Oct. 2, 1999
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ? Maybe it was the odds. Maybe it was due time. Or maybe it was a blessing from above that helped the Purdue volleyball team upset 18th-ranked Michigan 8-15, 15-11, 15-2, 7-15, 15-12 before a crowd of 1,707 in the IAF tonight. After all, on the evening the Boilermakers remembered Sue Jurkonis, their former teammate who lost her battle with cancer at the age of 22 last December, it seemed a little divine inspiration was all Purdue needed to overcome an early deficit to win its second consecutive Big Ten match and first against a top 20-ranked team since 1995 (vs. Illinois, 3-2).
The win, Purdue?s fifth straight at home, improved the Boilermakers to 10-3 overall and evened their conference mark at 2-2, following an 0-2 start last weekend at Iowa and Minnesota. Michigan, meanwhile, fell to 8-4 (1-3 Big Ten) with its second loss in a row.
?Any win is important in this conference,? first-year Purdue head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer said. ?The first step in our forward progress is winning at home. We did that this weekend, and I couldn?t be happier. I am very pleased with how well we played and the enthusiasm the crowd generated for us. They were a big factor.?
The biggest factor, however, was senior Aneska Arosarena, who paced Purdue with a career-high tying 34 kills and a career-best 24 digs. But contributions from junior Julie Doud (18 kills, 17 digs), sophomore Maegan Petersen (career-high 17 kills and nine digs), senior Taryn Catlin (season-high 70 assists and 13 digs), senior Sarah Emke (career-high nine blocks) and junior Christi Kelsey (career-high 17 digs) did not go unnoticed.
?Aneska contributed so much with her kills,? Hulsmeyer said. ?She was almost unstoppable. But we had a great total team effort. I also want to mention how well Christi Kelsey played coming off the bench. She was a true inspiration for me and her teammates with the attitude and intensity she displayed throughout the match.?
Purdue outhit Michigan .228 to .176, outdug the Wolverines 105-90 and outblocked them 12-10 in the match that lasted two-and-one half hours.
For Arosarena, the win over Michigan, which came on the heels of an upset over Michigan State on Friday, indicated a level of synergy the Boilermakers had been looking to reach all season.
?We played as a team tonight,? Arosarena said. ?There were no individuals on the court, just one unit fighting to win. That is something we have been working hard to accomplish, and it feels great now that we have. We just want to keep it going.?
Purdue was operating all-systems-go for the better part of the match. But things were a little shaky at the start. Nine kills by Arosarena were not enough for the Boilermakers in Game 1, as Michigan outhit Purdue (.236-.212), and dominated the serving game with five aces. Michigan jumped out to a 5-1 lead, scoring all five points on Purdue errors, then went ahead by five at 10-5 for its largest lead of the game. Purdue cut the lead back to four following two Michigan mistakes, but the Wolverines closed out the game on a 4-1 run to win 15-8.
Arosarena's 11 kills in Game 2 were plenty, however, as Purdue battled its way to even the match. The Boilermakers held slim leads at 4-3, 5-4, 8-7 and 9-8, but a kill by Michigan's Joanna Fielder gave the Maize and Blue the lead at 10-9. A block by Doud and Connie Paul knotted the score at 10-apiece, and a kill by Doud and an ace by Arosarena put the Boilers back on top at 12-10. Purdue kept surging, going ahead 14-10. Michigan saved three game points, but a kill by Doud sealed the deal for a 15-11 Purdue victory.
Purdue's momentum carried into Game 3, as the Old Gold and Black raced out to a 6-0 lead and forced the Wolverines to waste their two timeouts before the contest was halfway through. The Boilermakers continued to pour it on with two blocks by Sarah Emke and an ace by Doud, which helped Purdue build a 12-point advantage at 14-2. This time, with the game on the line, the Boilers wasted to time, putting away their first game-point opportunity on a kill by Arosarena to win 15-2.
A kill by Arosarena put the Boilers ahead 4-3 in Game 4, but a kill by Michigan's Nicole Kacor tied the score at 4-apiece. Purdue took the lead back and went ahead by as many as three at 7-4 on a Michigan error. But the Wolverines turned things around from that point on, going on an 11-0 run to pull out the life-preserving 15-7 victory.
It was do-or-die time in the rally-scoring Game 5. A dump-set kill by Purdue's Taryn Catlin followed by a Michigan error put the Boilers up 7-4, but the Wolverines responded with a 5-2 run to tie the score at 9-9. Purdue and Michigan were knotted at 10 and 11, as well, but a service error and a hitting error by the Wolverines put the Boilers up 13-11. A kill by Michigan on the ensuing play brought the Wolverines back to within one, but back-to-back kills by Doud and Arosarena lifted Purdue to the 15-12 victory.
The Boilermakers will have little time to enjoy this success, as they travel to Illinois (Oct. 8) and Indiana (Oct. 9) for their fifth and sixth Big Ten matches of the season. The match against the Hoosiers will be broadcast by Fox Sports Chicago on Oct. 10.
?Both matches will be tough,? Hulsmeyer said. ?We?ve got to go in prepared and we will have to play well. We want to make a statement on this trip, and we?re looking forward to it.?
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