Sept. 30, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Another Top 10 opponent spoiled the Boilermakers' upset bid in a five-game match as No. 8 Wisconsin edged the No. 21 Purdue volleyball team Friday night. The Badgers took the match 30-27, 31-29, 28-30, 14-30, 15-9. Senior Renata Dargan chalked up a triple-double in the match, the first of her career and the first for Purdue since Nov. 27, 2004.
The Badgers took a 5-1 lead early in the deciding fifth game. Freshman Danita Merlau (New Palestine, Ind.) scored the lone Purdue point in the string on the first serve of the stanza. A Wisconsin hitting error and a block by freshman Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.) and senior Renata Dargan (New Lenox, Ill.) pulled the Boilermakers within two at 5-3. UW scored four of the next five points to make it 9-4. A kill by freshman Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.) and an ace by sophomore Annie Mastandrea (Downers Grove, Ill.) made it 9-6. Wisconsin answered with a 3-0 run to go up 12-6. A kill by Miller and a hitting error by the Badgers stopped the rally, but an ace and a kill set up Wisconsin's first chance at the match. A hitting miscue kept Purdue's hope alive, but a kill by Sheila Shaw gave UW the 15-9 win.
Wisconsin took a 4-1 lead out of the gate, but the Boilermakers quickly turned that around with a 5-0 run, capped by Melanie Ukovich (Minooka, Ill.) ace to make it 6-4. The Badgers tied the score at six and seven and even took a short-lived lead at 8-7. Purdue responded with an 11-1 run, including kills by freshman Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.) and sophomores Sam Mader (Alqonuin, Ill.) and Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.). The Boilermakers also chalked up a pair of blocks by Jacques and Mader during the span. Wisconsin answered the Purdue rally with a 5-0 run of its own, cutting the margin to 18-14. The Boilermakers then scored three straight points, including kills by Ukovich and Dargan to expand the lead back to seven. An 8-2 run by the Badgers made it a one-point game at 23-22. Purdue maintained the lead, until UW posted 5-0 run to turn a 26-24 deficit into a 29-24 advantage. A kill by Mader kept the Boilermakers alive, but a kill by Audra Jeffers gave the Badgers a 30-27 win. Mader posted six kills in the stanza.
Wisconsin led 2-1 early in Game 2, but Purdue tied the game at two, three and four, with kills by Ukovich, Dargan and Lynch. The Badgers scored six of the next seven points to go up 10-5, prompting a Purdue timeout. The Boilermakers rallied with an 11-3 run out of the break to go up 16-13. An ace by junior Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind.) capped the run, while Lynch posted four kills in the string, including three straight, and Dargan added three putdowns. Wisconsin tallied four straight points to regain the lead at 17-16. The Boilermakers scored three of the next four, capped by a Dargan ace to go up 19-18. The teams traded points over the next few serves, before Purdue managed a 4-1 run including a pair of kills by Merlau to go up 25-21. The teams then traded two-point rallies with the Purdue points coming on back-to-back kills by Lynch to make it 27-23. The score stood at 29-25 Purdue moments later, but Wisconsin thwarted three Boilermaker game-point attempts and scored the last six points of the game to pull out a 31-29 win. Dargan and Lynch each posted seven kills in the stanza.
Purdue fought back from a 3-0 deficit early in the third game, tying the score at 3-3 after a kill by Merlau, an ace by Jacques and a Badger miscue. Wisconsin regained the lead and held onto it until the score stood at 16-13. At that point, the Boilermakers posted a 4-0 run, including three UW errors to take a 17-16 lead. Wisconsin went up 19-17, but Purdue rebounded with a 5-1 rally to make the score 22-20 Boilermakers. The Badgers would not go away, tying the score at 22 and 23. Kills by Jacques and Lynch made it 25-23, but Wisconsin posted three-straight points to take a 26-25 advantage. The teams tied at 26 and 27, before Purdue went up 29-27 after a Badger error and a kill by Miller. A hitting error stopped the Boilermakers' first chance at the game, but another Miller kill sealed the 30-28 win. Lynch tallied six kills in the stanza, while Miller added five. Dargan added one kill and five digs in the game to push her totals to that point to 11 kills, 41 assists and 11 digs to register her first career triple double.
The Boilermakers carried the momentum into Game 3, beginning the stanza with a 4-1 run, behind two Lynch kills and an ace by Jacques. A pair of Badger kills stopped the rally momentarily, but Purdue continued to pull away, registering eight of the next nine points to make it 12-3. Miller posted four kills in the run, while Dildine served up an ace in the string. Miller put down another kill and Mastandrea followed with an ace to make it 14-4. The freshman hit parade continued as Purdue soon led by 15 at 25-10 after four kills by Merlau, two by Miller and one by Lynch. Jacques also tallied an ace during the span. The Badgers scored two of the next three to make it 26-12, but kills by Dargan and Miller pushed the margin to 16. The teams split the next four points, leading to a Purdue win at 30-14. Merlau put down the game-winner. Miller racked up nine kills on 11 swings in the stanza, while Lynch and Merlau each posted five. The freshmen accounted for 22 of Purdue's 30 points in the game.
Lynch led a quartet of Boilermakers with double-digit kill tallies. Lynch posted a career-best 21, followed by Miller's career-high 17. Dargan and Merlau each added 13. Dargan wrapped up the night with a 13-kill, 61 assist, 13 dig triple double, the first for Purdue since Nov. 27, 2004 when Kim McConaha tallied 15 kills, 12 digs and 10 blocks.
Five different Boilermakers served up aces in the match, led by Jacques' three. Mastandrea led the Purdue defense with 25 digs, followed by Miller's 16, Dargan's 13 and Dildine's 11. Lynch also added eight blocks to the Purdue effort.
No. 21 Purdue (11-3) returns to the court at 2 p.m. on Sunday, when they take on Northwestern in Mackey Arena. Tickets to the match are just $1 as the team tries to break the NCAA attendance record.