Sept. 30, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Senior Brittany Dildine chalked up her 1,000th-career dig, but it was overshadowed as the No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions ended the No. 11 Boilermaker volleyball team's four-match win streak Saturday night with a 3-0 win. PSU won the match 30-12, 31-29 and 30-27.
Sophomore Danita Merlau (New Palestine, Ind.) provided 16 kills for the Boilermakers, while Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind.) added eight kills and eight digs in the effort. Sophomore Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.) served up three aces, while recording a team-high 10 digs in the match.
The Boilermakers trailed 4-2 early in Game 1, before scoring four of the next five points, all of PSU miscues, to take a 6-5 lead. The Nittany Lions dominated the game from that point on, going on to a 30-12 win. One bright spot for Purdue was an ace late in the game by Merlau.
Game 2 was the quite the different story as the stanza featured 16 ties and eight lead changes. Penn State led 5-3 after the first few serves, but Purdue put together a 4-1 run to take the lead at 7-6. The run included a kill and a block assist by junior Elizabeth Jacques (Winfield, Ill.). Dildine and sophomore Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.) also added blocks during the stretch. The Nittany Lions regained the lead at 9-8, but again the Boilermakers fought back, using a 3-0 run to take a 12-11 lead on an ace by Miller. The teams remained close, separated by two points or less until PSU scored three in a row to go up 23-19. Purdue would not go away, instead knotting up the score at 24 after a pair of Dildine kills and an ace by Jacques. The teams split the next eight points, leading to a tie at 28. A block by Merlau and Jacques gave the Boilermakers their first game-point attempt, but it was thwarted by a Penn State kill. A kill and a block gave the Nittany Lions the 31-29 win. Dildine and Merlau chalked up six kills each as the Boilermakers hit .321 in the game.
Purdue shook off the loss and took a 4-2 lead to start the third game. Lynch and redshirt sophomore Emily Williams (Mishawaka, Ind.) registered kills, while Miller served up an ace for the Boilermakers. The teams tied at 6-6, before Penn State rallied to a five-point lead at 17-12. Purdue responded with an 8-4 run including kills by Merlau, Lynch and sophomore Samantha Mader (Algonquin, Ind.) to slice the margin to one at 21-20. PSU raised its lead to three at 25-22, but the Boilermakers did not give up, instead making it a one-point game against at 26-25 on a kill by Dildine, her eighth of the match. The Nittany Lions countered with three of the next four points to make it 29-26. A kill by Jacques kept Purdue alive, but a kill by Christa Harmotto sealed the match for PSU with the 30-27 win. Merlau added eight kills in the stanza as Purdue posted a .317 hitting percentage.
The No. 11 Boilermakers (13-2, 3-1 Big Ten) return to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday when they takes on the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington, Ind. The match will air live on WLAS 1410 AM and purduesports.com.