Oct. 8, 2005
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Boilermaker volleyball team marched out of Michigan with a pair of Big Ten victories after sweeping the Michigan Wolverines 3-0 on Saturday night. Purdue took a 30-20, 30-20, 36-34 victory from the Wolverines, snapping a six-match series string for UM.
Purdue scored the first two points of the night off the hand of senior Renata Dargan (New Lenox, Ill.), who put down a kill and served up an ace to start the match. The Boilermakers increased their lead to 4-1 after kills by freshman Danita Merlau (New Palestine, Ind.) and sophomore Sam Mader (Algonquin, Ill.). Michigan pulled within two on seven occasions, last at 13-11, before Purdue registered a 3-0 run, including a kill by freshman Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.) and a solo block by Dargan, to go up 16-11. The Wolverines stopped the run briefly, but a UM net violation and an ace by Miller made it 18-12 Purdue. The Boilermakers scored seven of the next 10 points to make it 25-15 on an ace by junior Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind.). Sophomore Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.) also posted two kills and a block during the string. Michigan made it an eight point game, capitalizing on two Purdue miscues, but Purdue made it 29-19 moments later on a kill by freshman Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.). The Wolverines thwarted Purdue's first effort, before Dargan ended the stanza at 30-20 with a kill of her own. Five different Boilermaker players added four kills in the game, during which Purdue hit .333 to Michigan's .154 effort.
The Wolverines opened Game 2 with a 3-1 lead, but Purdue scored six of the next seven points to turn the deficit into a 7-4 advantage. Jacques, Merlau and Lynch tallied kills during the stretch. Michigan called a timeout and scored once following the break, but Purdue responded with a 3-0 run to make it 10-5 and prompted the Wolverines to use their second and final timeout. The Boilermakers scored three straight out of the second break, including an ace by Mader and a solo block by Dargan. Michigan cut the margin to six at 13-7, but the Purdue chalked up an 8-3 run capped by a Dargan ace to make it 21-10. The Wolverines pulled within nine at 23-14, but Purdue answered with three straight kills, two by senior Marie Franke (Ballwin, Mo.) to make it a 12-point game at 26-14. Michigan would not go away, scoring four of the next five points to make it 27-18. Kills by Merlau and Dargan broke that streak, setting up game point at 29-18. Michigan held Purdue off for two points, before being called for going under the net to give the Boilermakers a 30-20 win.
Michigan took an early 6-2 lead in the third game, but Purdue pulled within two at 7-5 after a pair of Wolverines miscues. UM pushed its lead to five at 12-7, but the Boilermakers scored six of the next nine, capped by a solo block and a kill by Dargan, to pull within one at 15-14. A kill by Merlau tied the score at 16-16. The teams tied again at 17, 18 and 19, before Purdue took a 21-19 lead after a kill by Dargan and a block by Jacques. Michigan turned a 23-21 deficit into a 25-23 lead of its own, but Purdue battled back from a 28-25 deficit and held off two game-point attempts to tie the score at 29. The Boilermakers thwarted another Michigan chance with a kill by Merlau and set up their first match-point attempt with an ace by Dildine. The Wolverines scored a pair, before a UM hitting error tied the score at 32-32. Kills by Miller and Dildine gave Purdue its second attempt at the match at 34-33, but a service error evened the score. A kill by Miller and a hitting error by Michigan gave the Boilermakers a 36-34 win and a sweep.
"We played very nice volleyball for the first two games," head coach Dave Shondell said. "You just can't expect that to happen in the third game, and we knew it wasn't going to be as easy. It was quite a challenge, but we were fortunate to get a couple of blocks and got into their heads.
"I am proud of team from the seniors on down, and it was great experience for our younger players. Renata distributed the ball very well tonight and Danita played awfully well. She gets better every match."
Merlau led the Boilermakers with 14 kills, while Dargan, Mader and Lynch each added 10. Dildine served up two aces to held Purdue from the end line, while also adding a career-best 18 digs. Sophomore Annie Mastandrea (Downers Grove, Ill.) pulled up 22 digs to lead the Boilermaker defense.
The Boilermakers (14-3, 3-3 Big Ten) return to action on Friday at 7 p.m. when the Minnesota Golden Gophers travel to the IAF.