Oct. 8, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball came within a whisker of No. 6 Penn State Friday night, falling to the Nittany Lions in three close games, by scores of 30-28, 30-27 and 30-26.
The Boilermakers scored first on a kill by senior Kim McConaha (Centerville, Ind.). Penn State then took a 2-1 lead, but Purdue rattled off six of the next eight points, including kills by four different players, to go up 7-4. PSU pulled within one at 7-6, but the Boilermakers extended their advantage to four at 13-9 on back-to-back kills by redshirt junior Leah Wischmeier (Brownstown, Ind.). Down 16-13 moments later, the Nittany Lions three-straight points to tie it up at 16. After three more ties, Purdue owned a 20-19 advantage, but a 4-0 Penn State run put the team on top 23-20. The Nittany Lions were up 26-22, but Purdue scored six of the next eight points to tie things up at 28-28 on a block by Wischmeier and freshman Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.). PSU pulled off the 30-28 win with a pair of kills. McConaha and Wischmeier each tallied five kills in the stanza, as Purdue hit .273 to PSU's .333 effort.
A block by McConaha and fellow senior Kim Cappa (West Lafayette, Ind.) gave Purdue the first point of Game 2, but Penn State turned a 2-1 deficit into an 8-3 lead behind two aces and two blocks. The Nittany Lions maintained at least a four point lead until the Boilermakers, down 18-13, scored five straight points including an ace and a kill by junior Renata Dargan (New Lenox, Ill.). PSU used a 5-2 run to boost their lead back to three at 23-20, but Purdue pulled within one again at 23-22 on a kill by junior Marie Franke (Ballwin, Mo.). Penn State then scored the next five points to go up 28-23. The Boilermakers scored three straight on a pair of McConaha kills and a block by McConaha and Wischmeier to make it 28-25. A Purdue service error set up the Nittany Lions' first attempt at the game, but a kill and a service ace by McConaha staved off two attempts, making it 29-27. A kill by the setter Sam Tortorello sealed the 30-27 win for Penn State. Freshman Sammi Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) had seven kills for Purdue, while McConaha added six.
Purdue again scored first in the third game, this time on a Nittany Lion service error. The Boilermakers then went up by two at 4-2 and again at 5-3 on a Wischmeier kill. Penn State then scored four straight to go up 7-5. Purdue tied it up at 7-7 on a PSU miscue, but found itself down by four at 12-8 a few plays later. The Boilermakers played from behind, cutting the deficit to one four times, last at 19-18, as part of a 3-0 run which gave them the lead at 20-19. Cappa, Dargan and McConaha registered putdowns in the rally. The teams tied at 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25, before Penn State managed a two point lead at 27-25. A Cappa kill kept the game within reach at 27-26, but Penn State sealed the match with a trio of points, capped by a service ace by Kaleena Walters. The Purdue left side hitters came on in the final game, as Wischmeier led the team with five kills and Cappa added four.
"We played pretty well," head coach Dave Shondell said. "We didn't get outstanding performances from enough players to beat a team like Penn State, but got good performances from several players. We showed that we can play with the best, but not that we can beat them yet. It's not that we didn't make plays, because we made several that kept us in it. When it came right down to it, though, there are some plays we failed to make that could have gone our way."
McConaha and Mader led the Boilermaker offense with a match-high 14 kills apiece, while Wischmeier recorded 13 in the effort. Senior Daren Poe (Martinsville, Ind.) pulled up 16 digs for Purdue, while McConaha and sophomore Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind.) each tallied 10. McConaha, Wischmeier and Jacques provided defense at the net with four blocks each. Cassy Salyer and Kate Price led Penn State with 13 kills apiece.
Purdue (10-5, 3-2 Big Ten) returns to action at 7 p.m. Saturday against No. 9 Ohio State (15-0, 5-0 Big Ten). The Buckeyes come to West Lafayette after topping Indiana 3-1 in Bloomington, Ind., Friday night.