Sept. 8, 2007
CLEMSON, S.C. - Two Boilermaker players earned spots among the Boilermaker elite, ‎reaching the 1,000 milestone in kills and digs respectively. Junior outside hitter Danita ‎Merlau registered her 1,000th putdown and junior outside hitter/defensive specialist Kelli ‎Miller pulled up dig number 1,000 as the Boilermaker volleyball team registered a 3-0 ‎sweep of Florida A&M to begin Day 2 of the Big Orange Bash. Purdue won the match ‎‎30-28, 30-23, 30-17. ‎
Junior Stephanie Lynch led the Purdue offense with 16 kills on a .625 hitting effort. ‎Merlau added 14, moving her career total to 1,002, while senior Samantha Mader racked ‎up 12 putdowns. As a team, the Boilermakers hit .372 on the day, while holding the ‎Rattlers to a .193 effort. ‎
Senior Anne Mastandrea led the team defensively with 20 digs, while Miller added 14, ‎boosting her career tally to 1,010. Merlau rounded out a double-double with 11 digs and ‎freshman Jessica Ullrich added 10. At the net, freshman Jaclyn Hart chalked up five ‎blocks, while Mader added four stuffs, including three solo efforts. ‎
In a game that featured 22 ties and 10 lead changes, neither team led by more than two ‎points. The Boilermakers owned a 15-13 advantage midway through after posting a 4-0 ‎run, including kills by Lynch and freshman Kristen Arthurs and a pair of blocks ‎involving Hart. Purdue led 24-23 after a kill by Merlau, but trailed 25-24 moments later. ‎The Boilermakers played from behind from that point until scoring three in a row to go ‎up 29-27. A FAMU block thrwarted Purdue's first chance at the game, but a kill by ‎Mader sealed a 30-28 win. Lynch and Merlau each chalked up six kills in the stanza. ‎
After splitting the first 14 points of Game 2, the Boilermakers rattled off four in a row, ‎including kills by Lynch, Mader and Miller to go up 11-7 and prompt a FAMU timeout. ‎The Rattlers cut the Purdue lead to one, but the Boilermakers responded with an 12-4 run ‎to extend their advantage to eight at 26-18. Hart served up an ace and six different ‎players posted kills during the rally. Putdowns by Hart and Merlau made it 28-19, then a ‎block by Hart and Merlau set up game point at 29-22. A net violation by FAMU two ‎plays later capped the game at 30-23. Miller chalked up six digs in the game, including ‎her 1,000th.‎
The Boilermakers raced out to a 9-4 lead to start Game 3. The teams split the next six ‎points, before Purdue postd a 6-0 run to increase its lead to 11 at 18-7. Lynch and Mader ‎tallied kills and the team capitalized on three Rattler misues during the stretch. FAMU ‎cut the point margin to eight at 24-16, but could get no closer as Purdue scored six of the ‎next seven points to wrap up the 30-17 victory and the sweep. Lynch added five kills in ‎the game, and Merlau posted three to become the 19th Boilermaker player to reach 1,000 ‎kills. ‎
Purdue (5-3) looks to extend its win streak to three as the team takes on the host Clemson ‎Tigers at 7 p.m. ‎