Nov. 12, 1999
By DaVida Smith
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue volleyball team faced defeat tonight, as the 20th-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers won 3-0 (15-12, 15-8, 15-2). The Boilermakers slip to 14-10 (6-9 Big Ten), while Minnesota improves to 23-5 (13-2 Big Ten). First-year head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer feels Purdue played well, but faced too much strength on the other side of the net.
"We loss to a better team tonight," Hulsmeyer said. " Minnesota played very well and controlled the ball well. It was very difficult to hold them down."
Minnesota hit for an outstanding .471 percent tonight, while holding the Boilers to only .233. Junior Nicole Branagh was the kill leader for the night with 21 and Minnesota sophomore setter Lindsey Berg was good for 53 assists. Despite the numbers, Hulsmeyer was not disappointed in his team's effort.
"Our middles did a nice job of blocking tonight," Hulsmeyer said. "Getting Emke and Paul involved definitely made Minnesota work for it. There were a few passing errors we could have avoided, but for the most part we did what we were supposed to on our side of the net."
For the third match in a row, junior Julie Doud was Purdue's kill leader with 14. Senior Aneska Arosarena contributed 13, while classmates Sarah Emke and Connie Paul were good for 11. Minnesota began with a quick 2-0 lead to start the match. Purdue came back on a 4-1 run, capturing a slight 4-3 advantage. The score would knot at the 4, 5, and 10 marks, before the Golden Gophers went on a 5-2 run to take Game 1, 15-12.
Purdue came into Game 2 with high momentum and energy, scoring seven points unanswered. But the Gophers were not giving up. An ace by Purdue senior Taryn Catlin gave the Boilers their last point of the game, as Minnesota went on to score 14 points, sealing the game and taking control of the match with a 2-0 lead.
The Gophers shut Purdue out in Game 3 by taking a commanding 8-0 lead. Emke was able to slide in two kills before Minnesota ended the game 15-2, and ended the match 3-0.
The Boilers will attempt to put tonight's loss behind, as they prepare to face Iowa tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the IAF. The match will be broadcast live on WAZY (1410 AM) and www.purduesports.com. Hulsmeyer looks forward to meeting the Hawkeyes.
"We have got to stay focused," Hulsmeyer said. "We knew coming in we needed at least one win for the weekend, and now our only opportunity is against Iowa. We are going to have to play consistently and use tomorrow as our best opportunity."
Big Ten Scores:
Wisconsin def. Iowa 3-0 (15-4, 15-2, 15-0)
Ohio State def. Michigan State 3-2 (17-15, 13-15, 15-8, 4-16, 15-11)
Indiana def. Northwestern 3-0 (15-8, 15-6, 15-7)
Penn State def. Michigan 3-0 (15-2, 15-11, 15-6)