Nov. 19, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - It took just three games for the No. 18 Boilermaker volleyball team to down instate rival Indiana and garner the Senior Night victory. Purdue won the match 30-25, 30-26, 30-17, to post its 22 win of the season, giving the team its most victories since the 1987 team won 24 matches. The match marked the final home contest for five Boilermaker seniors.
The Boilermakers opened the match with five straight points, including kills by senior Renata Dargan (New Lenox, Ill.), junior Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind.) and freshman Danita Merlau (New Palestine, Ind.). Purdue then raised its lead to eight at 10-2 on a kill by sophomore Sam Mader (Algonquin, Ill.). The Hoosiers scored 10 of the next 13 points, cutting the margin to one at 13-12. The Boilermakers responded with a 4-0 run to push their lead back to five at 17-12. Sophomore Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.) posted two blocks in the rally, combining with Merlau and Dargan on the stuffs. Indiana again made a run, pulling within one at 20-19, but Purdue answered with four of the next five points to make it 24-20 on a kill by senior Marie Franke (Ballwin, Mo.). The teams traded the next eight points leading to a 28-24 score. An ace by freshman Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.) set up Purdue's first chance at game-point. A Hoosier kill thwarted the effort, but a tip-shot by Jacques sealed the 30-25 win for the Boilermakers.
Purdue started Game 2 with a 6-0 run including kills by Jacques, Mader and Franke. IU cut the margin to two at 6-4, but the Boilermakers answered with a four-point rally of its own to make it 10-4 on a block by Franke and freshman Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.). Purdue boosted its lead to eight at 22-14 on a block by Dargan and Lynch, and held at eight point advantage again at 28-20 after a Hoosier miscue. Indiana prolonged the game with a 5-0 run to make it a three-point game at 28-25. A kill by Lynch gave the Boilermakers their first crack at the game at 29-25, but an IU kill kept the game going. A kill by Dargan ended the stanza at 30-26. Franke posted four kills in the game.
The Boilermakers jumped out to a 7-2 lead in Game 3, including an ace by senior Lauren Berg (Indianapolis, Ind.) and a block by senior Sarah Vitali (St. Charles, Ill.) and Lynch. The Purdue advantage increased to eight at 12-4 after two IU errors. The Hoosiers pulled within six four times, last at 15-9, but a block by Lynch and Vitali and an ace by Jacques pushed the margin back to eight at 17-9. The Indiana scored five of the next six to make it 18-14, but Purdue countered with four straight points, including three straight kills by Lynch to make it 22-14. After a brief pause, the Boilermakers added four more points, including an ace by Miller to take an 11-point advantage at 26-15. IU managed a pair of points to halt the Purdue scoring barrage, but the Boilermakers wrapped up the match with a 4-0 run. Merlau, Mader and Jacques put down kills, while Dargan served up an ace en route to the 30-17 win and the 3-0 sweep. Purdue hit .270 in the stanza, while holding Indiana to a -.081 hitting percentage.
"We came into tonight needing a win and we got one," head coach Dave Shondell said. "I am not happy with how we played, but we still won handily. Now we have to look ahead at what we still have to do this season and build on this victory. We have two big matches next weekend.
"We also need to get healthy. Merlau was sick this week and played well considering she didn't practice yesterday or at the walkthrough this morning. Kelli Miller also needs to get her knees better so she can be back on top of her game."
Jacques and Merlau each tallied nine kills to pace the Boilermakers, while Mader added eight and Dargan posted seven. Lynch put up seven blocks. Miller and Mastandrea added 18 and 10 digs respectively. Miller and Jacques each served up a pair of aces in the victory.
All four healthy Boilermaker seniors saw action in the match and each contributed to the effort. Dargan tallied nine digs, seven kills and four blocks in addition to her assist total. Lauren Berg pulled up eight digs and served up one ace. Franke tallied six kills, one dig and one block and Vitali chalked up two blocks.
"It is great to give your seniors the opportunity to play on senior night if you have the luxury," Shondell said. "I think they all had ample chances out there tonight. Marie had 25 swings and I thought she played well. Our passing was just ineffective and that forced a lot of sets to the outside. In that case, everybody knows where the ball is going and that makes it hard to put balls away."
The Boilermakers (22-7, 11-7 Big Ten) return to action on Friday night when they face the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City, Iowa. The team then finishes out the regular season with a Saturday contest against No. 19 Minnesota.