Nov. 26, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball team helped its NCAA Tournament cause and pulled off a 3-1 win over Wisconsin, something a Purdue team hadn't done since Nov. 3, 1995. Purdue ended the 17-match losing string with a 26-30, 30-24, 30-25, 30-26 win in front of a home crowd of 1,643.
Senior Kim Cappa (West Lafayette, Ind.) recorded her 1,000th career kill in Game 4 of the match, en route to 14 as the Boilermakers went on to victory. Senior Kim McConaha (Centerville, Ind.) led a quartet of players with double-digit kills, also including redshirt junior Leah Wischmeier (Brownstown, Ind.) and freshman Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.). McConaha also led the Purdue defense with 17 digs, followed by senior Daren Poe (Martinsville, Ind.) and sophomore Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind.) with 15 and 13. The Boilermakers served up eight aces to Wisconsin's three and out-hit the Badgers .288 to .231.
Wisconsin put the first two points on the board in Game 1 and led 6-3 in the early goings, but Purdue battled back to tie it up at 8-8 with a 5-3 run including an ace by Dildine and a trio of kills by Melanie Ukovich (Minooka, Ill.). The Badgers scored three straight to regain the lead and boosted the point margin to four at 17-13. Purdue pulled within one at 20-19 after back-to-back kills by McConaha. A pair of Badger blocks made it 26-21, but Purdue fought back, cutting the margin to two at 28-26 after a pair of Cappa kills. Two kills by Jill Odenthal sealed the UW win at 30-26.
Game 2 was close from the get-go. Purdue scored first on Ukovich kill, but the teams tied at two and three before either gained more than a one-point advantage. Wisconsin went up 5-3, but a Badger service error, a Wischmeier kill and a Poe service ace, turned the deficit into the Boilermakers' first lead of the match at 6-5. A 3-0 Wisconsin run put the Badgers on top 8-6, and the team maintained the lead until at 11-9, Purdue put together a 5-1 rally including a pair of Ukovich aces and a pair of Boilermaker blocks. The Badgers tied it at 15, but a pair of UW errors put Purdue back on top at 17-15. The teams traded the next nine points, until Wisconsin managed three straight on two kills and a Purdue miscue to take a 22-21 lead. The Boilermakers responded with a 6-1 run including kills from four different players and a block by Wischmeier and Jacques. Junior Renata Dargan (New Lenox, Ill.) then took matters into her own hands, dropping two kills and an ace in the last four plays to give Purdue the 30-24 win.
The close match continued in Game 3 as the teams tied seven times in the opening serves, the last coming as Jacques downed a kill to make it 7-7. A 6-2 run including three straight Wisconsin errors and kills by Poe, Cappa and McConaha boosted the margin to four at 13-9. A kill and a block pulled the Badgers within two at 13-11, but that sparked a 4-0 Purdue run including two blocks and a kill, which made it 17-11 Boilermakers and forced Wisconsin to use it second timeout. The Badgers rallied to within three at 23-20, but a McConaha kill and a block by Dargan and Jacques made it 25-20. A 5-2 UW run sliced the advantage to two at 27-25, but a Cappa kill coupled with a pair of Badger hitting errors put Purdue up two games to one with the 30-25 win. The Boilermakers hit .233 in the game to Wisconsin's .031 effort.
"The key tonight was a team who started to believe in themselves," head coach Dave Shondell said. "John (Shondell) has helped put together great game plans for us all season. He is outstanding at it and it was obvious tonight. This was also the result of a team that has trust in its coaches and had the ability to just relax and play even though it was a close match."
The Boilermakers came out with guns blazing in Game 4, taking an early 6-3 lead including an ace by Poe and three kills by McConaha. Wisconsin evened the score at six leading to a series of five ties. The fifth tie kicked off a 3-0 Badger run which made it 14-12 in their favor. Purdue was resilient, answering with a 4-0 run including a kills and a block by Jacques and Wischmeier to retake the 16-14 lead. Wisconsin tied the game at 19, but the Boilermakers again pulled away with a 3-0 run. The Badgers used their final timeout of the night down 25-21. Wisconsin made it a two-point game at 25-23, but Purdue pushed the margin to four at 27-23. Kills by Ukovich and Cappa set up Purdue's first match point attempt at 29-24, but Wisconsin would not go down easy, making it 29-26 on a Aubrey Meierotto service ace. A Ukovich kill however, her ninth of the night, clinched the upset victory with a 30-26 Game 4 win.
In the midst of Game 3, Cappa reached the 1,000-kill milestone. With 14 on the night, she now stands at 1,003 including kills at both Murray State and Purdue.
"It feels incredible," Cappa said about reaching the 1,000-kill milestone. "It is something I never thought I could reach especially playing in the Big Ten and only being 5-foot-6. I didn't even know I was close, but this is a huge thing that I never considered could happen to me. This puts me right there with Leah (Wischmeier) and Kim (McConaha) as a hitter, which is just awesome for me."
Despite the outstanding win, Purdue knows the road to the NCAAs is not paved yet.
"Similarly to when we beat Illinois, this is a huge victory provided that we beat Northwestern tomorrow night," Shondell said. "If we don't, we are back on the bubble. It is a great win, but we need to take care of business tomorrow night. And this is a team that I think is definitely going to play well tomorrow."
The Boilermakers return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday against the Northwestern Wildcats. It is family night, so fans can receive four tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks for just $30. Tickets are also buy-one get-one free.