Aug. 30, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - It wasn't the most technically sound match the Boilermaker volleyball team has ever played, but it was enough to get the job done Saturday morning as the team secured head coach Dave Shondell's 100th collegiate victory with a 3-0 sweep of Tennessee State. Purdue won the match 5-14, 27-25 and 25-20 with help from 14 different players. Shondell is now 100-66 in his tenure with the Boilermakers.
Senior Danita Merlau led all hitters with 15 kills, while senior Stephanie Lynch added eight kills on a stellar .727 hitting effort. Freshman Tiffany Fisher tacked on six in her collegiate debut, while redshirt sophomore Lisa Pierce posted five putdowns. The Boilermakers hit .270 as a team, while holding the Lady Tigers to a .095 effort.
Defensively, sophomore Jessica Ullrich paced the team with nine digs, while redshirt freshman Mandy Nichols pulled up seven. Sophomore Jaclyn Hart chalked up four blocks to lead Purdue at the net. Merlau added three blocks, while Lynch tacked on two to secure her spot at the career record holder for block assists with 384, surpassing Kim McConaha (2001-04)'s effort of 382.
The Boilermakers dominated the first set action after an early 3-3 tie. Purdue quickly built a 11-point advantage at 21-10. Merlau chalked up four kills in the stretch, which also featured an ace by Jessica Ullrich and a pair of solo blocks by Hart. Four other players got in on the offensive action during the span. The Lady Tigers scored three of the next four points, but Purdue capped the game at 25-14 with a 3-0 run including another Ullrich ace and a stuff by Merlau and Kristen Arthurs.
The second set was quite a different story, featuring nine ties, including two in the waning moments. TSU trailed 5-3, but managed to go up by one at 6-5, 7-6 and 8-7 just a few minutes later. The Boilermakers countered with seven of the next 10 points to make it 14-11 in their favor. Merlau, Nichols and Fisher tallied kills during the rally, which Hart capped with a solo stuff. Purdue upped its lead to six at 23-17, and looked to be in control after a service error made it 24-19 and gave them their first chance at the set, but the Lady Tigers battled back, staving off four Boilermaker set point attempts before knotting the score at 24. The teams tied again at 25 before kills by Merlau and Arthurs sewed up the 27-25 win. Merlau cahlked up six kills in the stanza.
The Tigers kept the pressure on in the third set, taking a 15-12 lead midway through the stanza after railing 7-5 early on. Five Boilermaker hitting miscues and two aces helped TSU to its advantage. Kills by Lynch and Fisher coupled with a Tennessee State hitting error tied the score at 15, but the Boilermakers could not push ahead. Down 18-16, Purdue finally broke through, capitalizing on Tiger miscues to go up 19-18. A kill by Shaquita Williams evened the score, but a pair of Merlau kills and an ace by Miller gave the Boilermakers a four-point cushion at 23-19. A Lynch kill set up match point moments later, then Nichols served up a beauty to seal her coach's 100th collegiate win with a 25-20 effort.
The Boilermakers (2-0) return to action at 7:30 p.m. when they take on the No. 14 Kansas State Wildcats to wrap up Mortar Board Premier play.