Aug. 31, 2001
SEATTLE, Wash. - For the first time in five years, the Purdue volleyball team lost its season opener 29-31, 25-30, 26-30 to Texas in the Point Husky Invitational hosted by Washington. The Boilermakers begin the year 0-1, while the Longhorns start 1-0.
"This was a tough loss for our team," head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer said. "They were so positives, however, and one was the performance of our freshman. The new class did a nice job for us tonight, and I'm looking forward to more good things from them throughout the year."
Rookies Lyndsey Phillips and Leah Wishmeier led the way for the Old Gold and Black with seven kills each. Phillips only recorded two errors on 13 attempts for a .385 hitting percentage. In addition, she turned in five blocks, two digs and one assist. Wishmeier added six digs and a block to the Boilermaker effort. Classmate Kim McConaha chipped in two kills and three blocks.
Sophomore Jen Bova had 28 assists in her debut as starting setter. Classmate Laura St. John led Purdue with a career high 14 digs. Sophomore Eryn Leach, who led both teams in blocks with a career high nine, joined senior Maegan Petersen with five kills.
Wishmeier's errorless effort in Game 1 was not enough for Purdue as the Longhorns picked up the 31-29 win. After knotting at the 1, 2, 3 and 4 marks, Texas jumped out to a 13-7 lead. They continued to break away, by going on an 8-7 run to lead Purdue 21-14. The Boilermakers fought hard to get within two, bringing the score to 22-24. A couple of out-of-bounds errors by Texas, two kills and an ace by Bova and two Wishmeier kills tied the score 29-all. But Purdue could not hold on as the Longhorns went on to win 31-29.
The Boilermakers could not rebound from the loss in Game 2. After exchanging multiple sideouts and knotting the score 16-all, Texas went on a 6-2 run to take the 22-18 advantage. Purdue used a kill from Petersen, a kill from junior Tiffany Yoskey and a few Texas errors to tie the match at 22. But, the Longhorns could not be stopped as they went on an 8-3 run for the win.
Texas jumped out to a 10-6 lead in Game 3 and never looked back. The Longhorns went on to win 30-26.
Purdue will play its next match on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. (Seattle time). The Boilermakers will take on tournament host Washington.