Oct. 4, 2003
COLUMBUS, Ohio. - The Purdue volleyball team moved to 3-1 in conference play with a four-game victory over Ohio State Saturday night, snapping a seven-match losing streak to the Buckeyes and chalking up three wins in their first four games for the first time since 1990. The Boilermakers came from behind to win 27-30, 30-25, 30-22 and 30-20.
Junior Kim McConaha led all hitters with 25 kills and a .457 hitting percentage to go with 10 digs, four blocks and an ace. Freshman Melanie Ukovich and junior Kim Cappa also hit double figures with 14 and 10 respectively. Junior Daren Poe led the Purdue defense with 12 digs. OSU junior Stacey Gordon racked up 21 kills to lead the Buckeyes.
The Boilermakers kicked off game one with a 6-2 lead after a pair of blocks and a Melanie Ukovich service ace, her first of the season. Purdue maintained at least a three-point lead over the next several minutes until a trio of Buckeye points pulled OSU to within one at 15-14. The Boilermakers stayed strong, extending the lead to four at 20-16, but Ohio State would not go away, tying it up at 23 after another 3-0 run. Purdue led again at 25-24, but three straight Buckeye points including two Boilermaker miscues gave OSU a two point lead. A Ukovich kill stopped the run but another pair of OSU kills set up a game-point attempt at 29-26. Ukovich again paused the action, but a Stacey Gordon kill, her 10th of the game, finished it at 30-27.
"I was disappointed that we didn't win the first game - we did what we wanted to on Gordon and defended her better than I though we would, but we made a few bonehead plays allowing them to win," head coach Dave Shondell. "We continued to contain her the rest of the match. It was a great team effort, and even though not all of our 15 players got on the court, they were all important to this win whether it be in practice or actually in the match."
Game two was a reversal from the first as Ohio State took the early 4-2 lead. Purdue tied it up at 4-4 but was down 7-6 before taking over the lead that would last them the rest of the game. The Boilermakers went up four at 16-12 on a McConaha ace and extended the lead to seven at 22-15 after a 4-0 run including a pair of OSU miscues. Ohio State took a time out and returned to cut the lead to four at 22-18, but Purdue was resilient, holding the Buckeyes at bay. OSU made a late run to make it a four-point game, but a Ukovich kill gave Purdue their first chance at the game. A Briana McCarthy kill stopped the Boilermakers momentarily but McConaha chalked up her 10th kill of the game to give Purdue game two with a 30-25 score.
Purdue kept the momentum going in game three taking the lead early at 2-1 and extending it to a five point advantage at 9-4. The Boilermakers upped the point margin to eight at 18-10, but then Ohio State took over going on a 7-0 run to slice the Purdue lead to one at 18-17. Purdue responded with a trio of point on a block, a kill and a OSU error. After a Boilermaker service error, the team chalked up three straight points including kills by Ukovich and Kim Cappa. The Buckeyes stopped the effort momentarily with a timeout, but that didn't faze the Boilermakers as they continued the string with two more points to go up 26-18. The teams traded points, but Purdue remained on top, bringing their first game point attempts at 29-20 after a pair of kills by setter Renata Dargan and McConaha. OSU held the Boilermakers off for two tries, but McConaha kill sealed the deal at 30-22 Purdue.
Up 2-1 in the match, Purdue stayed with their strengths, namely serving, racking up two aces in the opening moments, one by Ukovich, her second of the night, and another by Cappa, to give the Boilermakers a 5-2 advantage. OSU hung in there cutting the lead to one at 9-8 and again at 10-9, but Purdue responded with a 4-0 run to make it 14-9. Three straight Buckeye errors upped the lead to eight at 22-14. The Boilermakers continued to dominate, ending the match at 30-20 as Gordon's last ditch attempt sailed out of bounds.
"The key for us was simple execution of our game plan," Shondell said. "You can put together an excellent game plan, but if a team doesn't execute it well, it doesn't do any good. Our players truly believe in our staff and did a great job listening. They executed our game plan to near perfection."