Nov. 5, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball team swept the Michigan State Spartans in a series for the first time since 1992 with a 3-1 win Friday night. Purdue took the match 30-22, 29-31, 32-30, 30-20.
"It feels good to not only get a win, but to play well," senior Kim McConaha said. "I really feel like we played as a team, and that is something we had been missing a little bit when we were playing against Top 10 teams, as they take you out of your offense. We played well together and we were mentally tough in close games, which was great to see back on our team. This will really help us going up against Michigan tomorrow because we know what it is like to play as a team with confidence again."
Purdue took an early 2-0 lead in Game 1 off a kill by McConaha (Centerville, Ind.) and a double-hit call on the Spartans. The teams tied at two and three, before Purdue strung together three-straight points on a kill by redshirt junior Leah Wischmeier (Brownstown, Ind.), a block by freshmen Sammi Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) and Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.) and a MSU hitting error. Another Spartan miscue made it 8-4 Boilermakers, then the margin teetered between four and five as the teams traded the next 10 points. A Michigan State block made it a three-point game at 13-10, but a hitting error boosted the margin back to four. The teams traded the next seven points, before Purdue managed two straight on a kill by senior Kim Cappa and a block by McConaha and junior Renata Dargan (New Lenox, Ill.). Neither team could gain an advantage as points shifted hands over the next 11 points. MSU broke through with three of the next four points to pull with three at 25-22, forcing a Purdue timeout. After the break, the Boilermakers rattled off five straight, including the last three on Wischmeier kills, to take the game at 30-22. Purdue hit .400 as Cappa posted seven kills to MSU's .238 effort.
"We played like we have been practicing for the last two weeks," head coach Dave Shondell said. "I thought we were relaxed tonight and for whatever reason we entered the match with a better temperament than what we had for a while, and we also had a lot of people play really well.
Michigan State scored the first three points in Game 2. Purdue pulled within one at 6-5 on an ace by sophomore Brittany Dildine. A 7-2 run including five straight points pushed the MSU lead to six at 13-7. Kills by Cappa and Dargan and a Spartan hitting error made it a four-point game at 14-10, but a 4-0 MSU run put the score at 18-10. A serving error set off a 5-0 Boilermaker rally, including two kills each by Mader and McConaha, which made it 20-17. The Spartan lead stood at seven, before a trio of Boilermakers points including a kill from Williams cut the margin to four at 26-22 forcing an MSU timeout. Michigan State scored three of the next five to set up its first attempt at the game at 29-25. A Williams kill thwarted the effort, then kills from Cappa and Mader and a block from Williams and Mader tied it up 29. A kill and a block, however, gave the Spartans a 31-29 win.
The Boilermakers went up 7-2 to begin 2, behind four Wischmeier kills and a pair of blocks. Neither team could get on a roll from that point until Purdue managed two straight on a Spartan service error and a kill by Dargan to take a 13-7 lead. Another MSU miscue couple with a block by freshman Emily Williams (Mishawaka, Ind.) and Mader made it 15-9. Michigan State put together a 6-3 run to pull within four at 18-14, but Purdue answered with three of the next four to boost the lead to 21-15. Back-to-back kills by Katie Johnson as well as a Purdue miscue pulled the Spartans within four at 25-21, before a pair of Kim Schram kills tied it up at 27. The teams tied at 28, 29 and 30, before a hitting error and a Wischmeier kill sealed the 32-30 win for the Boilermakers. Wischmeier added seven more kills in the stanza.
Sophomore Sammi Mader racked up eight kills in the fourth and final stanza as Purdue hit .382 to Michigan State's .158 effort en route to a 30-20 win. The game began with ties at each point from two to seven before Purdue used a Mader kill, a Wischmeier service ace and a block by Cappa and Williams to go up 9-7. The Spartans pulled within one three times before back-to-back McConaha kills made it 13-10 forcing an MSU timeout. After the break, Purdue boosted its lead five at 18-13 on a block by Williams. The Boilermakers then put together a 6-0 run including four kills by Mader and a pair of Wischmeier aces to go up by 10 at 24-14. The teams traded the next eight points leading to a 28-18 score. A kill by Cappa made it 29-18 setting up Purdue's first shot at the match. A Boilermaker miscue and a MSU block kept the Spartan's hope alive, but a McConaha kill shut the door on the 3-1 victory.
Four Boilermakers reached double digits in the effort, led by Wischmeier's 22. McConaha followed with 15, while Cappa and Mader each added 13. Wischmeier picked up the double-double adding 11 digs and three aces to her tally. Senior Daren Poe led the Purdue defense with 17 digs and Dildine also registered double-digits with 13. Williams led Purdue at the net recording six blocks, while three other players posted four blocks as the Boilermakers put up 11 stuffs on the night.
"Renata did a nice job of delivering the ball tonight," Shondell said. "I also thought Kim Cappa was a big difference early on. She lit it up in the first game and then she was just steady the rest of the night and made very few errors. That is one of the things that I was pleased with the entire match is that we had very few hitting errors, very few serving errors and very few boneheaded plays. That is the kind of the team I want to put on the floor and tonight was just a classic example of what we have been looking for."
The Boilermakers return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday against the Michigan Wolverines (16-8, 6-7 Big Ten).