Sept. 18, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The sell-out crowd on hand for Saturday's volleyball match featuring Purdue and Kentucky got its money's worth with a five-game thriller. In the end, the Wildcats left West Lafayette with 3-2 win and the Mortar Board Premier tournament title. UK won the match 24-30, 30-21, 33-31, 25-30, 17-15.
Purdue jumped out to a 6-2 lead behind kills from three different players and an ace by senior Kim McConaha (Centerville, Ind.). The Boilermakers maintained the lead and owned an 8-5 advantage as the teams switched sides. Kentucky then put together a 6-3 run to tie the score at 11 on a kill by Kristen Cunningham. UK then turned a 12-11 deficit into a 14-12 advantage with kills by Danielle Wallace and Alex Montefalco. A kill by redshirt junior Leah Wischmeier (Brownstown, Ind.) and a setting error by the Wildcats tied it up at 14. The teams tied again at 15, before a kill by Amy Kaplan and a block by Kaplan and Montefalco clinched the match for UK at 17-15.
The back-and-forth battle began in Game 1, which featured 16 ties. Kentucky scored the first two points, then the knot-ups began. Purdue was down 22-21, then rattled off nine of the next 11 points, including kills by four different players and an ace by Wischmeier, en route to the 30-24 win. McConaha had six kills and Purdue served up four aces in the stanza.
Kentucky raced out to a 6-1 lead in Game 2 and led throughout. Purdue pulled within two at 6-4, but the Wildcats bumped the point margin to eight at 14-6. The Boilermakers responded with a 5-0 run including an ace by Brittany Dildine (So., West Lafayette, Ind.) to make it 14-11. UK answered with a 7-0 run, making a 10-point game at 21-11. Purdue stuck with it, but couldn't get the margin under seven the rest of the game. A Boilermaker service error gave Kentucky the 30-21 win.
Game 3 saw the Wildcats take the early lead, but Purdue soon owned a 9-7 advantage. The Boilermakers expanded the point-margin to four at 16-12 on a kill by Melanie Ukovich (So., Minooka, Ill.), but Kentucky scored 10 of the next 13 points to take a 22-20 lead of its own. Purdue played from behind, eventually tying it up at 28. The teams tied at 29, 30 and 31, before a pair of kills gave UK the overtime win at 33-31.
Game 4 saw Kentucky start with a 3-0 lead, but Purdue turned the deficit into a 4-3 lead on an ace by Daren Poe (Sr., Martinsville, Ind.). The teams traded points over the next several serves, with neither team owning more than a one point advantage at any point until Kentucky went up 15-13 on a Purdue miscue. The Boilermakers caught up, tying it at 18 on a block and kill by McConaha. Purdue tied it again at 20 and scored 10 of the next 15 points including an ace by McConaha to win the game 30-25 and force the deciding fifth game.
McConaha led Purdue with 24 kills, while Wischmeier added 17 and freshman Sammi Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) put down 14. Poe led the defense with 20 digs. Montefalco led all hitters with 27 kills.
McConaha and Wischmeier were named to the Mortar Board all-tournament team. East Tennessee State's Jennifer Sartor, Central Michigan's Melanie Klein, and Kentucky's Amy Kaplan and Danielle Wallace rounded out the team. Wildcat Sarah Spinner was named Tournament MVP.
Purdue returns to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday, when they face Indiana for the Monon Spike.