Oct. 7, 2006
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Four hitters posted double-digit kill tallies and sophomore Kelli Miller pulled up a career-best 32 digs as the Boilermaker volleyball team edged Iowa 3-2 Saturday night. Purdue won the match 28-30, 30-26, 33-31, 28-30, 15-11, as Miller became only the second player in school history to surpass the 30-dig mark twice in her career.
Sophomore Danita Merlau (Indianapolis, Ind.) led all hitters with a career-high 29 kills on a .320 hitting percentage, while also accounting for 13 digs. Junior Lizzie Jacques (Winfield, Ill.), junior Sam Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) and senior Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind.) followed with 14, 13 and 11 respectively. Dildine completed her double-double with 23digs, while Jacques added seven blocks. Freshman Carrie Gurnell (Katy, Texas) was right behind with nine kills.
The Boilermakers went up 3-1 to start the fifth game, as Merlau chalked up two kills and freshman Sam Gray (Indianapolis, Ind.) served up an ace. Iowa answered with a 4-1 run to turn the deficit into a 5-4 lead. Trailing 6-5, Purdue used a 3-0 run including kills by Lynch and Merlau to take an 8-6 advantage into the switch. After a brief pause, the Boilermakers rallied to a 12-8 score after kills by Jacques, Mader and Lynch. The Hawkeyes fought back to within one at 12-11, but Merlau sealed the match with a pair of kills and an ace, giving Purdue the 15-11 win.
The Hawkeyes scored four of the first five points in Game 1, but Purdue turned the tables with a 7-1 run. Merlau and Jacques each added two kills as the Boilermakers took an 8-5 lead. Purdue pushed its lead to six at 16-10, but Iowa would not go away, tying the score at 17. Down 19-17, the Hawkeyes chalked up four straight points to take a two-point lead at 21-19. Purdue tied it up at 21 after a kill by Gurnell and a UI miscue, then the teams split the next 12 points leading to a knot-up at 27. A pair of kills by Catherine Smale set up Iowa's first chance at the game at 29-27. A Merlau kill thwarted the effort, but Iowa capitalized on a Boilermaker miscue to take the 30-28 win. Merlau and Jacques each posted five kills in the stanza.
Gurnell put down two kills to give Purdue a 3-2 lead to start Game 2. Iowa scored four of the next five points to go up 6-4. The Boilermakers battled from behind, eventually tying the score at 12, before taking a 15-12 lead after a kill and a block by Jacques. Purdue shook off several Iowa comeback efforts and managed to boost their lead to six at 26-20. The Hawkeyes made it a two-point game at 27-25, before Purdue finished things off at 30-26 on an Iowa service error. The Boilermakers tallied a .400 hitting percentage in the stanza.
The Boilermakers took the early lead in Game 3, but the Hawkeyes came charging back to go up by six at 14-8. Purdue clawed back to within one at 17-16, but could not take control, falling behind 24-19. The Boilermakers tied it at 27, setting off a series of five ties, last at 31, before Merlau put down back-to-back kills to take the 33-31 win. Merlau tallied nine kills in the game as Purdue went up two games to one.
Iowa overcame a 9-4 Purdue lead in Game 4 en route to a 30-28 win. The teams traded rallies and Purdue tallied a late 4-0 run to slice the margin to one at 26-25 after kills and blocks by Jacques and Mader. A block by Emily Williams (Mishawaka, Ind.) and Gurnell held off a game-point attempt, but a service error gave the Hawkeyes the win, sending the match to a deciding fifth game.
The No. 9 Boilermakers (15-2, 5-1 Big Ten) return to action on Friday, when they take on the Wisconsin Badgers.