Sept. 3, 2005
STOCKTON, Calif. - It took four games, but the Boilermaker volleyball team pushed past the Bradley Braves in Day 2 action at the Nike Invitational on Saturday morning. Purdue (3-0) won the match by scores of 30-20, 30-17, 28-30 and 30-20.
The Boilermakers put three freshmen players on the floor to begin the match and each contributed in big ways in Game 1. Danita Merlau (New Palestine, Ind.) tallied the first kill of the stanza, which saw ties at one two and four. Back-to-back kills by senior Leah Wischmeier (Brownstown, Ind.) gave Purdue a 6-4 advantage, giving the Boilermakers a lead they would not relinquish. The lead grew to six at 12-6 on a block by freshman Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.). The Braves pulled within three on four occasions, last at 15-12, but a kill by Wischmeier and a hitting error by Bradley made it 17-12. The teams trading the next seven points, before Bradley scored two in a row to make it 20-17. The Boilermakers scored four straight, two on kills from sophomore Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.) and one on a front-row kill by freshman Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.). After a brief one-point pause, Purdue rattled off four straight points to set up game point at 29-19. A Bradley kill thwarted the attempt, but a kill by Miller sealed the 30-20 win. Lynch tallied five kills as Purdue outhit the Braves .354 to .200 in the stanza.
Bradley took its first lead of the match by scoring the opening point of Game 2. The Boilermakers answered and turned a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 lead after four straight kills from junior Melanie Ukovich (Minooka, Ill.), Jacques and Miller. The Braves pulled within two at 7-5, sparking an 11-1 Purdue rally capped by a Lynch kill to make it 18-6. The Boilermakers took their largest lead of the night at 20-7 on a kill by senior Marie Franke (Ballwin, Mo.). The teams traded points over the next several serves. Purdue pushed their advantage to 14 at 27-13 after kills by senior Renata Dargan (New Lenox, Ill.) and Ukovich. Bradley would not go away, instead putting up a pair of kills. Ukovich tallied a kill to make it 29-16 Boilermakers. A Brave kill kept the game going, before Jacques wrapped it up with another kill. Purdue hit .327 in the game, while holding Bradley to a .115 percentage. Jacques had five kills on seven attempts in the stanza.
The Braves were determined to avoid a sweep, jumping out to an 8-3 lead in Game 3. The Boilermakers cut the deficit to two at 9-7, but Bradley responded with a trio of points to push its lead by to five. Purdue capitalized on back to back errors by the Braves to pull within one at 13-12. The Boilermakers tied it up at 14, sparking a string of ties, the last at 19-19, which came on a kill by Lynch. Bradley retook the lead at 21-19 and maintained a two-point margin until at tie at 22-22. After a tie at 23-23, the Braves scored five of the next six to make it 28-24. The Boilermakers rallied, taking advantage of back-to-back errors by Bradley and a block by Lynch to thwart three game-point attempts. It was too little too late however as a kill from Kelly Niemeyer gave Bradley the 30-28 win.
Game 4 brought more momentum swings. Bradley took a 2-1 lead, but the Boilermakers posted a 4-0 run including kills by Wischmeier and Dargan to go up 5-2. The Braves fought back, tying it up at 7, 8, 9, and 10. Three straight points by Purdue, capped by an Anne Mastandrea service ace, made it 13-10. The lead increased to six at 20-14, after a Dargan ace and kills by Miller and sophomore Samantha Mader (Algonquin, Ill.). The Boilermakers went on a 9-5 run, capped by a Dargan kill to make it 29-19. A Bradley block kept hope alive for the Braves, but it was short lived as a Lynch kill clinched the 30-20 win.
"We put one bad game in," head coach Dave Shondell said. "We competed well in the other three. Bradley is a pretty athletic team and they will compete well in the Missouri Valley Conference this year. We just kind of slept walked in Game 3. We woke up but it was too little too late. That was definitely a lesson for our team.
"Miller played well. She took 33 swings and had only two errors. She was solid and effective. Lynch is beginning to get the feel for things. She had 22 swings and only one error. That is my kind of volleyball. Play aggressive but play smart."
Miller and Wischmeier led the Boilermaker offense with 14 kills apiece , while Lynch added 13 and Jacques put up 10. Lynch hit a stellar .545, while the Boilermakers hit .286 for the match. Mastandrea pulled up a team-high 26 digs, while Miller completed her double-double with 20 digs. Juniors Brittany Dildine and Melanie Ukovich also reached double-digits in digs with 12 and 10 respectively.
"I was much more comfortable playing all the way around today," Miller said. "I am not used to just playing back row. It helps me stay in the flow playing all the way around. I felt really relaxed out there.
"I am not a power hitter. I just try to see the angles and hit good shots. I was just trying to help the team out there. I felt like I was making an impact with my kills. I was trying to keep the ball in play and not make stupid errors."
The Boilermakers return to action at 7 p.m. (PDT) against the host Pacific Tigers in the tournament championship match.