Oct. 8, 1999
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ? History repeated itself Friday when Purdue?s volleyball team lost 15-6, 15-7, 15-8 at Illinois. The Boilermakers have not won a match at Illinois since 1984, and haven?t won a single game in Huff Hall since 1989.
Purdue fell to 10-4 (2-3 Big Ten) with the loss, while Illinois improved to 8-3 (3-1 Big Ten). This was first-year Purdue head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer?s first return to Illinois after spending the last three seasons as an assistant for the Fighting Illini.
?I knew we would have our hands full coming in,? Hulsmeyer said. ?They were attempting to protect their home court, and that is what they did.?
The Boilers got off to a rough start in Game 1. Purdue scored the first point, but the Fighting Illini quickly took a 3-2 lead. Connie Paul, a senior for Purdue, tied the game 3-3, before Illinois went on a nine-point run. With the score favoring Illinois 12-3, Paul got one over minimizing the lead to eight. But Purdue could not lessen the lead any further, as the Orange and Blue cruised to the 15-6 victory.
Game 2 proved to be equally trying for Purdue. Illinois jumped out to a 7-2 lead, and the Boilermakers could not recover. Purdue got as close as three on a block to make the score 10-7, but Illinois scored five unanswered points down the stretch to win 15-7.
Purdue seemed to come back from the break between Games 2 and 3 ready for action. The Boilers took an early 3-0 lead, but Illinois answered with a quick three points of its own. The Boilers went ahead by three again at 7-4 on a block by junior Julie Doud. But the Fighting Illini stayed on Purdue?s heels, answering every Boiler attempt until they took the lead over at 8-7 on a kill by sophomore Shadia Haddad. Unfortunately for the Boilers, they would manage to put just one more point on the board the rest of the way, as Illinois pulled out the 15-8 victory.
It was not a typical night for the Boilers, who lead the nation and Big Ten in kills per game. They hit just .137 on the evening with only 39 kills. Senior Aneska Arosarena, the Big Ten?s leader in kills per game and last week?s conference player of the week, led Purdue with 11 kills, but struggled with a .067 hitting percentage. Senior Sarah Emke added 10 kills for Purdue?s cause.
Illinois hit .462 on the evening, led by Betsy Spicer and Sara Sorrell, who both contributed 12 kills. The Fighting Illini outblocked Purdue 10-6 and outdug the Boilers 33-15.
Purdue will get back on the court tomorrow night when it battles Indi ana for the coveted Monon Spike trophy in Bloomington. The match will begin at 7 p.m., and will be carried live by WAZY-1410 AM and www.purduesports.com. It will be televised by Fox Sports Chicago on Oct. 11 at 4 p.m.