Oct. 27, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball managed to take a game from the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers Saturday night, but could not pick up the win. The Badgers won the match 3-1 by scores of 30-14, 30-19, 26-30, 30-23.
Juniors Stephanie Lynch and Danita Merlau led the Purdue offense with kill tallies of 19 and 15 respectively. Senior Samantha Mader and freshman Kristen Arthurs added eight kills each in the match.
In the backcourt, four players posted double-digit tallies, led by junior Kelli Miller, who pulled up 20. Freshman Jessica Ullrich (14), senior Anne Mastandrea (11) and Merlau (10) also reached double-figures. At the net, Lynch and Arthurs each posted four blocks to lead the team.
Wisconsin outblocked the Boilermakers 21 to eight and outhit Purdue .233 to .067.
The Badgers raced out to a 10-3 lead to start Game 1 and would maintain the lead throughout the stanza en route the 30-14 win. Lynch and Arthurs each posted three kills for Purdue.
The Boilermakers rebounded in Game 2, taking an early 6-3 lead as Lynch racked up three kills. Merlau and Mader also added putdowns in the stretch. The Badgers, however, countered with four-straight points to go up 7-6. With Purdue trailing 11-8, Arthurs chalked up back-to-back kills to cut the margin to one. Wisconsin built its lead to four at 20-16. A kill by Merlau slowed the Badgers briefly, but Wisconsin outscored Purdue 10-3 down the stretch to win the game 30-19. UW posted nine blocks in the stanza to counter Purdue's 12 kills.
Despite trailing 2-0 in the match, the Boilermakers were not prepared to concede. The teams tied seven times, last at 7-7, to open the stanza, but Wisconsin took a three-point lead at 11-8. Purdue scored four in a row to take a 12-11 lead of its own. Two UW errors and kills by Lynch and Mader scored the Boilermaker points. The teams tied again at 12, 13 and 14, before the Badgers managed a 19-14 lead. Down five points again at 20-15, the Boilermakers responded with a 10-2 run, turning the deficit into a four point lead at 26-22 and forcing UW to use both of its timeouts. Arthurs served up eight straight points, including two aces, while Lynch and Merlau supplied putdowns during the rally. A Mader putdown set up game-point for the Boilermakers at 29-25. A Purdue miscue kept the game going, but a block by Arthurs and Hart wrapped up the 30-26 win. Lynch chalked up seven kills in the game, while Merlau added five.
The teams battled back and forth for the opening 14 points of the deciding Game 4, leading to a 7-7 tie. The Boilermakers then used kills from Miller and Merlau to go up 10-7. Purdue continued to lead, going up by three again at 16-13, but Wisconsin registered a 7-2 run to make it 20-18 in favor of the Badgers. A kill by Merlau stopped the rally, but UW answered back with another 7-2 run to boost its lead to six at 27-21. A putdown by Mader slowed the Badgers momentarily, but the Boilermakers could not overcome Wisconsin, which capped its 30-23 win with a 4-0 run. Lynch tallied six kills in the game.
"There is good news and bad news coming out of the weekend," head coach Dave Shondell said. "The bad news is that we lost two matches. The good news is that we may still be in third place in the Big Ten despite that. It is a long season and because of that, it can become a grind. We need to get out team fired up again. Kristen Arthurs did provide us a spark tonight with her serve in Game 3, which kept us going."
The Boilermakers (13-9, 6-6 Big Ten) return to action Friday when they take on the No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions in University Park, Pa.