Sept. 29, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 3 Penn State volleyball team left West Lafayette with a 3-0 win despite a hard-fought effort by the Boilermakers and the enthusiastic cheers from a standing-room only crowd of 2,457. The Nittany Lions won the match 30-18, 30-20 and 38-36.
Senior Samantha Mader led the Boilermakers with 13 kills on a .385 hitting percentage. Junior Stephanie Lynch, sophomore Carrie Gurnell and junior Danita Merlau added kill tallies of nine, eight and seven respectively. Lynch also registered a team-leading four blocks, including two solo efforts. In the back court, junior Kelli Miller pulled up 14 digs to lead Purdue.
"We learned tonight that you have to play a certain way and have a certain mentality when you play a team in order to be effective," head coach Dave Shondell said. "In the first two games we were not very efficient because we were not in the right mind set; we probably tried too hard in those games. In the third game, we were more relaxed and did a much nicer job."
"We haven't been playing with our current lineup very long and it would be silly to think that we would be a great team right now, but we will continue to get better and fans will see us take big steps as the season progresses."
In game one, Purdue took an early 3-1 lead, capitalizing on PSU miscues. The Nittany Lions tied it up at three, marking the first of four ties in the early part of the game. Purdue maintained control, going up by two at 8-6 after a kill by Mader and a block by freshman Kristen Arthurs. Penn State countered with an 8-0 run to turn the deficit into a 14-8 lead. Purdue was forced to battle from behind from that point on and pulled as close as five at 15-10, but could not overcome the Nittany Lions. PSU posted six blocks in the stanza.
The Boilermakers jumped out to a 6-2 advantage in Game 2 as Lynch pounded down three kills and Merlau served up an ace. PSU charged back eventually tying the score at seven on an ace of its own. The teams split the next six points leading to a 10-10 tie, before Penn State managed five of the next seven points to go up 15-12. Kills by Gurnell and Merlau made it a one-point game, but the Nittany Lions pulled away, pushing their advantage to seven at 21-14. Purdue cut the margin to five three times, last at 25-20, but Penn State capped the game at 30-20 with five straight points. Lynch tallied four kills in the stanza for the Boilermakers, but PSU hit .500 in the game.
Game 3 featured 16 tied, nine lead changes and a combined 12 game points between the squads. It was close game from the beginning as neither team owned more than a two point advantage until Purdue used a 3-0 run to go up 18-15. A block by Arthurs and freshman Jaclyn Hart, a kill by Arthurs and a PSU miscue accounted for the rally. Penn State cut the margin to one five times, last at 22-21, but could not break through. The Boilermakers scored four of the next five points to push their lead to four at 26-22 and force the Nittany Lions to use their second timeout of the game. A 4-1 Penn State sliced the lead to one at 27-26, but a PSU service error and a solo block by Lynch set up Purdue's first chance at the game. The Nittany Lions used a block, a kill and a Purdue miscue to thwart the efforts and pull even at 29-29.
The Boilermakers had another chance at 30-29 after a PSU service error, but Penn State earned three match point attempts before momentum swung back in favor of Purdue. A kill by Mader and a PSU hitting error made it 34-33 Purdue. Back to back kills by Nicole Fawcett set up match point #4 for Penn State, but kill by Merlau and Gurnell answered the call. The marathon game finally ended at 38-36 as the Nittany Lions scored three straight on a kill, a Purdue hitting miscue and a block. Mader chalked up six kills and Gurnell added five in the stanza as Purdue outhit PSU .229 to .204.
"I think that the people who came to the match tonight saw and believe that we are a team worth watching," Shondell said. "We have the best fans in the country. When we came back to the gym after Game 2 more than 300 people were waiting in the hallway to cheer us back onto the floor. That doesn't happen anywhere else in the country."
The Boilermakers (9-6, 2-2 Big Ten) return to the court on Friday, Oct. 5, when they take on No. 9 Wisconsin in Madison, Wis.