Oct. 12, 2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The No. 18 Boilermaker volleyball team rounded out the weekend with a four-set win over Ohio State to move to 3-3 in conference play. Purdue won the match 20-25, 25-21, 25-22 and 25-18.
Senior Stephanie Lynch chalked up a match-high 15 kills on a .519 hitting effort. Junior Carrie Gurnell tacked on nine kills, while sophomore Kristen Arthurs and senior Danita Merlau added seven and six respectively. Lynch led the Boilermaker block with six stuffs, while Gurnell and sophomore Jaclyn Hart put up four each. Defensively, senior Kelli Miller paced Purdue with 18 digs.
The Boilermakers raced out to a 5-2 lead to start the match, including a solo block and a kill by Merlau. OSU battled back tying the score four times before going ahead 9-8. A putaway from Kristen Arthurs knotted it at 9-9. The Boilermakers were able to tie it up four more times, last at 16-16 on another Arthurs putdown. The Buckeyes, however, posted six of the next eight points to go up 22-18. A kill by Lynch stopped the rally, but Ohio State ended the set at 25-20 with a 3-1 run. OSU hit .355 in the set to Purdue's .182 effort.
The Buckeyes carried the momentum into the second set, owning the advantage until Purdue rattled off four straight points to turn a 10-9 deficit into a 13-10 lead. A pair of kill by Lynch and two blocks accounted for the stretch. The Boilermakers held onto their three-point advantage, leading 20-17, before Ohio State scored two in a row to cut the margin to one and prompt a Purdue timeout. The Boilermakers scored five of the next seven out of the break, including kills from Lynch and Gurnell and a pair of OSU miscues, to even the match at one set apiece with the 25-21 win. Purdue posted five blocks and held the Buckeyes to a .053 hitting effort, while Gurnell chalked up four kills in the set.
Purdue boasted a 9-5 lead in the third set, capitalizing on six OSU miscues. The Buckeyes evened the score at 10 en route to a 14-13 edge of their own. A Lynch putaway kicked off a 7-0 Boilermaker run, which included a pair of aces by junior Sam Ainsworth and two blocks. Trailing 20-14, Ohio State chalked up six of the next eight points to slice the Purdue lead to two at 22-20. Kills from Lynch and Arthurs gave the Boilermakers their first chance at the set, but an OSU putaway prolonged the stanza. Gurnell capped the set at 25-22.
OSU led 5-3 in the early stages of the fourth and deciding set, but Purdue launched a 4-0 run including a kill from Hart and a solo block by Gurnell to take the lead. Purdue built its lead to seven at 18-11 after aces by Miller and Merlau and a couple of Buckeye miscues. A couple of errors slowed the Boilermakers momentarily, but Purdue soon owned a nine point lead at 23-14. OSU cut it to six at 23-17, but a solo block by Lynch made it 24-17. Anna Szerszen posted her 15th kill of the night to thwart the Boilermakers' first match point attempt, but then sent her next hitting effort out of bounds to give Purdue the 25-18 win and the match. Lynch chalked up six kills in the final stanza as the Boilermakers outhit OSU .357 to .167.
The Boilermakers (14-4, 3-3 Big Ten) return to action at 6 p.m. Friday when they play host the Wisconsin Badgers in Mackey Arena. Doors open at 5 p.m. for the Mackey Madness event, which will feature scrimmages, three point and dunk competitions by the men's and women's basketball teams following the volleyball match.