Sept. 9, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A crowd of 2,027 gathered to cheer on the Boilermaker volleyball team as it took on Western Michigan Saturday night, and Purdue did not disappoint, sweeping the Broncos 3-0. The Boilermakers won the match 30-23, 30-25, 30-16 behind double-digit kill efforts from sophomore Stephanie Lynch and Danita Merlau.
WMU took a 4-2 lead to start the match, but Purdue answered with a 12-4 run to take a 14-8 lead of its own. Lynch (New Albany, Ind.), Merlau (Lafayette, Ind.), senior Brittany Dildine (Lafayette, Ind.) and freshman Carrie Gurnell (Katy, Texas) contributed kills during the rally, while freshman Sam Gray (Indianapolis, Ind.) and senior Lindsay Shondell (Muncie, Ind.) served up aces. The Broncos did not go away, however, cutting the point-margin to one at 19-18. Purdue made it a seven-point game at 27-20 after kills by junior Sam Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) and Merlau as well as an ace by sophomore Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.). Merlau then capped the game at 30-23 with three kills in the last five points, including the game-winner.
The Broncos jumped out to a 10-7 lead to begin Game 2. The Boilermakers scored five in a row, including two aces by Gray to turn the deficit into a 12-10 advantage. The see-saw battle continued as WMU regained the lead at 17-15, before a pair of kills by Lynch and an ace by Dildine put the Boilermakers back on top at 18-17. The Purdue lead stood at 26-20 shortly thereafter as Gray served up another ace and freshman Lisa Pierce (Darien, Ill.) and redshirt sophomore Emily Williams (Mishawaka, Ind.) got in on the offensive action. Western Michigan pulled within three at 27-24, but a pair of Merlau kills helped the Boilermakers to the 30-25 win. Lynch and Williams each tallied four kills in the stanza.
Purdue carried the momentum into the third stanza, scoring seven of the first eight points, as the Boilermakers capitalized on kills by Mader, Merlau and Lynch and a trio of WMU hitting errors. Western Michigan cut the margin to three at 9-6, but Purdue made it a 13-point game at 24-11 after four kills from Lynch, three aces by Miller and another perfect serve by Dildine. A kill by Merlau set up the Boilermakers' first chance at the match at 29-13, but WMU thwarted the effort and two more, before Merlau put the final nail in the coffin with her 14th kill of the night. The Boilermakers hit .438 in the stanza, while limiting the Broncos to a .094 effort.
Merlau led the Boilermakers with 14 kills, followed by Lynch, who tallied 12 on a .647 hitting effort. Dildine and Miller led the defense with dig tallies of 11 and 10 respectively. Purdue served up 12 aces, including five by Miller and four by Gray, while allowing WMU just two aces. Michelle Moore led the Western Michigan attack with nine kills.
No. 14 Purdue returns to action next Friday, Sept. 15 when they travel to Los Angeles, to take on No. 10 USC.