Sept. 29, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 11 Purdue volleyball team continued its trend of comebacks, winning its third-straight five-game match with a 3-2 victory over No. 13 Ohio State Friday night. The Boilermakers won the match 30-26, 27-30, 31-29, 34-32 and 15-7 behind a balanced offensive attack and great defensive play.
Sophomore Danita Merlau (New Palestine, Ind.) led the Boilermakers with 23 kills to go with her 13 digs and career-high six aces. Junior Sam Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) added 18 kills, while sophomore Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.) racked up 15 kills and eight blocks.
Sophomore Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.) pulled up a career-best 31 digs to lead the Purdue defense, marking the first time a Boilermaker player had recorded more than 30 digs since Daren Poe did so on Nov. 13, 2004, and making her only the seventh player even to do so. Senior Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind.) was right behind with a career-high 27 digs as well as four aces.
Purdue led the Buckeyes in all major statistical categories except for kills, outhitting OSU .293 to .200, serving up 11 aces to nine, outdigging the team 85 to 65 and chalking up 14 blocks to Ohio State's six.
The Boilermakers jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the deciding fifth game, behind two kill, a block and an ace by Merlau. Jacques also added a block and a kill in the rally. Ohio State cut the margin to four at 9-5 and again at 11-7, but could not overcome the Purdue attack. Mader chalked up a kill, then Gurnell and Lynch combined on a block, before a pair of Buckeye hitting errors sealed the 15-7 win and the match for Purdue. The Boilermakers hit .417 in Game 5, while holding OSU to a -.143 hitting effort.
"I think our team showed a lot of heart, a lot of character and a lot of resiliency tonight," head coach Dave Shondell said. "I think that when you start to win close matches like that, you start believing that you can. I think with the huge crowd and the national television coverage our team was a little out of sorts emotionally until game three, when we started playing Purdue volleyball. We started passing the ball better, which allowed our setters to be more steady, and from that point we were the better team.
"Danita Merlau and Brittany Dildine were steady throughout the match for us. Several other players did very well, but those two did from start to finish."
The teams split the first 14 points of the match, before the Boilermakers put together a 7-3 run to go up 14-10. Lynch chalked up two kills and two blocks in the stretch. Ohio State tied the score at 17, but a block by freshman Carrie Gurnell (Katy, Texas) and junior Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.) and a Buckeye miscue kept Purdue on top. OSU took its first lead of the night at 20-19 and went on to a three-point advantage at 3-20. The Boilermakers then clawed their way back into a tie at 25, before taking the lead on an ace by Miller. Purdue scored five of the last six points to win the game 30-26. Lynch wrapped up the stanza with four blocks, while Mader chalked up a team-high four kills.
Ohio State took an 8-2 lead to start Game 2 and boosted its lead to seven at 15-9 prompting a Purdue timeout. The Boilermakers closed the gap to four at 16-12 on an ace by Dildine. The point margin stood at seven again as OSU led 23-16. Purdue then rattled off nine of the next 11 points to tie the game up at 25-25. Merlau added two kills and back-to-back aces during the run. The Boilermakers took their first lead of the game at 27-26 on a Buckeye hitting error, but Ohio State scored the next four points to take the 30-27 win.
The Buckeyes carried the momentum into Game 3, racing out to a 15-10 advantage. The Boilermakers chipped away at the deficit, pulling within one at 22-21 after a trio of kills from Mader and one each from Dildine and Lynch. Ohio State pushed the margin to four at 26-22, prompting Purdue to take its final timeout of the stanza. The Boilermakers then chalked up a 7-3 run, including a kill by Mader, which knotted up the score at 29, but OSU closed the game with a pair of kills.
Down two games to one, the Boilermakers had to dig deep in the fourth game to extend the match. Ohio State held the advantage from the start, eventually leading 11-9, before Purdue used a 3-0 run to go in front 12-11. Dildine and Merlau supplied kills, while a net violation accounted for the third. The Buckeyes turned the tables, mounting a 14-7 run to go up 25-19. The Boilermakers answered with a 6-0 run, including two aces by Dildine to nullify the advantage at 25-25. The teams tied at 26, 27 and 28, before Purdue's first game point attempt at 29-28. OSU thwarted the opportunity and the teams combined for four more game point attempts, before another Dildine ace and an OSU hitting error gave Purdue the 34-32 win and forced the deciding fifth game. Merlau chalked up seven kills and two aces in the stanza.
The Boilermakers (13-1, 3-0 Big Ten) return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday when they play host No. 2 Penn State.