Nov. 15, 2003
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Boilermaker volleyball team tried everything to overcome a hungry Iowa team in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but fell victim to the Hawkeyes in a five-game match. Iowa won the match 30-28, 26-30, 30-25, 25-30 and 15-11.
Game five was again unkind to Purdue, although the team started out with a 2-1 lead off a pair of Kim McConaha kills. The Hawkeyes turned things around going up 6-3, but the Boilermakers answered with three straight, two on kills by Leah Wischmeier and a block from Wischmeier and freshman Katie Dobson. After a tie at seven, Iowa caught fire scoring seven of the next nine to set up their first match-point attempt at 14-9. A pair of Hawkeye hitting errors extended Purdue's life but a kill by Carolyn Giese ended the Boilermakers' hopes with a 15-11 win.
Wischmeier led all hitters with a career-high 24 kills, followed by McConaha's tally of 21. McConaha finished the double-double with 14 digs and six blocks, while five Purdue players tallied double-figure dig totals. Libero Daren Poe pulled up 15 to lead the Boilermakers, while sophomore Renata Dargan, junior Kim Cappa and freshman Brittany Dildine each recorded 10. Laura Simpson led the Hawkeye charge with 20 kills, while libero Pam Kavadas dominated the defensive court with 33 digs.
Purdue took a 2-0 lead to begin the night on a free ball kill by Poe and a kill by Wischmeier. Iowa battled back to tie it up at two, one of 14 knot ups in the game, and eventually take a 4-3 lead. The Hawkeyes held the advantage until Purdue turned a 8-5 deficit into a 9-8 lead with a 4-0 run featuring a pair of McConaha kills. Trailing 14-13, the Boilermakers chalked up three straight points on a pair of Wischmeier kills and a Hawkeye hitting error. Iowa responded with a 3-0 run of its own to regain the lead. The streaks continued as a Dobson kill, a Marie Franke block and an Iowa ball handling error put Purdue back on top at 19-17. The Hawkeyes went ahead after tallying eight of the next nine points to make it 25-20 in their favor. Purdue battled back tying it up at 28, but a kill and a double-hit call gave Iowa the 30-28 win.
Game two saw the Hawkeyes maintain the momentum, turning a 4-2 deficit into a 6-4 lead. Purdue tallied four straight points, including two kills by Wischmeier to take the lead which they would not relinquish. The Boilermaker advantage rose to six at 16-10 after another 4-0 run which featured a pair of Purdue blocks involving McConaha, Cappa and Dargan. Down 19-12, Iowa chipped away at the deficit, cutting it to three at 20-17. The Boilermakers boosted the advantage back to five at 25-20 on a solo block by McConaha and a Cappa kill. The Hawkeyes made it a three point game at 27-24, but a Wischmeier kill set up Purdue first game point attempt at 29-25. Two serves later, a Cappa kill wrapped up the game at 30-26 for the Boilermakers.
Iowa again played from behind and turned a 5-3 Purdue advantage into a three-point lead of its own. The Hawkeyes boosted their lead to six at 13-7 after a handful of Boilermaker miscues. Purdue cut the lead to four at 18-14, but could not break through. The Boilermakers stuck with it, slicing the Iowa lead to two at 27-25 on a solo block by Andrea Kolwitz. The Hawkeyes scored the next three, two on Purdue miscues to take a 2-1 lead in the match with a 30-25 win.
Purdue bounced back in game four winning 30-25 to extend the match. The Boilermakers trailed 3-2 in the early goings and after a tie at seven, responded to take a 17-10 lead. The Purdue rally featured three blocks, a McConaha service ace and four Hawkeye miscues. The advantage would quickly evaporate as Iowa rattled off seven straight to tie it up at 17. The teams tied again at 20, but that sparked a 4-0 Boilermaker run. Iowa fought back, cutting the lead to two at 26-24, but Purdue wasn't done yet. The Boilermakers scored four of the last five points, including kills by Dobson, Dargan and McConaha, to force a deciding fifth game with the 30-25 win.
Purdue (12-14, 5-11 Big Ten) look to regroup with a week of practice before taking on Northwestern at 7 p.m. Friday in West Lafayette.