Nov. 2, 2002
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball team played to a hard-fought 3-1 loss against No. 7 Minnesota, Saturday night in the IAF. Purdue took game one, but could not hold on, falling 30-25, 17-30, 25-30 and 25-30.
Purdue shocked the Golden Gophers in game one, taking an early 2-0 lead, and keeping the game close throughout the early goings. Minnesota took a 5-3 lead, but saw that diminish into one of four tie-ups leading to another tie at 10 all. The Boilermakers then took a 12-10 lead, allowed the Gophers to within one and then went on a 4-1 run to own a 16-12 advantage. UM cut the lead to two at 17-15, but the Purdue continued to dominate capitalizing on 15 Gopher miscues in the game, including six service errors. The Old Gold and Black extended the lead to six at 22-16 and never allowed it to shrink below three the rest of the game. At 28-25, the Gophers committed a costly service error, giving Purdue a game-point attempt. A block by Jen Bova (Jr., Milwaukee, WI) and Kim McConaha (So., Centerville, IN) sealed the game for Purdue at 30-25.
Game two had a decidedly different feel to it, as Minnesota dominated the game throughout. The Gophers jumped out to an 8-1 lead, but a Marie Franke (Fr., Ballwin, MO) kill stopped that run. However, the Boilermakers could not change the tides as Minnesota outscored them 16-6 to take a 24-8 lead. Purdue went on a 4-1 run to cut the lead to 25-12, but UM answered with a 3-1 run to increase the lead to 15. The Old Gold and Black would not give up, stringing together four-straight points, but it was not enough as Minnesota closed the door at 30-17.
The Boilermakers were back on top in game three, owning the lead from the start, owning as much as a four-point lead, until a tie at 15. Purdue regained the lead on a kill by Franke and upped the advantage to three on a McConaha kill and another by the freshman. Minnesota bounced back taking a one point lead at 19-18 after an Erin Martin kill. Four-straight Gophers mistakes gave Purdue a 22-21 lead. The teams then traded points, leading to a tie at 25, but Minnesota tallied five straight points to take the game 30-25.
The momentum carried over into the beginning of game four for the Gophers as the team went up 3-1 to begin the game. Purdue took a 5-4 lead after back-to-back kills by Joanna Lowry (Jr., Glen Ellyn, IL) and a Gopher miscue. A service ace by Dargan extended the lead to 7-5 for the Old Gold and Black, but a 3-0 Minnesota run tied it at 10 just minutes later. The Boilermaker advantage teetered between four and one until the Gophers went on a 4-0 run to take a 22-20 lead of their own. UM went up four at 27-23, but Purdue pulled to within two on a kill by Lowry and a Gopher mistake. However, it was not enough to stop the Minnesota effort, as the Gophers scored three straight, including a Cassie Busse kill, to cap the game and claim the match with a 30-25 win.
"You are seeing a maturity process in our team," head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer said. "We have to continue to get there and be close. Against the teams in this conference that are ranked in the top 10, we talked about extending the match. We have to win one game first and then see if we can pick off another, before we even think about winning the match. Tonight I thought we did a good job of coming out, playing our game and extending the match.
"We got a little rattled in the second game, but when you beat a top 10 team like that in the first game, they are going to come back out and come after you. We just have to be ready for that and that is another part of the learning process. I am very proud of the job that the team did. I thought we got a lot of good touches defensively. We slowed the ball down with our block and then got some digs. It was just not quite enough, but I thought we did a good job adjusting for Minnesota's attack."
Lowry led the Boilermakers with an 18-kill, 11-dig double-double, while Franke and Yoskey were also in double-figures with 14 and 11 kills respectively. The Boilermakers hit .217 to the Gophers' .327 in the match and were outblocked 12-to-6. Cassie Busse and Erin Martin led the Minnesota attack with 21 kills each. Libero Paula Gentil pulled up 14 digs to lead the Gophers, while Busse added six blocks.
Purdue will be back in action Wednesday night, when its travel partner Illinois visits the IAF.