Oct. 19, 2002
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A 15-12 Indiana win in game five ended the Boilermakers' hopes of topping their in-state rival, claiming the Monon Spike and halting a winless Big Ten stand. The Hoosiers (14-6, 4-5) claimed the match 3-2 with scores of 30-23, 31-33, 23-30, 30-16 and 15-12.
With the match tied at two games a piece, Indiana seemed determined to retain possession of the Spike, jumping out to a 4-0 advantage on an ace, a block and Christina Archibald kill. Purdue then capitalized on two Hoosier error to cut the margin to two. The teams swapped points until a two-point push by the Old Gold and Black cut the margin to one (7-6) on a Jen Bova service ace. Momentum swung back-and-forth as the Hoosier lead swelled to three and then shrunk back to one in minutes. Joanna Lowry (Jr., Glen Ellyn, IL) answered two Hoosiers kills with a pair of her own to help tie the game at 11-11. A block by Lowry and Tiffany Yoskey (Sr., Canal Fulton, OH) gave Purdue a 12-11 lead, but Indiana ended the Boilermakers' chances for victory with a 4-0 run including a Nikki Hill ace. The Gold and Black managed just a .059 hitting effort in the 15-12 game- five loss.
Game one was a back-and-forth battle from the start, with neither team owning more than a one-point advantage until the Hoosiers went ahead 10-8. After Purdue tied it up at 10 all, neither team could wrestle more than a one-point lead until Indiana went up 19-17. The Boilermakers pulled to within one, but could not shake the Hoosiers. Indiana went on a five-point run to extend the lead to 24-18, but a Kim McConaha (So., Centerville, IN) kill ended that momentarily. The Hoosiers took a 27-21 advantage on a Monique Pritz kill and then closed the door at 30-23 on a Katie Pollom effort.
Indiana jumped out to a 7-4 lead in game two, but it was short lived as Purdue tied the game at 9 all minutes later. The teams knotted up again at 12 and 15, before the Hoosiers took a 16-15 lead. The Boilermakers then scored six of the next eight points to own a 21-18 advantage. IU would not give up easily, tying the game at 25 and then knotting it up three more times, before taking a 30-29 lead of its own. Back-to-back kills by McConaha gave Purdue a 31-30 advantage, but a kill by Pritz tied it at 31. Another McConaha kill and a Hoosier hitting error finally clinched the game for the Boilermakers at 33-31. Purdue hit .368 to IU's .265 effort in the game.
The battle continued in game three as neither team could maintain an advantage until Purdue went on a 7-2 run after a knot up a 9-9 to take a 16-11 lead. Indiana answered with four straight points including two on Melissa Brewer kills. A McConaha kill stopped the run and the Boilermakers extended their lead to five just minutes later. Facing a 23-18 deficit, IU pulled to within two on back-to-back service aces by Nikki Hill. Purdue answered with a 4-0 run featuring a Yoskey ace. The teams traded points for the next four rallies, before a kill by Marie Franke (Fr., Ballwin, MO) ended the game at 30-23 for Purdue. The Boilermakers outhit the Hoosiers .475 to .217 in the game.
The tides shifted in game four as Indiana owned the lead the entire game, save a 1-0 Boilermaker advantage to start things off. The Hoosiers took a 6-2 lead on a block, but Purdue crept back to within one, before a 4-0 IU run featuring two more blocks boosted the margin to 11-6. A service ace by Christina Archibald helped IU to an eight-point advantage at 16-8 and 17-9, but the Boilermakers cut that margin to five with a three-point run of their own. Indiana closed the game at 30-16 with a 13-4 run including two Victoria Zimmerman service aces. The Hoosiers tallied their best hitting performance of the night with a .364 effort, while Purdue struggled, mustering just .107 hitting in the game.
Purdue hit .299 on the night to Indiana's .295 hitting effort, but the Hoosiers tallied 85 kills to the Boilermakers' 70. IU also totaled 11.5 team blocks to Purdue's eight and registered 11 service aces on the night. Lowry led Purdue with 20 kills and six blocks, while McConaha added 17 kills on .517 hitting. Bova led Purdue with 17 digs on the night. Melissa Brewer led all hitters with 22 kills, while Nikki Hill recorded 17 kills and four aces for IU. Libero Hillary Toivonen led the Hoosiers with 13 digs, while Katie Pollom tallied 19 kills and eight blocks in the effort.
"We have to keep doing what we are doing well and we have to make plays in critical situations-you aren't going to win unless you do," head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer said. "It is a choice. You can either choose to dwell on it or you can learn from it. If they learn and understand and come out hard the next time, then they will be ready to make some plays."
The Boilermakers (9-11, 0-8) will be back in action next weekend when they travel to Michigan to take on the Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans.