Sept. 4, 2005
STOCKTON, Calif. - The Purdue volleyball team won the Nike Invitational title with a 3-1 win over the host Pacific Tigers on Saturday night. The Boilermakers won the match by scores of 30-24, 30-28, 24-30 and 30-22.
The Boilermakers scored the first three points of Game 1 and maintained the lead throughout. An ace by junior Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind.) boosted the Purdue advantage to four at 8-4. Pacific drew within two at 8-6, but Purdue would allow the Tigers no closer, instead making it a six-point game at 16-10 moments later. Kills by freshmen Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.) and Danita Merlau (New Palestine, Ind.) dotted the rally. Pacific kept fighting, using a 5-1 run to slice the Boilermaker lead to four at 20-16. Back-to-back kills from Merlau and a block by sophomores Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.) and Samantha Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) pushed the margin to seven at 24-17. The Tigers made it a four-point game at 26-22, but Purdue stayed strong, setting up a game-point attempt at 29-23 after a block by Lynch and freshman Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.) A kill by Ashley Groothuis stopped the Boilermaker effort, but a kill by Miller gave Purdue the 30-24 win.
Pacific took a 2-0 lead out of the gate in Game 2, which featured 15 ties and 10 lead changes. The Boilermakers scored three straight, including two on Tiger miscues to make it 3-2. The Purdue lead rose to two points at 6-4, but Pacific answered with four straight points to make it 8-6 in its favor. The Boilermakers scored three in a row, on a Miller kill, a block by Mader and Lynch and a UOP hitting error to take a 10-9 lead. The teams tied at 10, 11 and 13, before Pacific retook the lead on a Boilermaker miscue. A pair of Merlau kills made it 15-14 Purdue. Ties at 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 followed, before an ace from Miller and a block by Lynch and Merlau made it a two-point game at 22-20. The teams tied at 23, but the Boilermakers owned a two-point lead moments later on a Tiger hitting error. The teams traded the next four points, leading to a 27-25 score. A Pacific hitting error gave Purdue its first shot at the game at 29-26, but the Tigers followed with a pair of kills to hold off the Boilermakers. A kill by Mader finally sealed the deal at 30-28.
In Game 3, momentum became a factor. Purdue led from the opening serve, even escalating its lead to five at 12-7. The Tigers then scored seven of the next nine points to tie it up at 14-14 on a service ace by Kara Uhl. Six ties followed, the last at 20-20. From that point, Pacific went on an 8-2 run. Purdue scored two of the next three points, but a Purdue hitting error gave the Tigers the 30-24 win. Pacific hit .415 in the stanza to Purdue's .270 percentage.
Game 4 saw the Boilermakers take the early lead and never relinquish it despite six ties. Purdue jumped out to a 3-0 lead and raised it to 5-1 on a kill from Dargan. After a tie at 7-7, the Boilermakers went on a 4-1 run to go up 11-8. The last tie of the game came at 16-16, before Purdue scored eight of the next 10 to make it 24-18. The lead stood at four at 24-20, but the Boilermakers boosted it to seven at 28-21 on a kill by Jacques. Purdue won it at 30-22, scoring their final two points on Tiger net violations.
Dargan was named MVP of the Nike Invitational, while Jacques and Lynch garnered all-tournament team honors for the Boilermakers.
Jacques led Purdue with 13 kills, followed by 12 from Merlau and 10 each from Mader and Lynch. Mastandrea led the Boilermaker defense with 26 digs, followed by 20 from Miller and a career-high 15 from Ukovich.
The Boilermakers return to action at 7 p.m. on Wednesday when they travel to Indianapolis to take on the Butler Bulldogs.