Nov. 16, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball team wrapped up a season sweep of Michigan with a 3-1 victory on Senior Night. Purdue won the match 30-25, 21-30, 31-29 and 30-28.
Senior Samantha Mader racked up a season-best 17 kills, while juniors Danita Merlau and Stephanie Lynch added 14 and 12 respectively. Sophomore Carrie Gurnell posted nine putdowns.
Merlau led the Boilermaker defense with 23 digs to round out the double-double. Junior Kelli Miller (22), senior Anne Mastandrea (13), sophomore Sam Gray (12) and freshman Jessica Ullrich (11) also reached double-digits. Lynch led Purdue at the net with eight blocks, while freshman Kristen Arthurs and Gurnell added seven and five each. Merlau rounded out her stellar evening with two aces.
"I think tonight is an indication that our team is getting better," head coach Dave Shondell said. "They are starting to put stock in themselves and their ability to win. I think we did a lot of good things tonight starting with defense, the kind of defense that Danita Merlau played tonight. She had 23 digs in the match as a 6-foot 4 player, which almost never happens in the Big Ten.
"I thought all of our seniors had great matches. Our team played with a purpose tonight, to win for the seniors, in addition to all of the other things the match meant for us. All of our players really gave themselves up for our senior class."
The Boilermakers started the match scoring eight of the first 11 points, including aces by Miller and Ullrich and two blocks and a kill from Gurnell. The Wolverines narrowed the gap to one at 11-10, but Purdue maintained the edge. It was a one-point game again as Michigan ace made it 20-19. The Boilermakers posted an 8-3 run to boost the margin to six at 28-22. Purdue capitalized on five UM miscues during the stretch. Michigan scored three of the next oufr points, but Purdue capped the game at 30-25 on a kill by Merlau, her sixth of the stanza.
Purdue took the early lead once again in Game 2, going up 5-2. The teams tied at seven, eight and nine before the Wolverines pulled away with an 8-3 run. Trailing 17-12, Purdue countered with a 5-2 rally of its own, cutting the margin to two at 19-17 on ace by Merlau. Michigan, however, closed out the game with an 11-4 run. The Wolverines hit .391 in the stanza to Purdue's .200 effort.
Michigan carried the momentum into Game 3, taking a 6-3 lead out of the gate. Purdue captured the lead at 8-7 with a 5-1 run that ended with back-to-back blocks. UM regained the edge momentarily at 10-9, but the Boilermakers scored four in a row including kills by Gurnell and Lynch to go up 13-10. Four more blocks, including two by Lynch and two from Arthurs helped Purdue build a five-point lead at 20-15. The Wolverines made it a one-point game at 25-24 and 26-25, but a kill from Mader and a UM miscue gave the Boilermakers a little cushion at 28-25. Michigan charged back to take a 29-28 lead after a couple of controversial calls. The Boilermakers remained resilient, however, scoring three in a row, two on kills by Mader to take the 31-29 win. Mader paced Purdue with seven kills in the game, while the Boilermakers outblocked the Wolverines 7-3.
The teams split the first 22 points of the deciding Game 4 and neither held more than a one-point advantage during the span. The Boilermakers managed three points in a row, including kills from Arthurs and Merlau, to go up 14-12. Lynch and Mader tallied putdowns to make it 19-16 and force Michigan to use its second and final timeout. The Wolverines tied it up at 19 with three straight points out of the break. Purdue countered with five of the next six points, including an ace by Gray and a solo block by Arthurs to push the margin to four at 24-20. Michigan would not go away, however, making it a one-point game at 28-27. A Lynch putdown set up Purdue's first match point attempt at 29-27. Katie Bruzdzinski kept the match going with a kill of her own, but a stuff by Mader and Arthurs wrapped up the contest at 30-28.
The Boilermakers (17-12, 10-8) wrap up the Big Ten season next weekend on the road at Northwestern and Michigan State.