Sept. 4, 1999
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ? A quest for a third straight Mortar Board Purdue Premier title fell short for the Boilermaker volleyball team today. Wisconsin-Milwaukee downed Purdue 15-7, 7-15, 15-10, 15-2 in the title game of the 10th-annual installment of the fall classic at the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility, handing the Boilers (2-1) their first loss of the season.
?Wisconsin-Milwaukee is an outstanding team,? first-year Purdue head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer said. ?They have a lot of veterans and they play consistently, so we knew tonight?s match would be a challenge. And it was a great learning experience for us.?
One of the things the Boilermakers learned is that mistakes must be minimized in order to win. Unfortunately, Purdue?s errors were maximized at times when its offense wasn?t clicking. And the struggle was reflected in the final statistics, which showed Purdue hitting at a .189 clip (57-30-143), compared to the Panthers? .336 (62-18-131).
Wisconsin-Milwaukee was on from the start, jumping out to a 5-0 lead in Game 1 before the Boilers could respond. They did, though, clawing their way back to within a point at 4-5 and again at 5-6. But the Panthers surged from there, closing out the game on a 9-2 run to claim a 15-7 win.
Purdue turned things around in Game 2, however. A block by Aneska Arosarena and Connie Paul put the Boilers ahead 3-2 for their first lead of the match. Lots of hustle, good court coverage and smart play helped Purdue hang onto that lead for the rest of the game, which the Boilers won 15-7.
?Our passing was on in Game 2,? Hulsmeyer said. ?That was the most complete game we?ve had this season.?
Things continued to look up for Purdue at the beginning of Game 3, as Arosarena keyed a Boiler run to start the contest. Purdue went up 5-2 early, but Wisconsin-Milwaukee fought back to overtake the lead at 8-7. Purdue got the edge back at 10-9 on a service ace by Paul, but the Panthers regained momentum and limited the Boilers to just a single point down the stretch en route to the 15-10 win.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee continued its surge into the deciding Game 4. The Panthers scored nine straight points before the Boilers could get on the board. And that cushion proved to be more than comfortable, as the Panthers coasted to a 15-2 victory.
The hero for Wisconsin-Milwaukee was tournament Most Valuable Player Laura Dallenbach, who recorded 20 kills on a .432 hitting percentage (20-4-37). Purdue?s Julie Doud led the Boilers with 15 kills.
It was Arosarena who led the Boilers in their first game of the day, a 15-5, 15-11, 13-15, 9-15, 15-9 victory over Marquette. The Panama native recorded 20 kills and a career-high 14 digs in the win.
In the other two Saturday matches, both Marquette and Wisconsin-Milwaukee posted victories against Stephen F. Austin.
The all-tournament team included Boilermakers Arosarena and Sarah Emke, in addition to Wisconsin-Milwaukee?s Sue Raschka and Katie Schneider, Stephen F. Austin?s Heather Stumbaugh and Marquette?s Chris Curtin. Arosarena finished the three-match tournament with 48 kills, 30 digs (career-high 14 against Marquette) and 10 blocks. Emke totaled 36 kills, 16 digs and nine blocks.
Purdue, which had set a goal of winning all its non-conference matches, will return to the court next weekend at the Northern Arizona Fiesta Bowl Tournament in Flagstaff on Sept. 10-11. The Boilers will face host Northern Arizona, in addition to UC Irvine and Xavier.
?We?re looking forward to getting back into the gym,? Hulsmeyer said. ?We need to keep improving on what we?re doing well and we need to shore up some weaknesses, especially our blocking and defensive positioning.?
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