Nov. 10, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Five Boilermaker players posted double-digit kill tallies, but it was not enough to bring the volleyball team a victory over Minnesota Saturday night. The Golden Gophers won the match 30-24, 24-30, 31-29, 30-26.
Junior Danita Merlau led Purdue with 17 kills. Sophomore Carrie Gurnell, senior Samantha Mader and junior Stephanie Lynch added 16, 13 and 12 respectively. Defensively, junior Kelli Miller posted 17 digs, while senior Anne Mastandrea pulled up 15. The Boilermakers recorded 10 blocks in the match, led by Lynch's tally of five.
The Golden Gophers led 8-6 in Game 1, when Purdue managed a 3-0 rally, including kills from Mader and Gurnell, en route to a brief lead 9-8 lead. The teams tied at 14, 17 and 18 before Minnesota took control with a 10-4 run, which made it 28-22. A solo block by freshman Jaclyn Hart stopped the Gopher rally, but UM finished the game at 30-24. The Gophers hit .413 in the stanza.
The Boilermakers stormed out to a 14-6 lead in Game 2. The team scored seven in a row, including an ace by Mastandrea, during the stretch. The Golden Gophers cut the margin to four at 15-11, but would get no closer. A kill by Merlau set up Purdue's first game-point opportunity at 29-22. Minnesota thwarted two chances with a kill and a block, before a putdown by Mader gave the Boilermakers the 30-24 win. Merlau chalked up seven kills in the game as Purdue outhit the Gophers .250 to .098 in the stanza.
The back-and-forth battle continued in Game 3, which featured 10 ties and seven lead changes. Purdue took an early 3-1 lead as Gurnell tallied two kills, but Minnesota countered with a 5-1 run to turn the deficit into a 6-4 lead of its own. Purdue battled from behind, eventually using a 4-0 run to go up 13-10. Lynch tallied a kill and two blocks in the rally. The Golden Gophers regained the lead at 15-14, but Purdue countered with a kill from Hart and capitalized on a UM ball handling error to make it 16-15 Boilermakers. Minnesota scored seven of the next 10 to take a 22-19 lead and prompt at Purdue timeout. The Boilermakers scored two points out of the break, including a kill from Lynch, to pull within one at 22-21. Purdue tied the score at 27-27 after a Gopher hitting error and used kills from Lynch and Merlau to set up game-point at 29-28. A controversial four-hit call knotted the score at 29 and prompted the first of two yellow cards on the Boilermaker coaching staff. A kill and a block by Kyla Roehrig brought Minnesota the 31-29 win.
Minnesota carried the momentum into Game 4 and took a 9-5 lead to start the stanza. Purdue remained resilient, scoring eight of the next 10 points to go up 13-11. The Gophers tied it at 17, then posted a 7-3 run to give them a 24-20 lead. A net violation and a hitting error cut the margin to two at 24-22. Despite two kills from Merlau, the Boilermakers faced match point at 29-25. Hart kept hope alive with a solo block, but a kill from Brook Dieter, her 24th of the night, capped the 30-26 win for Minnesota.
After the weekend, Purdue (15-12, 8-8 Big Ten) is in a three-way tie for third place in the Big Ten with Minnesota and Michigan. The Boilermakers return to action on Wednesday, when they face the Indiana Hoosiers, in a match that will air live on the Big Ten Network. Purdue will then face the Michigan Wolverines on Friday for a senior night contest.