Nov. 29, 2002
Bloomington, Ind. - The Indiana Hoosiers continued their quest towards an NCAA Tournament berth with a sweep of the Boilermaker volleyball team in Bloomington, Friday night. IU took Purdue 30-23, 30-28 and 30-24.
The Hoosiers scored the first two points of game one and extended their lead to three at 6-3 on a Melissa Brewer service ace. The score stood at 10-6, before the Boilermakers made their move, tallying three straight on a pair of IU errors and a kill by Marie Franke (Fr., Ballwin, MO). Indiana then chalked up five points in a row on two blocks and three kills to make it a six-point margin for the Hoosiers at 15-9. Joanna Lowry (Jr., Glen Ellyn, IL), Tiffany Yoskey (Sr., Canal Fulton, OH) and McConaha put down some balls for Purdue, but the lead remained in the hands of Indiana. The Boilermakers capitalized on three straight Hoosier miscues to draw to within five at 21-16, but couldn't break through. Down 27-20, the Old Gold and Black scored three of the next four points on blocks by Yoskey and Jen Bova (Jr., Milwaukee, Wisc.). A Purdue service error and a Christina Archibald kill clinched game one for the Hoosiers at 30-23.
Indiana took a 2-0 lead into the break after a down-to-the-wire game two. A Yoskey kill gave Purdue its first lead of the match at 1-0 in the second game. Kills by Franke, McConaha and Renata Dargan (Fr., New Lenox, IL) kept the Boilermakers on top by two at 5-3. The Hoosiers tied it up at five, but the Old Gold and Black would not give up the advantage, scoring three straight including an ace by Dargan and a solo block by Lowry to take a 9-6 lead. IU chipped away at the Purdue lead, tying it up at 11 on a 3-0 run of its own. A pair of Franke kills and an ace by Bova put the margin back to three in favor of Purdue. After a tie at 15, the teams traded points, before Indiana took its first lead at 19-18. The Boilermakers took advantage of three-consecutive IU miscues to go up 21-19. Purdue maintained the lead until a 5-0 run gave the Hoosiers a 26-23 lead. A Franke kill and a block by McConaha and Dargan cut the margin to one and another kill by McConaha kept it close at 27-26. IU tallied its first game point attempt at 29-26, but Purdue wouldn't go down that easily. A Hoosier service error and a Lowry kill made it 29-28, but a Katie Pollom down ball gave Indiana the 30-28 win.
Game three was another battle from the start, with neither team owning more than a one-point advantage until a 3-0 run put Indiana up 8-6. Purdue answered with four straight points on two kills by Lowry, one by Yoskey and a IU hitting error. The Old Gold and Black stopped only briefly, before extending its lead to three at 12-9 on a Bova kill. Two kills and a Purdue hitting error tied it up at 12. The pendulum swung back the Boilermakers' direction with another 3-0 run. Down 17-14, IU scored eight of the next nine to take a 22-18 advantage of its own. A 5-0 Boilermaker run including a Lowry service ace put Purdue back on top 24-23, but it was not meant to be as the Hoosiers made it a three-game sweep with seven straight points, ending the game at 30-24.
Franke led Purdue with 11 kills, while Bova pulled up a team-high 14 digs. Yoskey tallied seven kills and a team-high four blocks for the Boilermakers in her final battle versus the Hoosiers. Archibald led all hitters with 16 kills, while Hillary Toivonen and Beth Heimann registered 17 digs apiece for IU. Indiana outblocked Purdue 12 to seven.
The Boilermakers will end the 2002 campaign with a match against No. 20 Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, Saturday night.