Oct. 30, 2004
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 6 Penn State proved too tough for the Boilermaker volleyball team Saturday night, sweeping the team 30-22, 30-19, 30-18. Purdue returns home to the friendly confines of the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility on Friday, where they will look to maintain a winning record with victories over visiting Michigan State and Michigan.
Purdue scored first in Game 1 on a kill by senior Kim McConaha (Centerville, Ind.). Penn State took its first lead at 2-1, but the Boilermakers kept things within reach, turning a 6-3 deficit into a one-point game at 6-5 on a solo block by sophomore Melanie Ukovich (Minooka, Ill.). Purdue was within one again at 8-7, before the Nittany Lions pushed the lead to four at 11-7. The deficit rose to nine at 23-13, but Purdue strung together seven-straight points including three blocks and kills from three different Boilermakers, making it a three-point game at 23-20. PSU answered the Purdue rally with a six-point string of its own, making it 29-20. Back-to-back kills from redshirt junior Leah Wischmeier (Brownstown, Ind.) kept the Boilermakers alive, but a net violation ended the game at 30-22 Penn State.
Game 2 saw Penn State strike first, taking a 3-0 lead, but Purdue pulled with in two at 5-3 on a kill by Wischmeier. The team then shrunk a four-point deficit into an 8-6 game on a kill by Ukovich and a service ace by sophomore Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind). Penn State, however, pushed the margin back to four at 10-6 and the lead then teetered between three and four over the next five serves as the teams traded points. The Nittany Lions then managed a trio of points to take a 15-9 lead. The Boilermakers pulled within four at 16-12 on a kill by freshman Emily Williams (Mishawaka, Ind.). A kill by freshman Sammi Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) cut the margin to four again at 20-16, but PSU used a 6-0 run to make it a 10-point advantage at 26-16. Purdue scored three of the next four on Nittany Lion miscues, but a pair of blocks by Sam Tortorello and Melissa Wallbridge sealed the 30-19 win for Penn State.
The teams were tied at 3-3 to begin Game 3, but an 8-0 run, including three blocks and an ace, put Penn State on top 11-3. A Mader kill stopped the rally, then kills by Dargan and McConaha pulled the Boilermakers within six at 14-8. Two more kills by Dargan and freshman Lizzie Jacques made it a five-point game at 16-11. A trio of Purdue net violations helped boost the PSU lead to eight at 20-12. The Boilermakers scored two in a row on kills from Mader and McConaha to pull within seven at 22-15. Two plays later, Penn State kicked off a 6-1 run which made it 29-17 in their favor. A Wischmeier kill staved off the Nittany Lions' first attempt at the match, but a Purdue hitting error ended the match.
McConaha posted 11 kills, while Wischmeier added nine. A trio of Boilermakers pulled up double-digit dig tallies, led by senior Daren Poe (Martinsville, Ind.), who tallied 16. Junior Lauren Berg (Indianapolis, Ind.) was next with 13 and McConaha finished her double-double with 10. McConaha and Dargan supplied the bulk of Purdue's 10 blocks with six and five respectively. Penn State hit .339 to the Boilermakers' .113 effort.
"We didn't play well tonight and a lot of that was due to mental errors," head coach Dave Shondell said. "Playing Ohio State and Penn State back to back is a real emotional string, but this (4-8 in the Big Ten) is where we thought we would be. Every match from here on out, with the exception of maybe Minnesota is a match that we can win."
The Boilermakers (11-11, 4-8 Big Ten) return to action on Friday, Nov. 6 at home against Michigan State.