Nov. 14, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Monon Spike travelling trophy returned home to its birthplace in West Lafayette after a one-year absence, thanks to the No. 18 Boilermaker volleyball team's 3-2 win over the Indiana Hoosiers Friday night. Purdue won the match 25-21, 13-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-12 in front of a sell-out crowd of 2,493.
"I give a lot of credit to Indiana because they have come a long way in a short time under Sherry Dunbar and her staff," head coach Dave Shondell said. "They were well prepared for us. For the first two and half games our team played like they had to win. Then, Lisa Pierce came in and got us going with her serve and we settled down. The difference for us tonight was that as the match wore on, defensively our block did a better job of following and defending their hitters."
Purdue outblocked the Hoosiers 16-10, led by senior Stephanie Lynch's 10-stuff effort. Junior Carrie Gurnell and sophomore Kristen Arthurs added six blocks apiece. In the back court, senior Kelli Miller led the way with 18 digs, followed by sophomore Jessica Ullrich and freshman Emily Ehlers, who tallied 10 and nine.
Offensively, Gurnell and senior Danita Merlau paced the team with 14 kills each, while Arthurs chipped in 12 on a match-high .474 effort. Lynch tacked on nine kills, nearly missing the double-double.
The Boilermakers jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the deciding fifth set, behind a pair of Merlau putaways and a block. The Hoosiers narrowed the gap to one at 5-4 and eventually tied the score at 7-7. A kill and a block by Arthurs put the Boilermakers on top 9-7. Another Arthurs putdown coupled with a block by Lynch and Pierce made it 12-9 and forced Indiana to use its final timeout. A kill by Merlau and an IU miscue put Purdue on the hill at 14-10, but the Hoosiers fought off two Boilermaker match-point attempts, before a service error sealed their fate and a 15-12 Purdue win.
The Hoosiers owned the early advantage in the opening set, but Purdue took control after seven ties, last at 11-11. The Boilermakers built a five-point lead at 19-14 after putaways by Lynch and Merlau and back-to-back blocks. Indiana cut the margin to two at 19-17, but Purdue rallied to a 23-18 lead with the help of two more stuffs. The Hoosiers pulled within two at 23-21, but Lynch and Gurnell downed kills for a 25-21 Boilermaker win. Purdue posted six blocks in the stanza.
Indiana bounced back in the second set, quickly mounting a 17-6 lead. The Boilermakers cut the margin to eight at 20-12 and 21-13, but could not stop the Hoosiers from taking the 25-13 win. IU hit .429 and posted five blocks in the set, while Purdue managed a -.032 hitting effort and just one stuff.
The Boilermakers returned from the intermission rejuvenated, racing out to a 4-1 lead. Indiana countered and the lead changed hands at 6-5. Nine more lead changes would follow before the end of the stanza, with neither team able to gain more than a one-point advantage. Trailing 18-17 after back-to-back Hoosier points, the Boilermakers ran off seven straight. Pierce started the rally with a kill and served up the next six points, including an ace, to help Purdue to a 24-18 lead. Two serves later, Merlau sealed the 25-19 win with her fifth kill of the stanza.
The fourth set featured 12 ties and four lead changes, including three in the first 11 points. At that point, the Boilermakers were ahead 6-5 and despite ties at six, seven and eight, Purdue held the advantage. The Purdue edge stood at three at 12-9 after an ace from Merlau, but the Hoosiers evened the score at 12. A kill and a block by Gurnell put Purdue up two at 14-12. A tie at 14 followed, then a kill by sophomore Jaclyn Hart and an IU error put the Boilermakers back on top. Indiana knotted it up at 16 and 17, before breaking through into the lead. IU led by two at 20-18, but Purdue responded leading to at 21-21 tie. From there, Indiana scored four of the last five en route to a 25-22 win to force the fifth set.
The No. 18 Boilermakers (21-6, 10-5 Big Ten) return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday when they welcome the defending national champion, No. 1 Penn State to Belin Court.