Sept. 18, 2009
Shondell on Stars of the Match
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball team fought off a pesky Ohio ‎team Friday night, edging the Bobcats by just seven points in a 3-0 victory. Purdue won ‎the match 27-25, 25-23 and 25-22. ‎
Four hitters posted double digit kill tallies, led by junior Kristen Arthurs' 11. Senior ‎Carrie Gurnell, sophomore Tiffany Fisher and freshman Ariel Turner each added 10 ‎putaways. Fisher hit at a team-best .457 clip, while also adding four blocks. Turner added ‎an ace to her kill tally. ‎
Defensively, sophomore Emily Ehlers led the way with 16 digs. Junior Jaclyn Hart and ‎freshman Carly Cramer followed with seven apiece. ‎
Ohio took control to start the match, going up 7-3 in the opening stanza. The ‎Boilermakers pulled within one three times with help from three Arthurs kills, before ‎tying the score at 9-9 on a OU hitting miscue. The Bobcats pushed their advantage to ‎three at 16-13, but Purdue charged back with five of the next six points, including three ‎Turner terminations to go ahead 18-17. The lead was short lived, however as the Bobcats ‎went up 20-18 shortly thereafter. Purdue scored four straight to turn the tables. The teams ‎tied at 22 and 23, but a Fisher kill gave the Boilermakers their first shot at the set at 24-‎‎23. A Meghan Simons kill thwarted the effort, but Fisher came back with another ‎putaway. A service error evened the score at 25. The Bobcats returned the favor with a ‎service error of their own and then supplied a hitting error to secure the 27-25 win for ‎Purdue. ‎
The Boilermakers owned a 5-3 advantage early in the second set, but Ohio chipped away ‎before eventually going ahead 9-7. Purdue countered with a 4-1 run, which included two ‎Gurnell putaways and a block by Hart and Fisher. The Bobcats tied scored three straight ‎en route to a 13-11 advantage, but five of the next six points belonged to the ‎Boilermakers, putting them ahead 16-14. Fisher tallied two kills, while Arthurs and ‎Turner each added a kill and combined on a block during the stretch. OU went up 17-16, ‎but Purdue found an answer, scoring four straight on two Bobcat miscues, a kill by ‎Turner and a block by Arthurs and freshman Anna Drewry. The teams were deadlocked ‎again at 20 and 21. A solo block by Gurnell and an by Turner made it 23-21 ‎Boilermakers, but a pair of Ellen Herman kills knotted the score again at 23. A service ‎error and a hitting miscue by Ohio wrapped up the set at 25-23 Purdue. Gurnell chalked ‎up five kills in the set, while Fisher added four. ‎
Purdue returned from intermission refreshed and jumped out to an 9-5 lead to start the ‎third start as Fisher racked up three kills and Turner and Gurnell added two apiece. The ‎Bobcats would not go away, however, scoring five straight to go up 10-9. The ‎Boilermakers tied it up at 10, 11 and 12, but Ohio continued on to a 14-12 lead. A four-‎point rally put Purdue back on top at 16-14. OU regained the lead at 17-16, but the ‎Boilermakers scored seven of the next nine to go up by four at 23-19. A pair of blocks ‎and kills by three different players, including redshirt junior Lisa Pierce, helped Purdue to ‎the advantage. The pesky Bobcats pulled within two at 23-21, but committed a hitting ‎error to give Purdue its first match point attempt at 24-21. A Boilermaker hitting miscue ‎kept things going, but Arthurs pounded down her 11th kill of the night to put the final ‎nail in the 25-22 win and the match. ‎
The Active Ankle Challenge resumes at 5 p.m. Saturday, when the No. 14 Illinois ‎Fighting Illini take on the Ohio Bobcats. The Boilermakers (7-3) return to action at 7:30 ‎p.m. Saturday when they face off with Louisville (7-3). Patrons presenting their Purdue-‎Northern Illinois football ticket stub at the Athletic Ticket Office will receive $2 ‎admission to the match. ‎