Sept. 11, 2009
MANHATTAN, Kan. - The Boilermaker volleyball team kicked off its time at the Varney's Kansas State Invitational with a 3-0 sweep of the Portland Pilots on Friday afternoon. Purdue won the match by scores of 25-21, 25-23 and 25-16.
Senior outside hitter Carrie Gurnell and freshman outside hitter Ariel Turner posted double-digit kill tallies to pace the Purdue offense, registering 12 and 10 respectively. Junior middle blocker Kristen Arthurs added seven putaways, while redshirt junior outside hitter Lisa Pierce tacked on seven.
Defensively, sophomore libero Blair Bashen pulled up seven digs, while junior setter Jaclyn Hart and freshman defensive specialist Courtney Gosewisch each chipped in six digs. Sophomore defensive specialist Emily Ehlers served up two aces in the match, while Bashen and Pierce each recorded a perfect serve.
"It was a tough match to watch because we have been playing so much better," head coach Dave Shondell said. "We did have a few players do well, including freshman Courtney Gosewisch, who did a great job for us. She came in at a critical time and not only played good defense, but served the ball tough. She did a good job from start to finish. I thought some of our veterans, like Pierce and Arthurs, also played well."
The Boilermakers started the match with an ace by Ehlers and went on to a 5-2 lead. Portland battled back scoring six in a row to go ahead 8-5. A pair of Gurnell putaways and one by Fisher tied the score at 8-8, but Purdue could not break through. The teams tied four times over the next 10 points, last at 13-13, before the Pilots boosted their advantage to four at 18-14 with a rally that included a pair of Boilermaker miscues. Down 19-15, Purdue mounted its comeback, scoring six of the next seven points, including kills by five different players, to turn the deficit into a 21-20 lead. UP tied it at 21, but the Boilermakers closed the set at 25-21 with four straight points, the last on a putaway by Turner. Gurnell racked up eight kills in the stanza.
Purdue raced out to a 9-2 advantage in the second set, but Portland countered with six of the next seven points to cut the margin to two at 10-8. The Boilermakers capitalized on a string of Pilot miscues and a pair of kills by Turner in a 7-0 run which put them up 17-8. The Pilots were resilient, slicing the margin to two at 21-19 as Marica Clemens heated up. The teams split the next four points, then a UP service error set the Boilermakers up with a 24-21 set point attempt. A kill and a service ace kept the set going, before a hitting error clinched the 25-23 win for Purdue.
Ehlers served up an ace to start the third set, but Portland quickly turned things around to take a 5-2 lead, its first since the opening stanza. A pair of Gurnell putdowns tied things up at 5-5, but the Pilots maintained control. Trailing 10-8, Purdue put together a 4-0 run, including an overpass kill by Arthurs, to surge ahead. Ahead by just one at 14-13, the Boilermakers managed six of the next seven points, including three blocks and a kill by freshman middle blocker Anna Drewry. Turner also had a hand in two of the stuffs. A service error and a hitting miscue ended the Purdue rally. The Boilermakers, however, wrapped up the sweep with five straight points, including three Turner putaways and an ace by Bashen. Purdue outhit UP .308 to -.111 in the 25-16 win.
The Boilermakers return to action at 11:30 a.m. ET Saturday when they take on No. 17 Kentucky. A free live audio broadcast of the match will be available at purduesports.com.