Oct. 16, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball team got the monkey off its back Friday night, posting a 3-1 win over Wisconsin and snapping a five-match drought. Purdue won the match 16-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-21 behind a stellar performance from freshman Ariel Turner.
"It's nice to win," head coach Dave Shondell said. "Winning is always a lot more enjoyable than losing. We haven't been trying to lose in the past, we just haven't been able to find ways to finish out games. Tonight we finished out games. The key for us was that we played hard, Ariel Turner showed up and really played like she is capable of playing, and we got her the ball the way we should. When somebody is hot, you have to give them the ball and I thought we did that with Ariel tonight.
"And, down the stretch we blocked balls. From the very beginning of the season, I felt like we should be a good blocking team, but blocking requires a lot of things, being well prepared, thinking, reacting and then being physical. Toward the end of the match tonight we were very good at that, and I think that made all the difference."
Turner posted a career and match-high 22 kills, while hitting .476 and adding eight digs, four blocks and an ace to the team's tallies. Senior Carrie Gurnell chipped in 10 kills, while sophomore Tiffany Fisher added seven. Juniors Kristen Arthurs and Jaclyn Hart registered six apiece.
Defensively, redshirt sophomore Blair Bashen pulled up 16 digs, while freshman Carly Cramer added a career-high 10. At the net, Arthurs led the way with nine blocks.
The teams split the first eight points of the match, but after that it was all Wisconsin in the opening set. The Badgers outhit Purdue .455 to .172 and racked up three aces in the 25-16 win.
A balanced offensive attack was the key to a 25-23 Boilermaker win in Set 2 as five players posted three or more kills in the stanza. UW took the early lead at 4-2, but Purdue charged back to go up 6-5 on a Bashen ace. The Badgers regained the advantage and went up by three at 11-8. The Boilermakers battled back tying the score at 11 and 12. Trailing 13-12, Purdue rattled off nine of the next 10 points, including two kills, a block and an ace by Turner, en route to a 21-14 lead. Wisconsin managed five straight to tighten it up to 21-19. A kill by Arthurs made it 24-21, but the Badgers thwarted the next two efforts, before Turner capped the set with a putaway.
Wisconsin scored four of the first six points of Set 3, but Purdue rebounded to take a 6-4 lead and never looked back. Kills by Gurnell and Turner put the Boilermakers up four at 15-11, prompting a Badger timeout. Another pair of kills from the duo made it 20-17 and force UW to take its last break. Wisconsin cut the margin to one at 21-20 out of the timeout, but a service error and a kill and a block by Gurnell put Purdue on the hill at 24-20. Gurnell pounded down her fifth kill of the stanza to seal the 25-21 win.
Turner racked up eight kills and Arthurs tallied five stuffs as Purdue clinched the match with a 25-21 win in Set 4. Wisconsin led 7-4 early on, but Purdue scored seven of the next nine to capture an 11-9 advantage on an ace by Hart. The Badgers went up briefly at 12-11, but a solo block and a kill by Turner put the Boilermakers back on top 13-12. The teams tied at 15 and 19, but Purdue would not relinquish control, scoring three straight including a pair of blocks to go up 22-19. A Turner kill and a block by Arthurs and freshman Anna Drewry made it 24-21, before Turner issued the final blow.
The Boilermakers (10-8, 2-5 Big Ten) return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday when they take on the Iowa Hawkeyes. It is Dig Pink night at Belin Court, so donn pink and cheer on Purdue as they celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness month.