Nov. 30, 2006
Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 23 Boilermaker volleyball team spoiled Saint Louis's first trip to the NCAA Tournament, handing the Billikens a 3-0 loss. Purdue won the match 30-21, 30-20, 32-30.
Sophomore Danita Merlau (New Palestine, Ind./Cathedral) paced Purdue with 17 kills on a .308 hitting percentage, while sophomore Stephanie Lynch (New Albany, Ind.) followed with 11. Sophomore Kelli Miller (Muncie, Ind.) added eight putdowns, while junior Samantha Mader (Algonquin, Ill.) tallied seven to go with four blocks.
Senior Brittany Dildine (West Lafayette, Ind./Harrison) led the Boilermaker defense with 19 digs, while Miller added 17. Redshirt sophomore Emily Williams led Purdue at the net with five blocks.
The Boilermakers wasted no time jumping out to a 6-0 lead on the wide-eyed Billikens. Merlau and Lynch each tallied two kills in the stretch and combined on a block. Saint Louis cut the lead to four at 11-7, but Purdue maintained kept pushing, expanding the margin to nine at 18-9. A SLU block made it 22-15, but Purdue answered with three-straight scores, including two on Billiken miscues, to make it a 10-point game at 25-15. Saint Louis wasn't done fighting yet, though, scoring four of the next five to make it 26-19. A kill by freshman Carrie Gurnell (Katy, Texas) stopped the rally, prompting a 3-1 Purdue run to give the team its first chance at the game at 29-20. A kill by Sutton Lasater held off the effort, but a hitting error gave the Boilermakers the 30-21 win. Merlau posted five kills in the stanza, while Miller accounted for nine digs.
"We needed to believe in ourselves," head coach Dave Shondell said. "It was important for us to get off to a good start. Our confidence was a bit shaken after our last eight matches, but we cam eout tonight and felt like we were the team that was supposed to win. We played very well and had a lot of people contribute and play at a high level. We knew we had to because Saint Louis was a very hot team . We are very pleased to advance and are looking forward to tomorrow's match."
Purdue carried the momentum into Game 2, taking an early 4-1 lead. The Boilermakers led by five at 10-5, but SLU scored five of the next eight to make it 13-10. A 4-0 run, including an ace by Dildine, pushed the Purdue advantage to seven. The teams split the next eight scores to make it 21-14, before the Boilermakers scored five in a row, including an ace by freshman Sam Gray (Indianapolis, Ind.) to take a 12-point lead at 26-14. The Billikens recorded a late charge with 5-2 run to get the deficit into single digits at nine at 28-19. A service error gave Purdue a game-point attempt at 29-19, but against SLU stayed alive with a kill. A Lynch putdown sealed the 30-20 win. Merlau added six kills and Mader chalked up five in the game as Purdue outhit Saint Louis .343 to .189.
After trailing from start to finish in the first two games, Saint Louis returned from the break ready to play. The Billikens took their first lead of the night at 1-0 on a kill by Tatyana Menshikova. SLU led 2-1 before Purdue scored three straight, including two on Billiken errors. Trailing 4-2, Saint Louis put together an 8-2 run to turn the deficit into a 10-6 lead. The Boilermakers played from behind for much of the game, cutting the margin to one at 15-14 on a kill by Miller, and again at 16-15 and 17-16, but could not overcome the Billikens, who pushed ht margin to four at 20-16. Purdue finally caught up with SLU at 21-21 on a kill by Merlau. That knotup was the first of four straight ties, the last of which came at 24-24. Saint Louis went up 26-24, prompting a 5-0 Purdue run to set up match point at 29-26. A hitting error kept the Billikens alive and marked the first of four-straight points, which gave SLU its own chance at the game at 30-29. A kill by Gurnell evened the score at 30-30, then an ace by Miller and a hitting error sent Purdue to the NCAA Second Round with the 32-30 overtime win.
The Boilermakers (22-10) will take on Kentucky (19-11) in the Second Round Friday night at 7 p.m. The Wildcats advanced after topping No. 20 Ohio 3-2 in Thursday's early contest.