Sept. 11, 2004
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The No. 24 Boilermaker volleyball team finished third in the Domino's Pizza Lady Vols Classic after dropping a 3-1 match to host Tennessee Saturday night. Purdue won the first game 30-28, but fell 30-23, 30-24 and 30-23 in the successive games.
Purdue forced three-straight Tennessee errors to take a 3-0 lead out of the gate. The Lady Vols crept back into it tying the game at 8-8 before taking their first lead at 9-8. The margin increased to two at 11-9, but it was short lived as the Boilermakers put together an 10-3 run, including kills by five different players, to go up 19-14. UT tied it up at 20, but Purdue maintained its composure, pushing the margin back to four at 26-22 on a service ace by junior Renata Dargan (New Lenox, Ill.). A Lady Vol ace made it a one-point game at 26-25, but the Boilermakers persevered holding off the late run. Kills by freshmen Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.) and Sammi Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) set up the Boilermakers' first game-point attempt. Three serves later, senior Kim Cappa (West Lafayette, Ind.) sealed the game at 30-28.
The Lady Vols came alive in Game 2, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 5-4 lead, before raising the point margin to five at 11-6 moments later. From there, Tennessee scored 10 of the next 13 points to go up 21-9 on a Kristen Andre kill. Purdue closed the gap to six at 24-18 on a block by Jacques and Mader and then to five at 25-20 on an ace by Brittany Dildine (So., West Lafayette, Ind.). UT boosted its lead to seven at 29-22 on a block by Sarah Blum, but an error cost the Lady Vols their first game-point attempt. A kill by Blum gave UT the 30-23 win, tying the match at 1-1.
The Tennessee momentum continued in Game 3 as the Lady Vols started on a 6-0 run. Purdue scored three straight to cut the margin and tied it up at 8-8 on a Wischmeier kill. Seven of the next nine points went to UT, putting them up 15-10. The Boilermakers made it a three-point game at 19-16 on another Wischmeier putaway. Tennessee upped its lead to six at 26-20 after three straight scores. Purdue staved off two game-point attempts making it 29-24, but a hitting error clinched the 30-24 UT win.
The fourth game was a back-and-forth battle for the first 14 points, ending in a 7-7 tie. Purdue then went up 10-7 on three Lady Vol miscues, but UT bounced right back to take a 12-11 lead. A kill by redshirt sophomore Sarah Vitali (St. Charles, Ill.) tied it at 12, but against Tennessee used the knot up to its advantage, scoring five of the next six points to go up 17-13. Purdue answered with an 8-3 run to make it a one-point game at 22-21 on a kill by McConaha. UT put up three blocks and a pair of kills to raise the margin back to six. Another McConaha kill made it 28-23, but Lady Vol kills by Yuliya Stoyanova, and Kristen Andre clinched the match with a 30-23 win.
Wischmeier, who was named to the Lady Vol Classic all-tournament team, led Purdue with 15 kills, while McConaha added 13. Senior Daren Poe (Martinsville, Ind.) led the Boilermaker defense with 17 digs, while freshman Anne Mastandrea pulled up 16.
Purdue (4-2) returns to action on Tuesday night when instate rival Valparaiso comes to West Lafayette. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.