Oct. 27, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 13 Boilermaker volleyball team finished out the week with a 3-0 sweep of the Iowa Hawkeyes Friday night. Purdue used a balanced offensive attack and strong blocking effort to down the Hawkeyes 30-25, 32-30 and 30-15.
Sophomore Danita Merlau (New Palestine, Ind.) chalked up a match-high 15 kills, while also adding eight digs, five blocks and an ace. Juniors Elizabeth Jacques (Winfield, Ill.) and Samantha Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) added 12 and 10 respectively. Jacques led Purdue at the net with six blocks, while hitting at a team-high .579 percentage in the match.
Sophomore Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.) led the Boilermaker defense with 25 digs, while senior Brittany Dildine added 12. Purdue hit .320 for the match, while limiting the Hawkeyes to a .161 hitting percentage. The Boilermakers also outblocked Iowa 12-4.
The Boilermakers took an early 3-1 lead in the match, including an ace by Merlau, but the Hawkeyes caught up, tying the score at 4-4, the first in a string of 14 knot-ups. An Iowa kill gave the team a 5-4 lead, but Purdue regained the advantage at 6-5 on a Hawkeye miscue. The Boilermakers maintained the lead until Iowa scored two in a row to go up 12-11. The teams traded the next 12 points, leading to an 18-17 score. Purdue then scored three straight on kills by Jacques and Dildine and an Iowa miscue to go up 20-18. The Boilermakers stretched their lead to five at 24-19, but the Hawkeyes fought back, slicing the margin to one at 26-25. Purdue then finished out the stanza at 30-25 with four straight points, including kills by Merlau and Jacques and a pair of Iowa errors. Jacques posted six kills in the game as Purdue hit .395.
Purdue led 5-2 in Game 2 after kills by Jacques, Mader and Lynch and an ace by Miller. Iowa rallied to tie it at 6-6, but Purdue countered with six of the next seven points. The Boilermakers continued on to a seven point lead at 17-10 on a solo block by redshirt sophomore Emily Williams (Mishawaka, Ind.). Down 21-14, the Hawkeyes used an 8-1 run to tie the score at 22. Purdue used a 6-2 rally to go up 28-24 on a kill by Mader. Iowa tied the score at 28 before a Lynch putdown gave the Boilermakers their first game-point attempt at 29-28. The Hawkeyes scored two of the next three to tie the score at 30. Merlau tallied a kill, then Jacques and freshman Carrie Gurnell (Katy, Texas) combined on a block to seal the 32-30 win. Merlau chalked up eight kills in the stanza.
The Boilermakers shook off the close game and roared out to a 12-7 lead in Game 3. A kill by Catherine Smale made it 12-8, before Purdue rattled off 10-straight points, including an ace by freshman Sam Gray (Indianapolis, Ind.). Mader posted three kills in the rally, while Merlau chalked up two kills and two blocks to cap the streak. After a brief pause, the Boilermakers pushed the point margin to 27-11 on a kill by Lynch, which followed three Hawkeye miscues. Iowa would not go quietly, instead posted four straight points, but it was too little too late as kill by Dildine and Lynch and a Hawkeye net violation gave Purdue the 30-15 win and the match. Merlau added five kills and three blocks in the final stanza.
"We were fortunate to win Game 2, it could have gone Iowa's way, but we were lucky," head coach Dave Shondell said. "We had a nice lead, but let them come back. We just lost concentration. In Game 3 we came back and put together and good game and won going away, which gives us something positive going into next week.
"Both of our middles played are playing at a high level right now. Lizzie Jacques is developing confidence, which has always been her story. She has been great in practice, but now that is transferring into matches. She believes she can play at that level now which is a great bonus for us. Stephanie Lynch also is coming out of her shell and has really turned things around."
The Boilermakers (19-4, 9-3 Big Ten) return to action on Nov. 3 when they take on No. 2 Penn State in University Park, Pa.