Nov. 14, 2007
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
| VIDEO: Purdue vs. IU Highlights
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball team evened the season score with Indiana, topping the Hoosiers 3-1 Wednesday night. Purdue won the match 16-30, 30-23, 30-26, 30-24.
Junior Danita Merlau led all hitters with 23 kills and rounded out her 15th double-double of the season with 13 digs. Sophomore Carrie Gurnell posted 11 kills on a .435 hitting effort, while senior Samantha Mader added 11 putdowns.
Defensively, senior Anne Mastandrea and junior Kelli Miller pulled up 14 digs each, while sophomore Sam Gray added nine.
The Hoosiers led Game 1 from start to finish en route to a 30-16 win. Indiana outhit Purdue .387 to .000 in the stanza. Merlau posted five kills for Purdue but it was not enough.
The Boilermakers took a 7-5 lead in Game 2 as Merlau capped the run with a solo block. Indiana turned the tables, using a 6-0 run to go up 11-7. Purdue countered with a 12-3 rally of its own, going up 19-14. Gurnell tallied back-to-back putdowns in the stretch, while Mastandrea and Merlau served up aces. The Boilermakers stretched their lead to eigth at 26-18 after kills from Mader and Merlau, before finishing off the game at 30-23 on a kill by Gray.
Purdue carried the momentum into Game 3, going up 13-9 early as Gurnell put down four kills. Indiana narrowed the gap to one at 16-15, but that sparked a 7-2 Boilermaker rally and boosted the score to 23-17. Merlau chalked up four kills in the stretch, while Mader contributed two. The Hoosiers charged back to within one at 27-26. Purdue finished off the game with three quick points on a kill from Mader, an ace from Lynch and a Hoosier hitting miscue to take the 30-26 win.
Indiana was determined not to make it easy for the Boilermakers, jumping out to a 9-6 lead in the deciding fourth game. Purdue used a 12-5 run, including four Merlau kills and an ace by Miller, to turn the deficit into an 18-14 lead. The Hoosiers cut the margin to one at 19-18, but again the Boilermakers responded, going up 25-20 as Purdue capitalized on six Indiana miscues. Gurnell chalked up her 11th kill of the night, then Merlau pinned an overpass kill to the floor to set up match point at 29-23. A service error kept the match going, before Merlau sealed capped the contest at 30-24 with another putdown.
The Boilermakers (16-12, 9-8 Big Ten) wrap up their home season when the Michigan Wolverines come to the IAF on Friday. Purdue will celebrate Senior Night at the 7 p.m. contest.