Oct. 12, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball team shook off a Game 1 loss to top the Northwestern Wildcats 3-1 Friday night. Purdue won the match 22-30, 30-28, 30-21, 30-25.
Junior Stephanie Lynch led a group of four Boilermakers with double-digit kill tallies. Lynch racked up 14 putdowns, followed by junior Danita Merlau (13), sophomore Carrie Gurnell (12) and freshman Kristen Arthurs (10). Arthurs led the team with a .471 hitting percentage, putting down 10 kills in 17 swings, with just two miscues. Lynch was right behind with a .440 effort.
Defensively, junior libero Kelli Miller pulled up 24 digs, while Merlau rounded out her double-double with 12 digs. At the net, Lynch put up seven blocks, including a solo effort, while freshman Jaclyn Hart and Gurnell each added four stuffs.
The Wildcats led 15-8 at the midway point of Game 1, prompting a Boilermaker timeout. Purdue cut the deficit to five at 21-16 after a pair of kills and a solo block by Gurnell. Northwestern countered with 5-1 run to push the point margin to nine at 26-17. The Boilermakers scored four of the next six points, including a pair of Merlau putdowns to cut the deficit to seven at 28-21. A kill by Brittney Aldridge set up the Wildcats' first game-point attempt. A kill by Merlau thwarted the effort, but another Northwestern kill sealed the 30-22 win. Merlau racked up seven kills in the stanza.
Northwestern took a 9-6 lead to start Game 2, but the Boilermakers scored four straight points, including a kill and two blocks by Lynch, to turn the deficit into a 10-9 advantage. Down 13-10, the Wildcats managed six of the next seven points to put NU up 16-14. Kills by Hart and Arthurs and a pair of Northwestern miscue, put the Boilermakers back on top at 18-16. A trio of Wildcat points turned the tide yet again. The Wildcats led by as many as four at 24-20, but Purdue fought back, tying the score at 27-27. Lynch and Merlau combined for five kills during the rally. A kill by Courtnie Paulus broke the tie, but the Boilermakers used a kill by Merlau and capitalized on a pair of Northwestern hitting errors to take the game 30-28. Purdue chalked up five blocks in the game, including four by Lynch and three by Hart.
The Boilermakers carried the momentum into Game 3, taking an early 8-5 lead, capped by an ace by senior Samantha Mader. The teams tied at eight and nine, but Purdue maintained control, going up by three at 14-11. The Wildcats fought back, knotting the score at 16-16. Arthurs put down a pair of kills and Gurnell added another to push the margin back to three at 19-16, prompting a Northwestern timeout. The Boilermakers expanded their lead to six at 25-19. Northwestern made it a four-point game at 25-21, but Purdue wrapped up the stanza with five straight points, including an ace by redshirt junior Meghan McCormick and kills by Mader and Miller. Gurnell tallied five kills on seven swings in the game as the Boilermakers hit at a .421 clip.
The teams split the first 12 points of Game 4 and remained close until the Boilermakers broke things open with a 4-0 run to go up 19-13. Northwestern used both of its timeouts trying to halt the Purdue rally. The Wildcats cut the margin to one at 24-23, but kills Merlau and Gurnell supplied putdowns to put Purdue up four at 27-23. The Boilermakers blocked three of the last four balls in the game en route to a 30-25 win and the match victory.
The Boilermakers (11-7, 4-3 Big Ten) return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday when they take on the Michigan State Spartans. It is Dig For A Cure night, so wear pink and come out to support the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the American Cancer Society and the Boilermakers.