Nov. 4, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A true team effort helped the Boilermaker volleyball team to a 3-1 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes Sunday afternoon. Purdue won the match 30-24, 30-25, 23-30, 30-28 as three players posted double-doubles.
Four different players added double-digit kill efforts and four Boilermakers posted double-digit dig tallies. Junior Danita Merlau led Purdue with 14 kills. Freshmen Kristen Arthurs and Jaclyn Hart both had career days with kill tallies of 12 and 10 respectively. Junior Stephanie Lynch added 11 putdowns and sophomore Carrie Gurnell tallied nine.
Hart finished her double-double with 24 assists, while Merlau added 10 digs to her effort. Lynch posted 13 blocks to wrap up her multi-faceted display.
In the back court, junior Kelli Miller pulled up 28 digs to lead the Boilermakers, while moving herself into the No. 2 spot on Purdue's career dig list. Redshirt junior Meghan McCormick recorded 11 digs, while senior Anne Mastandrea added 10 to the Purdue tally.
The Boilermakers began Game 1 with three straight points, including an ace by Miller, and boosted its advantage to five at 12-7 to force an OSU timeout. Four different Purdue hitters tallied kills in the stretch. Back-to-back blocks pushed the Boilermaker lead to seven at 16-9, but Ohio State closed the gap to four at 22-18. Purdue responded with seven of the next 10 points, capped by a solo block by Lynch, to set up game point at 29-21. The Buckeyes thwarted three attempts by Purdue, before a putdown by Lynch sealed the 30-24 win. Merlau tallied seven kills in the stanza.
Purdue raced out to a 5-1 in Game 2 and built its advantage to as many as six at 14-8. The Buckeyes countered with five of the next six points to slice the margin to one at 15-14. The Boilermakers called a timeout and scored six of the next seven out of the break, including kills from Miller, Arthurs and Merlau, to go up 21-15. OSU made it a two-point game at 22-20 after a trio of Purdue miscues, prompting a Boilermaker timeout. The break once again proved to be a positive move as Purdue produced a 7-3 run to make it game-point at 29-23. Arthurs tallied two kills and Merlau served up an ace during the stretch. Ohio State held the Boilermakers at bay for two points, before Arthurs put down her fifth kill of the stanza to cap the 30-25 win.
Trailing 8-7 in Game 3, Ohio State rattled off eight of the next 11 points, including a run of four straight, to turn the deficit into a 15-11 lead of its own. The Buckeyes maintained the advantage from that point on, leading by as many as seven en route to the 30-23 victory,which prevented the Purdue sweep. OSU hit .426 in the stanza to keep the match going.
Ohio State carried the momentum into Game 4, beginning the stanza with a 3-1 lead. Purdue chalked up 11 of the next 14 points to take a 12-6 lead. The Boilermakers registered four blocks during the stretch, including two to cap the rally. Purdue pushed its lead to seven at 23-16 after back-to-back putdowns by Hart. The Buckeyes would not go away, however, slicing the margin to two at 28-27 with an 8-3 run. A kill by Gurnell set up first chance at the match, but an Ohio State kill kept things going. A Buckeye hitting error, however, wrapped up the 30-28 win for Purdue and the match.
The Boilermakers (14-11, 7-7 Big Ten) begin a four-match homestand on Friday, when they play host to the Iowa Hawkeyes.