Nov. 16, 2002
MADISON, Wisc. - The No. 14 Wisconsin Badgers lived up to their ranking as they handed the Boilermaker volleyball team a 3-0 loss at the Fieldhouse in Madison, Saturday night.
Five service aces helped the No. 14 Badgers get an advantage in game one. Wisconsin went up 9-2 in the early goings including a 5-0 run. A Kim McConaha (So., Centerville, IN) kill ended that push as the Boilermakers scored three of the next four points to pull to within five at 10-5. The Badgers answered with four straight points including a pair of Jill Maier service aces. The Old Gold and Black sliced the point margin to seven at 15-8 and 18-11, but a six-point surge by Wisconsin bumped the score to 25-11 in favor of the home team. Purdue held off the Badgers with three straight points on two occasions but two straight kills at 28-19 gave Wisconsin the game at 30-19. McConaha tallied five kills to lead the Boilermakers in the game.
Game two saw the Badgers tally a .371 hitting percentage and post 17 kills to the Boilermakers' eight. Purdue finally recorded two-straight points on a Joanna Lowry (Jr., Glen Ellyn, IL) kill and a Badger miscue. Wisconsin then registered 15 of the next 18 points to own a 23-8 advantage. Purdue answered with three of the next four including a kill by McConaha and a block by McConaha and Marie Franke (Fr., Ballwin, MO), slicing the lead to 24-11, but that was as close as the Boilermakers could get. Lowry boasted four of Purdue's eight kills in the game, but couldn't break through the Badger block.
Purdue took its first lead of the night at 1-0 in game three on a Wisconsin net violation. A McConaha block put the Boilermakers up 2-1, before a pair of Badger kills brought the game's first lead change. Purdue tied it up at three, four and five, before a four-point run by Wisconsin gave the home team a 9-5 advantage. A Badger service error coupled with a Tiffany Yoskey (Sr., Canal Fulton, OH) ace sliced the lead to two. The game stayed close until Wisconsin scored four straight to move the advantage to 15-9. A couple of Badger miscues and a block by Renata Dargan (Fr., New Lenox, IL) and Jen Bova (Jr., Milwaukee, WI) pulled the Boilermakers to within three at 16-13. The teams traded points until a Yoskey kill made it 24-22 Wisconsin. Two Badger miscues brought hope to the Old Gold and Black at 26-24. Purdue stopped two game point attempts by the Badgers, but Wisconsin clinched the match at 30-26 on a Amy Hultgren kill.
Lowry led the Boilermakers with eight kills, while McConaha added seven. Sophomore libero Daren Poe (Martinsville, IN) led Purdue with nine digs. Hultgren led all hitters with 12 kills for the Badgers, while Erin Byrd picked up an 11-kill, 11-dig double double. Wisconsin tallied 11 aces and eight blocks in the match.
Next up for Purdue is a 6 p.m. match against Michigan Friday night at the IAF.