Oct. 2, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A crowd of 8,512 gathered to watch the Purdue volleyball team take on Northwestern as part of the Pack Mackey promotion and was treated to a 3-0 sweep by the Boilermakers. Purdue won the match 33-31, 30-18, 30-23 in front of the crowd, which was the second largest in Boilermaker volleyball history.
The Boilermakers trailed 0-2 early in the first game, but launched a 5-0 run, including two kills by freshman Danita Merlau (New Palestine, Ind.) to vault into the lead at 5-2. The teams then tied at six, eight, nine, and 11, just a few of the 21 ties in the stanza. Northwestern scored the next two points to make it 13-11. Purdue countered with a 4-0 run including kills by sophomore Sam Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) and Merlau and a kill and an ace by freshman Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.) to go up 15-13. Northwestern tied the score at 15, sparking a string of eight ties, the last at 23-23. The Wildcats took a 25-23 lead, but Purdue chalked up three of the next four points to prompt a tie at 26-26. A Mader kill and two NU errors accounted for the Boilermaker points. The teams tied again at 27 and 28, before a Cassie McLaughlin kill set up Northwestern's first attempt at the game. A hitting error thwarted that effort and a kill by Mader gave Purdue its' first chance to win the game. A Northwestern kill tied the game at 30-30. A kill by Merlau set up Purdue's second game-point opportunity at 31-30. The Boilermakers used a kill by Mader and a NU hitting error to garner the 33-31 win. Merlau posted a nine kills in the game.
Purdue scored first in Game 2 on a kill by sophomore Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.), but the teams tied at 2, 3 and 4 before either gained control. The Boilermakers went up 8-5 after back to back kills by Miller and one by Mader. Northwestern cut the margin to one at 8-7, but Purdue rattled off eight of the next nine points to push the lead to 16-8. Miller, Jacques, Mader and Merlau posted kills during the string, while Jacques also served up an ace. Mader and freshman Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.) also combined on a pair of blocks. The Wildcats closed the gap to two at 16-14, prompting another Purdue rally. The Boilermakers scored seven straight to up the score to 23-14, as Lynch posted three kills and senior Renata Dargan (New Lenox, Ill.) added one. The teams then traded points over the next few moments, leading to a 25-17 score. The Purdue lead stood at 11 after kills by junior Melanie Ukovich (Minooka, Ill.) and Jacques and a NU hitting miscue which made it 28-17. The Boilermakers capped the game with points off a pair of Northwestern hitting errors to make it 30-18. Seven different Purdue hitters got in on the action as the team posted a .308 hitting percentage, while holding the Wildcats to a .000 effort.
The Boilermakers jumped out to a 5-1 lead to begin Game 3 as Mader tallied back-to-back kills. Northwestern made it a two-point game at 6-4, but Purdue scored six of the next seven including an ace by junior Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind.) to make it 12-5. The Boilermakers extended their lead to eight at 16-8 on a block by Mader and Jacques, but Northwestern sliced the margin to five at 16-11. Purdue upped its lead to nine at 23-14 after a pair of kills by Miller and a couple of NU miscues. The Wildcats answered the run with a 7-3 rally of its own to make it 26-21. A block by Merlau and Jacques and a pair of kills by Lynch set up Purdue's first match-point attempt at 29-23. Another Lynch kill, her sixth of the stanza, clinched the match with a 30-23 win.
Merlau led Purdue with 14 kills, while Mader and Lynch added 11 and 10 respectively. Miller, Jacques and Dildine chalked up aces in the match. Defensively, sophomore Annie Mastandrea (Downers Grove, Ill.) and Miller reached double-digit dig totals with 15 and 13. Lynch posted five blocks in the match.
The No. 21 Boilermakers (12-3, 1-3 Big Ten) return to action on Friday against Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich.