Oct. 19, 2001
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Iowa's Sara Meyermann had 34 kills on 59 attempts and six service aces to lead the Hawkeyes past the Northwestern volleyball team in four games (30-22, 30-21, 27-30, 30-23) Friday night.
NU dropped to 8-8 (4-5 Big Ten), while Iowa picked up its first conference victory of the season (3-13, 1-8 Big Ten).
In Game One, Iowa pushed ahead to a 20-12 lead and managed to maintain that margin to the end, 30-22. The Hawkeyes posted 19 kills in that first game, and carried the momentum over to the second game despite three consecutive blocks by NU's Molly Kamp (Stevensville, Mich./Lakeshore) and Sarah Ballog (Coto de Caza, Calif./Santa Margarita).
The Wildcats came out of the break and seemed to regain their composure with 15 kills to win Game 3. But Iowa snatched the momentum right back and closed out the match with a win in Game Four, hitting .500 with 21 kills as a team.
Despite the loss, the Wildcats posted positive numbers. They outblocked their opponent 11-10, as sophomore Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) had six blocks and Ballog posted four.
Freshman setter Drew Robertson (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly) seemed to be all over the court, recording another double-double with 46 assists and 11 digs. Lange led the 'Cats with 12 kills, while junior Kelli Meyer (Madison, Wis./Edgewood) chipped in 11.
NU is in action again tomorrow night, traveling to No. 21 Minnesota. Match time is set for 7 p.m., and the action can be heard over the Internet at www.gophersports.com.