Nov. 11, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Michigan State Spartans used a balanced offensive attack and capitalized on a paltry Purdue effort to issue the No. 16 Boilermakers a 3-1 defeat Saturday night. MSU won the match 28-30, 31-29, 30-22, 30-26.
Sophomores Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.) and Danita Merlau (New Palestine, Ind./Cathedral) led the Boilermaker offense with 14 kills apiece, while junior Sam Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) added 12 in the losing effort. Freshman Carrie Gurnell (Katy, Texas) added seven kills and a team-high eight blocks in the match. Senior Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind.) chalked up a team-best 18 digs and four aces, while junior defensive specialist Anne Mastandrea (Downers Grove, Ill.) added 12 digs.
Ashley Schatzle led the Spartan offense with 25 kills, while three other players posted double-digit kill tallies. MSU topped Purdue in kills (75-53), hitting percentage (.295-.126) and blocks (16-12).
Michigan State took an early 3-1 lead in Game 1, but Purdue rallied to score six of the next seven points and go up 7-4. Freshman Sam Gray (Indianapolis, Ind./Brebuef), Mader and Merlau added kills during the stretch. Down 10-7, the Spartans posted four straight points to take an 11-10 lead. A service error and a kill by redshirt sophomore Emily Williams (Mishawaka, Ind.) put Purdue back on top 12-11. MSU tied it up at 12, sparking a string of 11 ties, last at 22-22. The Spartans went up 24-22 prompting a Boilermaker timeout. Purdue scored four straight points out of the break, including an ace by Dildine to take a 26-24 lead. MSU tied it up at 28, but kills from Lynch and Mader sealed the 30-28 Boilermaker win. Gurnell, Mader and Lynch each posted four kills in the stanza.
Purdue went up 3-1 in the opening stages of Game 2, but the Spartans soon owned a 13-8 advantage. Trailing by six at 15-9, the Boilermakers put together a 9-3 run capped by a block by Williams and Gurnell to slice the margin to one at 18-17 and force a Michigan State timeout. Merlau chalked up two kills in the stretch, while Dildine served up two aces. Purdue tied the game at 20-20, but MSU used a 5-1 rally to boost the point-margin to four at 25-21. A rally including two putdowns and solo block by Merlau and an ace by Dildine put the Boilermakers back on top at 27-26. A kill and a solo block by Lynch set up Purdue's first chance at the game at 29-27, but MSU scored four straight including two on Boilermaker miscues to steal the 31-29 win.
Michigan State carried the momentum into Game 3, pulling out to an 18-10 advantage. Purdue stopped the Spartans momentarily with a kill and block assist by Mader to make it 18-12. MSU pushed its lead to nine at 26-17, but the Boilermakers scored five of the next seven points to make it a six-point game at 28-22. A pair of Spartan blocks wrapped up a 30-22 win for Michigan State. The Spartans outhit Purdue .250 to -.128 and out-blocked the Boilermakers 7-3 in the stanza.
Purdue opened Game 4 with a 5-3 lead behind a block and an ace by Merlau and a kill by Lynch. The Boilermakers maintained the lead until the Spartans posted a 7-0 run to turn a 7-5 deficit into a 12-7 advantage. Michigan State stretched its lead to 10 at 23-13, but Purdue responded with a 4-0 run including an ace by redshirt freshman Meghan McCormick (Modoc, Ind.) and a pair of blocks by Gray and Gurnell, to cut the margin to six at 23-17. The Boilermakers continued to claw back into the game, using five-straight points, including an ace by Gray, to make it 25-22 and force the Spartans to use their final timeout. MSU scored three of the next five points out of the break to go up 28-24. Lynch posted back-to-back kills to keep Purdue alive, but a hitting error and an MSU kill delivered the final blows in the 30-26 loss. Merlau and Lynch each tallied five kills in the final stanza.
The No. 16 Boilermakers (19-8, 9-7 Big Ten) look to snap a four-match losing streak when they take on Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., Friday night.