Aug. 30, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball team opened the 2005 season with a 3-0 sweep of the Dayton Flyers Tuesday night. Purdue used a strong offensive effort and tough serving to defeat the Flyers, en route to its ninth season-opening victory in the last 10 years.
"We beat a good team in three games," head coach Dave Shondell said. "Dayton has enough offensive players and is a very good ball control team; they are going to win a lot of matches this year. I am proud of the way our team played. We played at a high level in games one and three and made a good comeback in game two."
The Boilermakers jumped out to a 7-1 lead in Game 1, behind a pair of kills each from sophomore Samantha Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) and freshman Danita Merlau (New Palestine, Ind.) and a service ace by sophomore Anne Mastandrea (Downers Grove, Ill.). Dayton pulled with four at 8-4, but Purdue went on a 14-5 run to stretch its lead to 22-9. Mader and Merlau each had three more kills during the stretch. The Flyers cut the Boilermaker lead to 10 at 22-12, but would get no closer. Purdue closed the game with a 4-1 run including an ace by senior Renata Dargan as well as a kill and a block by freshman Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.). The Boilermakers posted a blazing .444 team hitting percentage, while holding the Flyers to just a .044 mark.
Game 2 was the polar opposite of the first. The Flyers took an early 4-1 lead, but Purdue erased the margin taking a 7-6 lead of its own on an ace by sophomore Elizabeth Jacques (Winfield, Ill.). Dayton scored nine of the next 12 points to push the score to 15-10 in the Flyers' favor. Again, the Boilermakers fought back, tying the score at 17-17 on a kill by freshman Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.). Dayton maintained control of the game, however, moving the point margin back to four at 25-21. Purdue scored four straight points on three Jacques' kills and an ace by Miller to tie it up at 25. The Flyers would not relinquish the lead, instead pushing the Boilermakers to the brink after a tie at 28-28. A kill by senior Leah Wischmeier (Brownstown, Ind.) saved Dayton's first attempt at game point. A service ace by junior Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind.) set up Purdue's first chance at the game at 30-29. A Faye Barhorst kill thwarted that effort, but kills from junior Melanie Ukovich (Minooka, Ill.) and Merlau sealed the comeback win for the Boilermakers.
The deciding third game began as a back and forth battle as well. Dayton scored the first point of the stanza, but Purdue quickly took a 3-1 lead. The Flyers tied it up at 3-3, 4-4, and 5-5 before the Boilermakers could extend their lead. Two Dayton errors coupled with a kill by Jacques and another ace by Miller made it 9-5 Purdue. The Flyers pulled within two at 10-8, but the Boilermakers answered with five of the next six points to make it 15-9. The Purdue lead shrunk to two again at 17-15 on a Dayton ace, but the Boilermakers responded with a 4-1 rally. The teams traded small rallies until Purdue led by six at 25-19. The Boilermakers closed the match with a 5-2 run, capped by a service ace from redshirt junior Lindsay Shondell (Muncie, Ind.). Purdue hit .364 in the stanza, led by Mader's eight kills.
Mader and Merlau led the Purdue offensive effort with 13 kills apiece. Jacques added 10 kills to the Boilermaker cause. Mader led all hitters with an outstanding .684 hitting percentage, a career high mark for the left side hitter. Three Boilermaker players tallied double-double dig totals, led by Mastandrea's 15. Miller and Ukovich followed with 12 and 10 respectively. Purdue hit .298 to Dayton's .157 effort and outblocked the Flyers eight to three.
"Mader and Merlau were the real difference for us," Shondell said. "Mader was just phenomenal as she has been all during the preseason this year. Merlau showed up big in her first collegiate match. It may not show in her statistics because she took so many out of system sets, but she hit the right shot at the right times tonight."
Despite the win, Shondell said the Boilermakers still have a lot to work on before their Friday match against Saint Louis at the Nike Invitational in Stockton, Calif.
"I was disappointed with our ball control in general tonight," he said. "We will be better. We just have to play well. At this point, we are not really concerned with who we play, but how we play. We know we need to improve our defense and passing and get some more blocks from our middles. But, it is always fun to go out there when you have a chance to win."
The Boilermakers (1-0) take on the Saint Louis Billikens (2-1) at 5 p.m. (PDT) [7 p.m. Purdue time] on Friday at the Nike Invitational, which is hosted by the Pacific Tigers.