Oct. 16, 2004
MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Badgers continued their stronghold on the Boilermaker volleyball team in the Wisconsin Fieldhouse Saturday night, defeating Purdue 3-1. UW won the match 30-24, 30-28, 25-30, 30-18.
Wisconsin jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but Purdue pulled within one at 4-3 after a pair of Badger errors. The Boilermakers kept the game within reach eventually turning an 8-6 deficit into a 10-9 lead, behind kills from senior Kim McConaha (Centerville, Ind.) and sophomore Melanie Ukovich (Minooka, Ill.). After a tie at 10-10, Purdue boosted their advantage to three at 14-11 on a kill by redshirt junior Leah Wischmeier (Browntown, Ind.). After three more ties, the Boilermakers went up 18-16 on a free-ball kill by senior Daren Poe (Martinsville, Ind.). A 5-0 Badger run gave the team a 24-20 lead. A McConaha kill stopped the rally, but Wisconsin outscored Purdue 6-4 from that point on to win the game 30-24.
The Boilermakers scored first in Game 2, posting a pair of points on a kill by sophomore Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind.) and a Badger miscue. The Purdue lead rose to four at 6-2 on a service ace by junior Renata Dargan (New Lenox, Ill.). Wisconsin tied it up at six, seven, eight and nine, before Purdue regained a three-point advantage at 12-9 after a block and kill by McConaha. UW pulled within one at 12-11, but a McConaha ace put the Boilermakers up by three again at 14-11. The back-and-forth battle continued until the Badgers used a 7-1 run to turn a 17-14 deficit into a 21-18 lead. Purdue, however, answered with a 5-1 run of its own to go up 23-22. The teams traded points from then until a knot up at 28, but a block and kill by Aubrey Meierotto sealed the 30-28 win for the Badgers.
Purdue kept the match going with a 30-24 win in Game 3. After trailing 6-1, the Boilermakers chipped away at the deficit, pulling within one at 11-10 on a McConaha kill. Down again at 13-10, Purdue put together a 5-0 run, including kills by freshman Sammi Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) and senior Kim Cappa (West Lafayette, Ind.) and an ace by Poe, to go up 15-13. The Boilermakers raised the lead to five at 19-14 with an ace by McConaha and kill by Cappa. Wisconsin would not go away, slicing the margin to one at 21-20, but Purdue scored five of the next six to make it 26-21. A Badger ball handling error gave the Boilermakers a 29-23 lead, then a Cappa kill two plays later continued the match with a 30-24 win. Purdue hit .349 in the game to Wisconsin's .174 effort.
After ties at four and five in Game 4, Wisconsin compiled a 5-1 run including three blocks. A solo block by McConaha stopped the rally, but the Badgers continued on to raise the lead to nine at 18-9. Purdue head coach Dave Shondell called a timeout, sparking his team to a pair of points on a kill by Cappa and a block by freshman Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.) and Ukovich, making it 18-11. A 5-1 run boosted the Wisconsin advantage to 11 at 23-12, before a pair of Badger errors halted the effort. Down 27-14, Purdue managed a pair of points on back-to-back kills by Wischmeier but it was not enough, as UW put up three of the last five points to clinch the match.
McConaha led the Boilermaker effort with 18 kills, while Ukovich added 12 in her first action since October 2. Dildine pulled up 15 digs for Purdue, while Poe and junior Lauren Berg (Indianapolis, Ind.) also reached double digits with 13 and 10. McConaha and Poe each served up two of Purdue's six aces. Wisconsin hit .216 for the match and outblocked the Boilermakers 17.5 to 7.
Purdue returns to action at 7 p.m. on Friday at home in West Lafayette.