Oct. 11, 2002

Final Stats

Iowa City, Iowa - In its first Big Ten road match of the season, the Fighting Illini volleyball team dropped a four-game decision to the Iowa Hawkeyes tonight in Iowa City, falling 25-30, 30-24, 22-30, 27-30. With the loss, Illinois moves to 8-6 on the season and 2-3 in the Big Ten, while Iowa improves to 7-8 overall and 1-4 in conference play.

Junior outside hitter Melissa Vandrey tallied a season-high 20 kills to lead the Illini. She hit .278 on the evening, with five errors in 54 swings. Vandrey becomes the first Illini player this season to register 20 kills.

Junior middle blocker Lisa Argabright was the only other UI player to finish in double figures in kills, recording 16 on team-high .400 hitting. Senior Sue Webber had a career-high 19 digs to lead four Illini in double figures in digs. Sophomore Lauren Harks added 15 digs.

Iowa had three players notch double-doubles in Laura Simpson (18 kills-11 digs), Kelli Chestnut (12-13) and Renee Hill (18-18).

The Hawkeyes had nine more kills than Illinois and outhit the Illini .258-to-.198 for the match. Iowa also recorded six aces compared to Illinois' one.

"We were very inconsistent tonight and let Iowa gain momentum early," Head Coach Don Hardin said. "I thought Iowa came out ready to play and took their game to another level, and we didn't do a very good job of matching that intensity and competitiveness. To win on the road in this league, you have to come out focused and fight the entire match, and tonight we weren't able to do that consistently."

Illinois is back in action tomorrow night, visiting 6th-ranked and Big Ten leader Minnesota. The match begins at 7 p.m.