Sept. 15, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The No. 4 USC Trojans swept the Purdue volleyball team in Day 2 action at the Sports Imports Classic Saturday afternoon. The Trojans snapped the Boilermakers' four-match win streak with a 30-17, 30-19, 30-18 result.
Junior Stephanie Lynch provided a bright spot for the Boilermakers with 12 kills on a .435 hitting percentage to lead the offense, while junior Danita Merlau added nine kills. Senior Anne Mastandrea led the defense with 13 digs and Merlau pulled up nine. Three different Boilermakers posted solo blocks in the effort.
"This was one of those matches where you have to be efficient with your ball control game and we were not," head coach Dave Shondell said. "They were well prepared for us and did some things to take us out of our game, like serving tough and taking advantage of our small block in spots. We have a lot of work to do and we will reevaluate some things, but that is what the pre-conference season is for. We survived the pre-conference season and posted an ample win-loss record. As we go into the Big Ten season, we have to get better each week."
USC led Game 1 from start to finish, save a tie at 1-1. The Trojans hit .526 in the stanza en route to the 30-17 win. Junior Stephanie Lynch posted five kills in the stanza for the Boilermakers.
Game 2 was much of the same as USC jumped out to a 9-2 lead. Purdue cut the margin to five with a kill by Lynch and a service ace by redshirt junior Meghan McCormick. The Trojans responded with eight straight points to widen the gap. Trailing 21-7, the Boilermakers put together a pair of 3-0 runs, which including kills by Lynch and Merlau, but could not break through. Purdue rallied late, scoring four of the last six points and holding off two USC game-point attempts, in the 30-19 loss. Lynch and Merlau each tallied four kills in the game.
The fourth-ranked Trojans wrapped up the match with a 30-18 win. Merlau, Lynch, senior Samantha Mader and sophomore Carrie Gurnell each racked up three kills for Purdue, but it was not enough. A kill by Lynch held off USC's first chance at the match, but a service error capped the meeting.
Purdue (7-4) returns to action on Friday, when they take on No. 13 Minnesota in Minneapolis.