Nov. 19, 2004
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -The No. 5 Minnesota Golden Gophers recorded a 3-0 sweep of the Purdue volleyball team Friday night, winning by scores of 30-24, 30-25 and 30-23. The Boilermakers (14-13, 7-10 Big Ten) look to rebound against Iowa on Sunday.
The Golden Gophers started the match with a 4-0 run. Purdue scored its first two points on kills from junior Renata Dargan (New Lenox, Ill.). Down by four at 7-3, the Boilermakers fought back with a 4-1 run including three kills and a block from sophomore Melanie Ukovich (Minooka, Ill.) to pull within one at 8-7. Trailing 10-8 moments later, the Boilermakers scored three in a row on kills from Dargan and senior Kim McConaha (Centerville, Ind.) and a UM miscue to take an 11-10 lead. The Gophers responded with a 4-0 run to go up 14-11 and increased their lead to five at 18-13 on an ace by Lisa Reinhart. Kills from Ukovich and freshman Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.) coupled with a Minnesota hitting error pulled the Boilermakers within two at 18-16. Two more Gopher mistakes made it a two-point game again at 23-21, but a 4-0 run including another service ace boosted the margin to six at 27-21. Purdue scored two of the next three, but a 2-1 run by Minnesota capped the game at 30-24. Ukovich posted four kills in the stanza to lead Purdue.
A McConaha kill gave the Boilermakers the first point of Game 2, but Minnesota answered with four straight to take a 4-1 lead. Purdue played from behind using kills from Ukovich and redshirt junior Leah Wischmeier to cut the margin to one at 6-5. Another McConaha kill made it 9-8, but the Gophers posted the next six points to make it a seven-point game at 15-8. The rally was part of a 13-3 run that put Minnesota up by 11 at 22-11. Down by 12 at 25-13, Purdue caught fire, scoring 11 of the next 13 points to pull within three at 27-24. Two blocks as well as kills from Ukovich, Wischmeier and freshman Sammi Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) helped the Boilermakers slice into the point margin. A pair of Gopher kills set up the team's first chance at the game. A McConaha kill thwarted the effort, but Erin Martin picked up her 12th kill of the night to clinch the 30-25 win.
Minnesota took a 9-2 lead to start Game 3. A kill by Mader and a block by Wischmeier and McConaha made it 9-4. A pair of hitting errors helped the Gophers to a 12-4 lead, but the Boilermakers did not lay down, instead putting together an 8-3 run to pull within three at 15-12. Senior Kim Cappa (West Lafayette, Ind.) posted a kill and an ace during the rally, while four other Boilermaker hitters also contributed. A pair of Purdue miscues gave Minnesota a five-point lead at 17-12, but back-to-back kills from Ukovich and McConaha made it a three-point game again at 17-14. The teams traded the next nine points, leading to a 22-19 Gopher lead. Mader, Dargan, Ukovich and freshman Emily Williams (Mishawaka, Ind.) tallied putdowns in the string. The Gophers used a 5-0 run to regain control of the game with a 27-19 lead. A McConaha kill stopped the rally as Purdue recorded a 4-1 run including a block by Cappa to make it 28-23. A kill by Erin Martin and a Boilermaker hitting error gave the Gophers the 30-23 win and the 3-0 sweep. Ukovich tallied six kills in the final stanza, while Mader added five.
Ukovich led Purdue with 13 kills, while hitting .440 on the night. McConaha added 10 putdowns. Junior Lauren Berg (Indianapolis Ind.) pulled up 12 digs to lead the Boilermakers defense, while sophomore Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind.) recorded 10. McConaha put up six blocks as Purdue out-blocked the Golden Gophers 8-5.
The Boilermakers return to action at 2 p.m. Sunday (3 p.m. EST) when they face off against Iowa in Iowa City.