Nov. 30, 2002
Columbus, Ohio - The Purdue volleyball team saw a flash of hope late in game five of Saturday evening's match, only to have it overshadowed by a Stacey Gordon kill to snatch a 3-2 victory for No. 20 Ohio State. The Boilermakers were poised for the upset, but dropped the fifth game 15-13 to see their hopes fade. The Buckeyes won 27-30, 30-20, 30-23, 23-30, 15-13.
Purdue opened the deciding fifth game with a Marie Franke (Fr., Ballwin, MO) service ace, but a net violation evened the score at one. Neither team owned more than a one point advantage until the Boilermakers took a 6-4 lead after putting together a 3-0 run on a Jen Bova (Jr., Milwaukee, WI) kill, a block by Tiffany Yoskey (Sr., Canal Fulton, OH) and Franke and a Buckeye hitting error. With the lead 10-7 in favor of Purdue, Ohio State scored six straight points to turn that into a 13-10 Buckeye advantage. The Boilermakers fought back, holding off two OSU game point attempts to make it 14-13, but Gordon shut the door on the Purdue season with her 34th kill of the night.
The Boilermakers came into St. John Arena ready to play, jumping out to an early 3-1 lead in game one. The Buckeyes eventually caught up, taking a one-point lead at 5-4 and 6-5, but Purdue answered with five-straight points including a Joanna Lowry (Jr., Glen Ellyn, IL) service ace and two kills by Yoskey, who was playing in her final match as a Boilermaker. Ohio State pulled to within three a few times, but Purdue would not give in, tying its largest lead of the game, five points at 17-12. OSU tied it at 19 all after putting together a 4-0 run including two Stacey Gordon kills and an Anna Andersson ace. The teams traded points over the several minutes with the Boilermakers maintaining at least a one-point lead until another tie up at 27. Kills by Franke and Renata Dargan (Fr., New Lenox, IL) set up Purdue's first game point attempt of the night. A hitting error by Gordon gave the Boilermakers the one-game advantage with a 30-27 win.
The Buckeyes heated up in game two, outscoring Purdue 10-3 in the opening moments. Purdue sliced the lead to five at 10-5 after back-to-back OSU errors. The Buckeyes boosted the lead back to seven at 13-7 on a block, one of six in the game. The Boilermakers would cut the point margin to five several times throughout the game but could not break through. Down 28-18, the Boilermakers scored two straight on an Eryn Leach (Jr., Saratoga, CA) kill and an OSU miscue, but it was not enough. The Buckeyes took game two on a block by Katie Virtue and Suzie Stiling.
Purdue chalked up the first three points in game three, but soon that advantage turned into an 11-6 OSU lead. A 3-0 Boilermaker run including a Lowry service ace cut the lead to five. The Buckeyes extended the margin to eight, but the Boilermakers would not give in. Purdue scored four straight including two blocks to make it 21-17. The Old Gold and Black kept it close, but a four point run by OSU set up the Buckeyes' first attempt at game point. The Boilermakers held off two attempts by Ohio State with a Kim McConaha (So., Centerville, IN) kill and a Buckeye hitting error. A Stacey Gordon kill won the game at 30-23 for OSU.
The character of the Boilermaker squad came out in game four as Purdue took a quick 8-1 lead, capitalizing on five Buckeye errors and three blocks. OSU cut the lead to four at 11-7 but Purdue boosted its lead to six on a service error and a block by Franke and McConaha. The Buckeyes pushed the Boilermakers to the brink, tying it at 21, but Purdue would not be intimidated. The Boilermakers scored four straight behind back-to-back kills by Lowry, a block and an OSU miscue to take a 26-22 lead. A Buckeye kill stopped the Purdue effort, but only momentarily as Purdue would finish it at 30-23 after three OSU errors, to extend the match.
Lowry led the Boilermaker hitters with 14 kills, but McConaha, Yoskey and Franke also reached double figures with 12, 10 and 10 respectively. Sophomore libero Daren Poe tallied 15 digs for Purdue, while McConaha added a career-high tying eight blocks. Gordon led all hitters with 34 kills, while Rebecca Kastein led the Buckeyes with 16 digs.
"This is a good positive to take into the off-season," head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer. "We can leave feeling good about the job we did and go into the off-season knowing that we were two points where we need to be. That should be a big motivator for us. This whole season has been a step forward. You would rather be close than get blown out and we know that we are definitely close."
The Boilermakers end the season with a 12-21 overall mark and 2-18 record in the Big Ten. Ohio State will now await the decision of the NCAA Tournament committee as to its post-season plans.