Aug. 26, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A balanced offensive attack helped the Boilermaker volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep of the Albany Great Danes Saturday morning to begin Day 2 action at the Mortar Board Premier. Purdue won the match 31-29, 30-18, 30-19.
Purdue jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the first game as four different players got in on the offensive action. Junior Sam Mader (Algonquin, Ill.), redshirt sophomore Emily Williams (Mishawaka, Ind.) and sophomores Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.) and Danita Merlau (New Palestine, Ind.) registered kills, before freshman Sam Gray (Indianapolis, Ind.) capped the rally with a service ace. The Danes then clawed their way back into the game, tying it up at 15. After ties at 16 and 17, Albany gained it first lead at 18-17 and owned a two-point advantage as late as 28-26. A kill by sophomore Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.) and a UA error tied it up at 28. The Danes served up their first attempt at the game at 29-28, but a Lynch kill thwarted the effort. Another Albany error and a kill by Mader gave Purdue the 31-29 win.
The Boilermakers went up 9-5 to begin Game 2, as Mader, Lynch and Miller each tallied two kills and Gray served up an ace. Albany tallied five of the next six points to tie it up at 10. Purdue turned the tables with a 6-1 run to bump the score to 16-11, then widened the gap to nine points at 24-15 on an overpass kill by Lynch. The teams split the next four points, which included a pair of kills by freshman Lisa Pierce (Darien, Ill.), leading to a 26-17 score. A trio of UA errors pushed the score to 29-18 setting up a Gray kill which sealed the game. Purdue hit .444 in the stanza, while holding the Danes to a .156 percentage.
The Old Gold and Black owned an 8-3 advantage early in Game 3, but saw the margin sliced to two at 9-7 after a trio of miscues. The Boilermakers went up 15-10 shortly thereafter, but the Great Danes weren't content to let Purdue run away with the game, tying the score at 17. Purdue responded with a 4-0 run including a block and two kills by junior Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.) and an ace by senior Brittany Dildine (Lafayette, Ind.). Up 22-19, a kill by Miller sparked an 8-0 run as senior Lindsay Shondell (Muncie, Ind.) served out the match. Miller and Pierce each tallied two kills during the stretch before a block by Lynch and Pierce gave Purdue the 30-19 win and the 3-0 sweep.
Mader, Lynch and Merlau each tallied 10 kills to lead the Boilermaker offense, while Miller just missed a double-double with nine kills on a .692 hitting effort and nine digs.
The Boilermakers (3-0) return to action at 7 p.m. when they take on Clemson to wrap up the Mortar Board Premier.