Nov. 30, 2007
ATHENS, Ohio - The Boilermaker volleyball team lost Game 1 of Friday night's NCAA Tournament match with the host Ohio Bobcats, but won the war, taking a 3-1 victory in the Convocation Center. Purdue won the match 25-30, 30-24, 30-22, 30-23.
Sophomore Carrie Gurnell paced Purdue with 17 kills, while freshman Kristen Arthurs and junior Danita Merlau added 12 kills apiece. Arthurs hit a .435 clip to lead the Boilermaker attack. Junior Stephanie Lynch and senior Samantha Mader each added nine putdowns.
Defensively, Merlau led the team with 14 digs to round out her double-double, while senior Anne Mastandrea and junior Kelli Miller recorded 13 and 12 respectively. Lynch led the Boilermakers at the net with nine blocks, including three solo efforts, while freshman Jaclyn Hart tallied six stuffs and Arthurs added four.
"Obviously we are excited with the win and that we are moving on," head coach Dave Shondell said. "Ohio is a team we have tremendous respect for and we knew that they would be ready to play on their home floodr. They jumped on us in Game 1, but I thought we settled down and played three outstanding games down the stretch. I am happy with the way our team adjusted tonight."
The Boilermakers trailed 3-1 early in Game 1, but scored four of the next five points to go up 5-4 on a kill by Mader. The Bobcats countered with an 8-3 run to take a 12-8 advantage. Ohio pushed its advantage to seven at 20-13. Purdue cut the margin to four on five occasions, last at 29-25 on a service ace by Hart, and thwarted two Ohio game-point attempts, but the Bobcats won the game 30-25. Mader tallied four kills in the stanza. Ohio led 6-4 in the early stages of Game 2, but Purdue turned the deficit into a 10-9 advantage. A block by Arthurs and Merlau and back-to-back kills by Gurnell capped the rally. The teams tied at 10, 11, 12 and 14 before the Boilermakers broke away with a 7-0 run, including four putdowns by Arthurs. The Bobcats used up both of their timeouts during the stretch. Purdue used a 5-0 run, including three kills by Gurnell and two by Merlau, to boost its advantage to 12 at 28-16. Ohio would not go down easily, however, scoring the next seven points to make it 28-23. A solo block by Lynch stopped the rally and set up the Boilermakers' first chance at the game. A Bobcat kill kept the game going, but a kill by Gurnell, her eighth of the stanza, sealed the 30-24 Purdue win and evened the match at a game apiece.
"I am fairly new to the left side," Gurnell said. "I am getting more experienced and more comfortable out there and that helped alot. Our setters also did a good job of getting the ball to me."
The Bobcats led 5-3 to start Game 3, but the Boilermakers charged back with six of the next eight points to go up 9-7. Ohio tied the game at 10-10, but Purdue pushed their advantage to five at 15-10. The Bobcats made it a two-point game at 15-13, but the Boilermakers responded with an 12-6 run, including back-to-back aces by McCormick, to take a 27-19 lead. A kill by Mader set up Purdue's first chance at the game at 29-20, but Ohio stopped the next two efforts, before a hitting error gave the Boilermakers the 30-22 win. Merlau and Gurnell each posted four kills in the game as Purdue outhit the Bobcats .262 to .089.
The Boilermakers raced out to a 6-3 advantage in Game 4, with the help of three blocks. Ohio caught up, tying the score at seven and eight, before taking a 9-8 lead of its own. Purdue answered with a 3-0 run, including two points on Bobcat miscues to go up 11-9. The Boilermakers continued to build its advantage, using a 5-0 run, including a trio of Ohio errors, to push the margin to eight at 23-15. The Bobcats were forced to use both of their timeouts during the stretch. A kill from Merlau made it an eight-point game again at 25-17, but Ohio narrowed the gap to four at 27-23. The Boilermakers sewed up the 30-23 win with three straight points, the last of which came on a solo block by Arthurs.
Purdue will now face No. 17 Cal Poly in the NCAA Tournament second round match. First serve is slated for 5:30 p.m. Saturday.