Aug. 26, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 16 Boilermaker volleyball team finished out the opening weekend of the 2006 season with a 4-0 record and the Mortar Board Premier title after posting a 3-1 win over Clemson Saturday night. Purdue won the match 30-25, 30-24, 22-30, 30-19.
In an opening game that featured 10 ties and five lead changes, neither team led by more than three points until the latter stages of the stanza. A tie at 24 marked the turning point in the game, as the Boilermakers tallied six straight points to sew up the 30-25 win. Junior Samantha Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) and Elizabeth Jacques and sophomore Danita Merlau (New Palestine, Ind.) posted kills during the stretch, while freshman Sam Gray (Indianapolis, Ind.) served up two aces.
Clemson took a 7-3 lead to begin Game 2, but the Boilermakers fought back, using a 12-6 run to turn the deficit into a 15-13 lead. Purdue capitalized on four Tiger errors, while Merlau racked up four kills during the rally. The teams tied at 15, 16, and 16, before Clemson regained the lead at 19-17. The Boilermakers scored five of the next six points, the last two on back-to-back aces by Gray, to go up 23-20. The teams split the next eight points leading to a 27-24 score. The Purdue offense took it from there as Merlau, freshman Carrie Gurnell (Katy, Texas) and sophomore Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.) posted kills to close the game at 30-24. The Boilermakers hit .378 in the stanza to the Tigers' .244 effort.
The Boilermakers fell behind 25-11 in Game 3 before launching a comeback. The team scored 10 of the next 12 points including four kills by Merlau, an ace by junior Anne Mastandrea (Downers Grove, Ill.) and a block and kill by senior Brittany Dildine (Lafayette, Ind.). With the gap cut to five at 27-22, the Tigers took a time out and returned with three straight points to deny the sweep with a 30-22 win.
Purdue regained the momentum, starting the fourth game with a 6-0 run, but Clemson would not go away, taking a one-point lead at 10-9. The Boilermakers shook off the rally and scored nine of the next 12 points to go up 18-13. Gray served up another ace, while Dildine, Merlau and Mader posted kills. Up 19-15, Purdue put up a 7-1 run including three kills and a solo block by Mader and an ace by Dildine to make it 27-16. Clemson scored three of the next four to extend the game, but a kill by Mader and a net violation by the Tigers gave Purdue the 30-19 win and the tournament title. The Boilermakers hit .400 in the stanza to Clemson's .211 percentage.
Merlau and Mader led the Boilermaker offense with kill tallies of 22 and 16, while both posting hitting percentages above .300. Gray served up five of the team's nine aces, while sophomore Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.) led the defense with 21 digs. Dildine and Mastandrea followed with dig tallies of 15 and 14 respectively.
Dildine was named the Mortar Board MVP, while Lynch and Merlau also earned all-tournament team nods. Other members of the all-tournament team were Kristin Belzung and Trista Humpal from Northern Iowa, Kelly Niemeyer from Bradley, Ashley DeNeal rom Albany and Danielle Hepburn from Clemson.
The Boilermakers return to action on Friday, Sept. 1, when they take on Virginia Tech at the Mizuno Challenge in Auburn, Ala.