Oct. 17, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The crowd of 10,570 definitely witnessed a thriller as the No. 21 Purdue volleyball team knocked of No. 19 Wisconsin 3-2 to open the Mackey Madness celebration Friday night. The Boilermakers won the match 22-25, 25-21, 27-29, 25-16, 15-9 in front of the second largest volleyball crowd in program history.
Senior Stephanie Lynch racked up 20 kills and seven blocks to lead the team, while hitting at a .459 clip. Sophomore Kristen Arthurs followed with 16 putaways on a match-high .609 hitting effort. Senior Danita Merlau tacked on nine kills.
Defensively, senior Kelli Miller accounted for 20 digs and five aces. Merlau added 10 digs as did sophomore Jaclyn Hart, who also dished out 49 assists on the night.
Purdue outhit the Badgers .297 to .204 and outblocked Wisconsin 13.0 to 9.5.
The Boilermakers scored three of the first four points of the deciding fifth set, as Lynch and Merlau slammed down kills. Wisconsin rallied to take a 5-4 lead, but Purdue charged back into the lead with a 4-2 run, including a pair of blocks to go up 8-7 at the changeover. A hitting error tied the score, but the Boilermakers rattled off six straight, including an ace from Miller to set up match point at 14-8. A kill by Allison Wack stopped the rally, but Lynch clinched the upset win with her 20th putdown of the night. Lynch chalked up four kills and two solo blocks in the final stanza.
The teams split the first 16 points of the match before Purdue was able to score three in a row on a kill by Sam Ainsworth and back-to-back aces by Miller to go up 11-8. The Badgers tied the score four times, before going ahead at 18-17 on a putaway by Wack. After a tie at 18, Wisconsin pushed its lead to three at 22-19, but the Boilermakers battled back to tie it up at 22 on a block by Lynch and Merlau. A pair of miscues and a kill by Brittney Dolgner, however, thwarted the comeback.
Wisconsin carried the momentum into the second set, taking an early 5-3 lead. Purdue tied the score three times, but trailed 8-7 before posting four straight including three Badger errors, to take an 11-8 lead. The Boilermakers would continue to push their lead to six at 17-11 on a block by Lynch and junior Carrie Gurnell. Arthurs tacked on three kills to help Purdue maintain the advantage at 21-16, but the Badgers pulled within three at 21-18. A pair of Lynch putaways and a solo block by Gurnell, however gave Purdue set point at 24-19. A service error thwarted the effort, but a Gurnell putdown two serves later tied the match at a set apiece. Lynch racked up eight kills in the set, while Arthurs tacked on four.
The Boilermakers jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set, but Wisconsin posted six of the next eight to go up 8-7. Purdue countered with their own 6-2 run a minute later to regain the advantage at 14-11. Trailing 15-12, the momentum favored the Badgers, which scored six of the next seven to lead 18-16. The Boilermakers answered with five straight incuding a pair of blocks and an ace by sophomore Jessica Ullrich to make it 21-18. Wisconsin battled back from a 22-19 deficit to reach set point at 24-22, but a solo bock by Lynch thwarted the effort. Purdue would deny two more set point attempt, before the Badgers closed out the set at 29-27 with a Dolgner kill and an ace.
Determined to send the match to a fifth set, the Boilermakers came out on fire in the fourth set, racing out to an 14-6 advantage. Lynch tallied four kills and Merlau added three in the stretch. The Badgers pulled within five three times, last at 21-16, but the Boilermakers ended the set with a 4-0 run including a pair of Arthurs putaways and an ace by Ullrich.
The Boilermakers (15-4, 4-3 Big Ten) return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday when they take on Northwestern on Belin Court.