Oct. 7, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Boilermaker volleyball team walked out of East Lansing with a 3-0 sweep, but it took Purdue five-match point attempts to seal the deal. The Boilermakers won the match 30-20, 30-27 and 36-34. Sophomore Kelli Miller and senior Renata Dargan posted double-doubles in the match.
Purdue scored the first three points of the match on a pair of MSU hitting errors and a kill by freshman Danita Merlau (New Palestine, Ind.). Another kill by Merlau made it 9-6, but the Spartans pulled within one at 9-8 with a pair of kills. The teams tied at 10 and 11, before Purdue rattled off 10 straight points, including kills by freshmen Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.) and Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.), to take a 21-11 lead. Junior Melanie Ukovich served nine of the 10 points, including an ace. Michigan State cut the Boilermaker lead to eight at 23-15. The teams traded the next seven points leading to a 27-18 score. An ace by senior Lauren Berg (Indianapolis, Ind.) made it 28-18, but MSU would not go away, scoring the next two points. A kill by Miller and a block by Lynch and senior Renata Dargan (New Lenox, Ill.) sealed the 30-20 win. Miller, Lynch and Merlau each posted four kills in the stanza as Purdue hit .395, while holding the Spartans to a .159 effort.
Michigan State took an early 2-0 lead in Game 2, but kills by Miller and sophomore Sam Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) quickly tied it up. The teams tied again at three and four, but the Spartans would not relinquish control, instead pushing their lead to three at 8-5. Purdue scored four of the next five points to tie the score at 9-9 on a block by sophomore Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.) and Merlau. MSU recorded four-straight points to go up 13-9, and held off the Boilermakers to own a three-point lead at 15-12. Purdue responded with a 5-0 run to turn the deficit into a 17-15 advantage. The Purdue lead stood at five at 23-18 after a kill by Lynch and a block by Lynch and Merlau. MSU pulled within three at 26-23, but the Boilermakers scored three of the next four to go up 29-24 on a kill by Lynch. The Spartans scored three straight to stave off Boilermaker game-point attempts, but a kill by Miller ended the game at 30-27.
The Spartan scored the first three points of Game 3, but Purdue responded with five points of its own to take a 5-3 lead on an ace by junior Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind.). Back to back blocks by Jacques also came during the run. The teams tied at 6, 7, 8 and 9, then a kill by Merlau and a block by Jacques made it 11-9. MSU tied the score again at 12, 13 and 14. Purdue went up by two again at 16-14 on an ace by Mader, but MSU responded with two of its own. The teams traded two point rallies again leading to a 20-18 Boilermaker lead. The Spartans were within one at 21-20, but kills by Jacques and Merlau pushed the lead to three at 23-20. Michigan State would not go away, tying it up at 24. The Boilermakers scored three straight, but the Spartans came back to take a 29-28 lead of their own. Kills by Miller and Merlau set up Purdue's first chance at the match at 30-29. MSU thwarted the effort and three more like it leading to a 33-33 score. MSU had another chance at the game at 34-33, but a kill by Dildine saved the effort. A Spartan hitting error and a kill by Miller gave Purdue the 36-34 sweep and the sweep.
"I thought we beat a team who is going to win a lot at home this year," head coach Dave Shondell said. "I think Michigan Stat is surpassing a lot of people's expectations and they were very difficult to beat. I thought we played very well and had a balanced attack. When certain weren't getting the job done, other people stepped up. I thought our two left sides, Kelli and Danita, played well in Game 3. They proved that they are people that want ball in critical situations. I am very pleased to get a win on the road and beat a scrappy team like Michigan State."
Merlau led a trio of Boilermakers with double-digit kill tallies with 15. Miller added 11, as well as 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Mader recorded 10 kills. Four Purdue players posted double-digit dig tallies, led by sophomore Annie Mastandrea's total of 19. Miller added 12, Dargan registered 11 and Dildine rounded out the group with 10. The Boilermakers outblocked the Spartans 15 to six and hit .261 to MSU's .173 effort.
The Boilermakers return to action at 6 p.m. eastern time when they face Michigan in Ann Arbor.