantage on an Eskew kill and never trailed after. The Hawkeyes held a commanding 28-20 lead, but the Cougars continued to fight, going on a small 3-0 run to make the score 28-23. A Cougar service error coupled with a Hiza kill ended the match to give the Hawkeyes the tournament title.
Charleston opens Southern Conference play Tuesday, Sept. 18th at The Citadel in a 7:00 p.m. contest.
