Sept. 9, 2005
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Purdue volleyball team moved to 6-0 to open the season for the first time since 1985 with a 3-1 win over North Carolina Friday evening. The Boilermakers took the match 24-30, 30-23, 30-21, 30-22 behind a strong defensive effort including 14 blocks.
The Tarheels opened Game 1 with a 4-1 lead, before the Boilermakers rallied to pull within one at 5-4 after kills by freshman Danita Merlau (New Palestine, Ind.) and sophomore Sam Mader (Algonquin, Ind.). The Boilermakers tied it up at 7-7 and 9-9, but UNC pushed its lead to three at 13-10. Purdue pulled within one at 16-15 on a kill by senior Leah Wischmeier, but UNC scored three of the next four points to make it 19-16. The Boielrmakers combined kills by Merlau and freshman Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.) with a pair of Tarheel hitting miscues to tie the score at 20-20. North Carolina scored eight of the next 10 points to push its advantage to 28-22. A kill by Mader stopped UNC momentarily, before a kill by Lauren Prussing set up the Tarheels' first attempt at the game. A hitting error thwarted the effort, before Amy Beaver put down a kill to give North Carolina a 30-24 win. Merlau had five kills in the game.
Game 2 saw the tables turn and the Boilermakers lead from early on. Purdue led 4-1 after three UNC errors and a service ace by sophomore Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.). The Tarheels caught up, tying the score at 5-5 after three straight points. The teams then traded two-point runs leading to another knot up at 7-7. After tied at eight and nine, Purdue pushed its advantage to three at 12-9 on a kill by senior Renata Dargan (New Lenox, Ill.). North Carolina pulled within one at 12-11, prompting a 6-2 Boilermakers run including three blocks, the last by Lynch and Wischmeier to make it 18-13. The Purdue lead soared to eight at 25-17 after a solo block by Dargan. A 5-1 run cut the Boilermaker advantage to just four at 26-22, but Purdue scored four of the last five including an ace by Dargan and capped by a kill by Mader. Purdue put up five blocks in the second stanza.
The Boilermakers carried momentum into Game 3, again taking an early lead, which was broken just once at 3-2 by Carolina. Purdue turned that deficit into a 5-3 lead behind a pair of kills by Lynch. The score stood at 7-6, when Purdue took off on a 7-2 run capped by back-to-back kills by Merlau to make it 14-8. After a brief pause, the Boilermakers tacked on four more points to make it 18-10, on a kill by Dargan, a block by the setter and Lynch, and two Tarheel miscues. Back-to-back aces by sophomore Anne Mastandrea a few minutes later pushed the Purdue lead to nine at 23-14. UNC fought back cutting the margin to seven at 26-19, but the Boilermakers scored four of the last six points to put the game out of reach at 30-21. Lynch and Merlau each posted six kills in the stanza as Purdue outhit North Carolina .280 to .109.
Neither team was willing to concede ground in the early goings of Game 4 as seven ties dotted the scored leading up to a knot up 9-9. The Tarheels took a 10-9 lead, but that sparked an 8-1 run by Purdue, turning the deficit into a 17-11 advantage. UNC took six of the next nine points to slice the Boilermaker lead to three at 20-17. Purdue responded with a 7-2 rally including an ace by Jacques to push the advantage to eight at 27-19. The Tarheels would not go away easily, however, tallying three of the next four points to make it 28-22. A kill by Merlau set up match point at 29-22, then a block by Lynch and Mader sealed the deal. Purdue put up seven blocks in the stanza, including five by Lynch.
The Boilermaker offense was led by Merlau, who posted a match-high 16 kills. Lynch, Mader and Wischmeier followed with 13, 12 and 10 respectively. Jacques served up a career-high three aces. Mastandrea recorded her third 20-plus dig performance of the season with 27. Freshman Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.) followed with 15, while junior Melanie Ukovich (Minooka, Ill.) and junior Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind.) pulled up 14 and 10 respectively. Lynch led the Boilermaker blocking front with nine stuffs, while Dargan tallied five.
Purdue (6-0) returns to action at 12:30 p.m. eastern time when the team takes on South Carolina.