Nov. 23, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Boilermaker volleyball team ran into a tough Michigan State Spartan team Friday night and suffered a 3-0 loss. MSU won the match 30-19, 30-24, 30-25.
Senior Samantha Mader posted a team-high 14 kills on a .357 hitting effort. Junior Danita Merlau added 12 kills, while sophomore Carrie Gurnell tallied eight putdowns. Purdue hit .240 on the night, including a .343 effort in Game 1, but could not overcome the Spartans' .388 effort.
Junior Kelli Miller paced the Purdue defense with 12 digs, while Merlau rounded out her double-double with 11 digs. At the net, junior Stephanie Lynch and freshman Jaclyn Hart posted four blocks each.
The Boilermakers hit .343 in the opening stanza, but it was not enough as Michigan State hit .579 en route to a 30-19 win. Purdue took the early 6-3 lead as Merlau, Gurnell, Mader and Lynch tallied putdowns. The Spartans rallied back to tie the game at 8-8 before taking a 12-9 advantage of their own. A kill by Gurnell stopped the 6-1 MSU run, but the Spartans outscored Purdue 18-9 down the stretch to take the win.
Michigan State carried the momentum into Game 2, scoring eight of the first 10 points. A pair of kills by Mader and one from Gurnell helped the Boilermakers cut the margin to three at 9-6. Down 12-8, Mader, Merlau and freshman Kristen Arthurs tallied putdowns as Purdue posted a 4-2 run. The Spartans, however, answered with a 7-4 run to push the score to 21-14. A pair of Boilermaker blocks slowed MSU momentarily, the Spartans continued on to a 28-20 advantage. With their backs against the wall, the Boilermakers scored four of the next five to keep the game going, before a kill by Lauren O'Reilly sealed the 30-24 MSU win.
Purdue led 6-4 in the opening stages of Game 3, but Michigan State countered with a 10-3 run to take a 14-9 lead. The Boilermakers pulled themselves back into the game with a 5-0 run, including a pair of blocks and kill by Gurnell and Merlau, to tie the score at 14-14. From there, Michigan State rallied to go up five at 22-17. The teams split the next eight points leading to a 25-20 score. The Spartans went up 28-21, but the Boilermakers weren't finished yet, instead scoring four in a row to prompt an MSU timeout. Hart, Mader and Arthurs all contributed kills during the stretch. The comeback was not to be however, as a kill and a block sealed the Spartans sweep at 30-25.
The Boilermakers (17-13, 10-9 Big Ten) wrap up the regular season against Northwestern at 7 p.m. Saturday in Evanston, Ill.