Sept. 14, 2002
LAWRENCE, Kan. - The host University of Kansas Jayhawks tallied a 3-0 win over the Boilermakers in the team's final game of the Jayhawk Classic, Saturday afternoon. The Jayhawks (3-0 on the tournament) took the tournament title with the victory.
The Boilermakers fought a back-and-forth battle with Kansas in the first game of the match. The game was tied 5-5 before the Jayhawks went on a 6-0 run to take the lead and would not relinquish it despite a 4-0 run by the Boilermakers to pull within three at 16-13. The Jayhawks answered each Purdue run with one of their own, including a 6-1 effort to finish the game 30-19. The Gold and Black hit just .100 in the first game, to the Jayhawks' .306 effort. Four team blocks also helped lift Kansas over Purdue in the game.
The Boilermakers never allowed the Jayhawks to take control of game two, owning the lead or never trailing by more than one for much of the game. With the score at 16-15 in favor of Purdue, KU mounted a 9-2 run to give itself a 24-18 advantage. The Gold and Black would not go down easy, however, edging back into the game on a couple of Kim McConaha (So., Centerville, IN) kills and a McConaha ace. With the score at 28-23 KU, the Boilermakers would not let up as kills by Marie Franke (Fr., Ballwin, MO) and Tiffany Yoskey (Sr., Canal Fulton, OH) gave the team new life at 29-27. Kansas registered its 35th kill of the match to take the game 30-27.
Game three mimicked the closeness of game two. After tying the game at 4-4, the Boilermakers did not give up the lead until the 20-19 mark, despite several KU challenges and ties. Yoskey and Renata Dargan (Fr., New Lenox, IL) registered aces for the squad, while several Purdue players tallied kills to keep the game in reach. KU's Josiane Lima, the tournament MVP, then added to her kill tally to help the Jayhawks pull away. The Gold and Black fought back with kills from McConaha and Lowry but could not overcome the deficit. Lima ended the match with the last of her match-high 17 kills.
KU hit .396 for the match to the Boilermakers' .180 effort. McConaha, the lone all-tournament team honoree for Purdue, led the team with 13 kills in the match, while Daren Poe (So., Martinsville, IN) led the Boilermakers with 14 digs. The Jayhawks (8-0), which were ranked 58th in the latest RPI ratings, also tallied 11 team blocks to the Boilermakers' five.
The Gold and Black (8-3) will be back in action Wednesday night at the IAF when they face off against in-state rival Notre Dame.