Nov. 15, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Boilermaker volleyball team is still looking for its second conference victory after a 3-1 loss to Northwestern Friday night. The Wildcats won 30-21, 30-23, 30-32, 30-26.
Purdue fell behind 9-2 early in game one after three kills and a block by Erika Lange. A kill by Illinois native Joanna Lowry (Jr., Glen Ellyn, IL) ended a five-point run by the Wildcats, but the Boilermakers could not break through. The Old Gold and Black finally put together a scoring run, cutting the deficit to six with five consecutive points on three Northwestern miscues, a Kim McConaha (So., Centerville, IN) service ace and a block by Lowry and senior Tiffany Yoskey (Canal Fulton, OH). Northwestern answered with a 5-1 run of its own to boost the advantage to 10 at 24-14. Purdue outscored the Wildcats 5-2 to slice the point margin to seven at 26-19, but Northwestern closed it out at 30-21 on another kill by Lange.
Game two was a much different story as the Boilermakers kept the game within reach, never falling behind by more than two and tying it up three times in the early goings. The Boilermakers were within one at 10-9, but three straight Purdue mistakes extended the Wildcat lead to four. The teams traded points for several serves until three consecutive Northwestern errors cut the margin to one at 17-16. Lange provided a 3-0 run for the Wildcats with two kills and a block to make it 21-17. A four-point push gave Northwestern a 27-20 lead and despite a stop on the Wildcats' first game point attempt, the home team clinched a 30-23 win.
Something clicked in game three as the Boilermakers hit .263, their highest effort of the night, and held Northwestern to just a .098 effort. A 5-0 run, featuring two kills by Lowry and three mistakes by the Wildcats, put Purdue on top 9-4. Northwestern slammed down three straight kills to slice the margin to two, before negating its effort with three more errors. A pair of service aces helped the Wildcats turn that deficit into a one-point advantage at 15-14. At 16 all, two kills by Marie Franke (Fr., Ballwin, MO) and a Jen Bova (Jr., Milwaukee, WI) service ace gave the lead back to Purdue. At 23-19, Northwestern scored five of the next six to tie it up at 24. The Wildcats owned the lead at 29-27, but the Boilermakers would not give in. The Old Gold and Black finally found an answer, outscoring Northwestern 5-1 in the closing moments, winning the game at 32-30 on a block by Renata Dargan (Fr., New Lenox, IL) and Yoskey.
Game four brought a back-and-fourth battle to the finish. Northwestern jumped out to a 4-0 lead, mimicking game one, but this time, Purdue had an answer scoring five of the next seven points at 5-2 to tie it at seven. The Boilermakers took the lead at 9-8 after a Lowry kill and a block by Dargan and Yoskey. A 4-0 Wildcat run, put the team ahead 12-9. The Old Gold and Black was within one at 12-11 and 14-13, but couldn't overcome Northwestern's attack. The Wildcats outscored Purdue 10-3 over the next several minutes, giving the home team a six-point advantage. Northwestern tallied its first match-point attempt at 29-21, before Purdue went a 5-0 run to extend the game. A Wildcat timeout iced Yoskey's serve and Northwestern clinched the match at 30-26. "When we played, we did a good job, but we didn't maintain that level of play," head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer said. "We showed that we can play at a high level as we have throughout the season. We just can't let it rise and fall. We are running out of season for maturity to take hold. We need to learn to maintain."
Lowry and Franke led Purdue with 15 kills apiece, while Poe pulled up 19 digs and Yoskey tallied six blocks. Lange led Northwestern with 23 kills, while Christie Gardner added 20. Iwona Lowzik chimed in with 19 digs for the Wildcats.
Next up for Purdue is a 7 p.m. match with the Wisconsin Badgers Saturday night.