Sept. 22, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The 1,125 fans in Jenison Fieldhouse got their money's worth with a five-game match between the No. 11 Purdue Boilermakers and the Michigan State Spartan volleyball team, but ended up heartbroken as Purdue squeaked out the 3-2 win. The Boilermakers won the match 30-22, 27-30, 30-27, 23-30 and 22-20.
The teams combined for eight match-point attempts in the deciding fifth game in a battle that went to overtime before the Boilermakers closed the match at 22-20. Purdue took an early 4-1 lead, capitalizing on MSU miscues and led 9-4 soon after. The Spartans pulled within one at 11-10 before taking its first lead of the game at 13-12. The Boilermakers went up 14-13 on a kill by junior Sam Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) and an MSU hitting error, but a kill by Ashley Schatzle thwarted Purdue's first shot at the match. Another kill by Mader set up another attempt for the Boilermakers, but a service error equalized things. A kill by Katie Johnson made it 16-15 MSU, but a kill and an ace by Mader gave the Boilermakers another chance at 17-16. The teams continued to battle as Michigan State went up 20-19. Merlau came through in the clutch for Purdue with three-straight kills to seal the match at 22-20.
Michigan State scored the first three points of the match, but Purdue bounced back to take a 9-6 lead minutes later after kills by junior Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.) and sophomore Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.). An ace by senior Lindsay Shondell (Muncie, Ind.) and a block by sophomore Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.) made it a five-point game at 14-9. The Boilermakers continued to rack up the kills, pushing the margin to 11 at 26-15 on a kill by Jacques. Michigan State held off three Purdue game-point attempts before Merlau ended the stanza at 30-22. The Boilermakers outhit the Spartans .389 to .152 in the game.
The Spartans led 7-4 in the opening stages of Game 2, but the Boilermakers scored five of the next six to go up 9-8. Back-to-back kills and a block assist by Merlau made it a four-point game at 16-12, but MSU would not go away. The Spartans rallied from a 21-17 deficit to go ahead 22-21, but it was short-lived. Purdue responded with a 4-1 run, including two blocks, to go up 25-23. Michigan State called a timeout, prompting Katie Johnson to register four straight kills to bring the score to 29-26 in favor of the Spartans. Merlau chalked up two kills to hold off the MSU effort, but a service error gave the Spartans a 30-27 win.
Game 3 was a back-and-forth battle from the get-go as the split the first 14 points. From there, the Boilermakers went on a 6-2 run to make it 13-9. Michigan State countered the effort with six of the next seven points to go up 15-14. The teams tied at 20 and 21, before MSU mounted a 6-0 run to make it 26-22. Purdue turned the tables with a 6-0 run of its own to take a 28-26 lead. A Spartan kill slowed the Boilermakers briefly, but a kill by Merlau and a MSU hitting error sealed the 30-27 Purdue win.
Michigan State led Game 4 from wire-to-wire, leading by as many as seven, before closing the game at 30-23 to send the match to a fifth-and-deciding game.
Merlau led the Boilermakers with 22 kills, followed by Mader (13) and Jacques (10) as Purdue outhit MSU .333 to .245. The Purdue blocking front came alive in the match with 15 blocks, led by Jacques, who registered six stuffs. Miller and Dildine led the Boilermaker defense with 13 and 12 digs respectively. Dildine also served up three aces to help the Purdue cause.
The No. 11 Boilermakers (11-1) return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday when they take on the No. 19 Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Mich.