Oct. 22, 1999
EVANSTON, Ill. ? The Purdue volleyball team won its first Big Ten road match of the season with a 15-11, 15-12, 6-15, 9-15, 15-13 victory over the Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston, Ill. The Boilermakers improve to 12-7 (4-6 Big Ten), while Northwestern drops to 2-16 (0-9 Big Ten). This was Purdue?s final match in the first half of round-robin conference play and it was its fourth five-game victory this season.
First-year Purdue head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer was happy with his team?s effort, despite a struggle.
?It sure was good to get a victory on the road,? Hulsmeyer said. ?I am happy with our position in the Big Ten. Going into the second half, we are in prime position, and if we play like we did in Games 1and 2, we will be competitive for an NCAA bid.?
Senior Aneska Arosarena led the Boilers with 21 kills and a career-high 26 digs. Classmate Sarah Emke contributed a season-high 20 kills, while junior Julie Doud and sophomore Maegan Petersen were good for 13. Senior setter Taryn Catlin tied her season best of 70 assists and recorded a season high of 15 digs.
Even though Northwestern would score the first point of Game 1, Purdue answered quickly by going on an 8-1 run. The Wildcats closed the gap to 8-5, but an ace by Arosarena and two kills by Petersen put the Boilers up 11-5. Northwestern was not ready to give up, as they put together a 5-2 run to reduce the Purdue lead to three. But the Wildcats could not get any closer, and a block by Emke and Petersen provided the final point in Purdue?s 15-11 victory.
Purdue began Game 2 with a 3-0 lead. The Wildcats answered with two points, but it was not enough as the Old Gold and Black continued to pour it on by going on an 8-1 run to increase the lead to 11-3. Northwestern took a time out and found the momentum to go on an 8-1 run of its own to slash the Purdue lead to 12-11. The Boilermakers were not ready to give up. They allowed the Wildcats one more kill before a kill from Doud brought the score to 14-12. Petersen and senior Connie Paul came together for the game-ending block assist that gave the Boilers the 15-12 win.
Northwestern reclaimed the momentum in Game 3, which it won 15-6. The two teams battled point-for-point at the start, but an 11-2 run by the Wildcats after the score was tied 4-apiece, sealed Purdue?s fate.
That energy carried over into Game 4 for the Wildcats, which they won 15-9, causing a rally-scoring fifth game.
The Boilers were hungry for Game 5 and the match. An error by Northwestern?s Leah Ackerman set the stage for Purdue to score five unanswered points. The Wildcats slid in five points to deadlock the score at 5-all. But Purdue would not share the lead again, ultimately scoring 10 points to Northwestern?s eight to win the game 15-13, capped by a kill from Emke.
Purdue, which saw its two-game lead on the Wildcats slip away, showed great character in pulling out the victory, only its second on the road this season and first in the conference.
?I hope in the second half of Big Ten play we can take our home attitude on the road and produce results like tonight,? Hulsmeyer said.
The Boilermakers will enjoy Saturday off, but will return to action Oct. 29 against Indiana in West Lafayette. Purdue will face Illinois on Oct. 30. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on WAZY (1410 AM) and www.purduesports.com.