Aug. 29, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 25 Boilermaker volleyball team proved it could dominate, rally from behind and use a plethora of players in both efforts all in the opening match of the season vs. Duke Friday night. Purdue won the match 25-19, 25-22, 16-25 and 25-23 despite being out-hit and out-blocked by the Blue Devils.
Senior Danita Merlau led all hitters with 17 kills, while senior Stephanie Lynch added 15 and redshirt sophomore Lisa Pierce contributed nine. Senior Kelli Miller pulled up 13 digs to lead the defense, while Lynch and Merlau recorded nine each. At the net, Lynch led the way with seven blocks, including six combined efforts, which moved her into a tie with career block assist record holder Kim McConaha (2001-04)'s tally of 382. Sophomore Jaclyn Hart added five blocks to the Purdue effort.
"It made a lot of sense," head coach Dave Shondell said. "Duke came out and played mediocre the first two sets and made our job pretty easy. Our players came out for the third set expecting to see more of the same, but Duke had made some adjustments and competed much harder from then on. I was pleased with how our team battled back in the fourth set, one which most people though was going to send the match to five. Enter Sam Ainsworth, we regain control and were able to finish it off. Sam saved the day."
Midway though the fourth and deciding set, the Boilermakers mounted a 5-1 run to turn an 8-8 tie, the eighth of the stanza, into a four-point lead at 13-9. Duke, however, was not content to let Purdue walk away without a fight, instead rattling off eight straight points to go ahead 17-13 and force the Boilermakers to use both of their timeouts. Trailing by four at 20-16, Ainsworth began to do her magic, posting a kill to start a 3-0 rally that included an ace by Miller and an overpass kill by Lynch and cut the margin to one. Two points later, Ainsworth stepped back to the service line and guided the Boilermakers to their first match point attempt at 24-21, after a run that included back-to-back aces. A service miscue and a Blue Devil block kept the match going until Lynch slammed the door at 25-23 with her 15th putdown of the night.
The Boilermakers came out ready to play in the match, racing out to a 17-8 lead in the opening stanza, serving up four aces and getting six different hitters in on the action. Redshirt freshman Mandy Nichols served up two winners, while Merlau and Pierce chalked up four kills apiece in the set. The Blue Devils closed the gap to five after holding off two set-point attempts, but Merlau capped the scoring at 25-19 with a putdown.
The second set was a closer battle, but Purdue still dominated early on, owning a 4-1 lead at the start and a 12-9 advantage near the midway point. Duke managed to tie the score six times, last at 16, before the Boilermakers tallied seven of the next 10 points to go up 23-19 on a block by Lynch and Hart. Another stuff by Lynch and Hart made it 24-20, but two net violations kept the Blue Devils in the set. A Merlau kill gave Purdue the 25-22 win and the 2-0 edge heading into intermission.
Duke coach Jolene Nagel righted the Blue Devil ship at the break, prompting her team to score eight of the first 11 points in the third set. The Boilermakers looked to respond and eventually cut the margin to one at 14-13 after a rally which included kills from Merlau, Nichols, Ainsworth and Lynch. Duke shook off the Purdue charge, closing out the set with a 11-3 run of its own. The Blue Devils hit .536 in the stanza to Purdue's .233 effort.
The No. 25 Boilermakers (1-0) return to the court at 10 a.m., when they face off with the Tennessee State Lady Tigers (0-1) to kick off Day 2 of the Mortar Board Premier.