Sept. 13, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY -- Senior libero Kelli Miller set the Purdue career digs record with the 1,568th as a Boilermaker, but the milestone was overshadowed as the No. 15 Purdue volleyball team was upset by Utah State Saturday morning. The Boilermakers battled back from a two-set deficit, but lost the match 24-26, 26-28, 25-12, 25-22, 10-15.
Senior Stephanie Lynch racked up a match-high 18 kills on a stellar .556 hitting effort, while sophomore Kristen Arthurs tacked on 13 putdowns and senior Danita Merlau added nine.
Miller paced the defense with 23 digs en route to the record, while sophomore Jessica Ullrich pulled up 14 digs. At the net, Lynch put up eight blocks, while Arthurs added six and sophomore Jaclyn Hart tallied four. Ullrich also served up three aces in the match.
The Boilermakers appeared to be in control at the start of the match, taking a 10-3 lead behind three blocks and kills by four different players. The Purdue advantage raised to eight at 13-5, but the Aggies fought back scoring 10 of the next 11 points, four on kills by Melissa Osterloh and four on Purdue miscues, to go ahead 15-14. The Boilermakers responded with three straight points on kills by Merlau and Lynch, but Utah State answered right back with a 5-0 run of its own. Trailing 20-17, Purdue scored four in a row, capitalizing on Aggie miscues to make it 21-20. The teams tied at 21, 22 and 23. Utah State had its first chance at the set at 24-23, but a putdown by Arthurs tied the score. Arthurs was called on a net violation the following play after pounding down what appeared to be an overpass kill. A triple block by the Aggies sealed the 26-24 win.
Utah State carried the momentum into the second set, taking a 6-1 lead out of the gate. The Boilermakers scored six of the next eight to tie the score at 8-8. The teams split the next eight points. The Aggies then went up 13-12, prompting a 6-0 Purdue rally, including a pair of Ainsworth putaways, which made it 18-13 in favor of the Boilermakers. The advantage quickly evaporated as Utah State turned the deficit into a 23-22 lead of its own. A second straight block gave the Aggies their first attempt at the set, but a service error and net violation tied the score at 24-24. A kill by Merlau and an ace by Ullrich gave Purdue a shot at the set at 26-25, but Utah State scored three straight to take the 28-26 win.
The Boilermakers trailed 7-5 early in the third set, but turned that around with a 13-0 run, which featured a pair of aces by Ullrich and backrow kills by Ullrich and Miller, to go ahead 18-7. Purdue continued to roll, closing out the set at 25-12 as Arthurs put down the final kill. Arthurs was a perfect 5-for-5 in the stanza as Purdue hit .304 while holding Utah State to a -.037 effort.
The Boilermakers trailed 5-4 to start the fourth set, but scored four in a row to take the lead at 8-5. Utah State caught up, tying the score six times, last at 13-13 before pushing ahead to a 15-13 advantage of its own. Down 16-14, Purdue scored six of the next eight, including three kills from Lynch, to regain the lead at 20-18. The Aggies countered with three in a row to go up 21-20 and led 22-21, before the Boilermakers tallied four in a row on kills by Hart, Nichols and Arthurs and a USU hitting error to take the set 25-22 and even the match at two sets apiece. Lych went 6-for-6 in the stanza.
After allowing the Boilermakers to rebound from the two-set deficit, Utah State came out ready to play in the fifth and deciding set, serving up three aces and capitalizing on Purdue miscues en route to an 8-1 advantage. A service error stopped the Aggies momentarily but the team led 9-2 moments later. Lynch put down three kills to help the Boilermakers cut the margin to three at 9-6, but Utah State scored four of the next six to push their lead to 13-9. A block by Hart and Arthurs stopped the bleeding, but a service error gave Utah State its first match point attempt. A Merlau kill thwarted the effort, but Osterloh put down her 18th kill of the match to clinch the Aggies the upset win.
The Boilermakers (7-1) look to rebound in a 9 p.m. ET contest against the host Utah Utes.