Oct. 23, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Boilermaker volleyball team began its weekend road trip with a 3-1 loss to Ohio State Friday night, snapping a two-match win streak. The Buckeyes won the match 25-19, 23-25, 26-24, 25-18.
Sophomore Tiffany Fisher led the way for Purdue with 16 kills on a .500 hitting effort, while junior Kristen Arthurs added 10 putaways. Redshirt junior Lisa Pierce chipped in eight kills, while junior Jaclyn Hart added six.
Redshirt sophomore Blair Bashen pulled up 10 digs to pace the Purdue defense, while sophomore Emily Ehlers added eight.
The Buckeyes controlled the latter half of the first set, capitalizing on Boilermaker miscues en route to a 25-19 win. Purdue led early in the stanza, which featured seven ties and five lead changes, going up 8-6 after kills by four different players. OSU battled back scoring three straight on Purdue errors, but freshman Anna Drewry added back to back putdowns to push the score to 11-10. The teams tied at 12, but the Buckeyes pulled away with four of the next five points to go up 16-13. Purdue cut it to two at 17-15 on a Fisher putaway, but would get no closer as Ohio State closed out the stanza. OSU hit .308, while holding the Boilermakers to a .121 effort.
OSU carried the momentum into the second set, going up 4-1 to start the stanza. Purdue charged back with four straight point, including two kills by Hart. The Buckeyes tied the score four times, last at 8-8, before Purdue distanced itself with four of the next five points. Leading by just one at 14-13, the Boilermakers put together another 4-1 rally including an ace by Pierce to gain an 18-14 edge. Kills by Pierce, Arthurs, Fisher and senior Carrie Gurnell helped Purdue to a 23-19 advantage, but OSU crept back to within one at 23-22. A Fisher kill, her eighth of the night, put the Boilermakers on the hill. A Buckeye kill thwarted the first Purdue effort, but Gurnell bounced a kill off an OSU defender for the 25-23 win.
The teams were tied at 11-11 midway through the third set. Purdue went up 16-13 after a rally including four Fisher kills and a block by Gurnell and Arthurs. Trailing 17-15 soon after, OSU scored four straight to take the lead. Purdue battled back from a 20-18 deficit scoring on three straight Buckeye miscues. The teams tied at 21, 22 and 23, before Ohio State went up 24-23 on a Boilermaker hitting error. A Gurnell putaway thwarted OSU's first set point attempt, but kills by Kristen Dozier and Katie Dull clinched the 26-24 Buckeye win.
Purdue led 2-1 in the fourth set, but Ohio State score eight of the next 10 to go up 9-4 and force a Boilermaker timeout. Purdue played from behind the remainder of the set, trailing by as many as seven at 15-8. Down 20-14, the Boilermakers made another run, scoring four of the next five, including a block by Fisher and Ehlers, to cut the margin to three at 21-18 and prompting an OSU timeout. The Buckeyes scored four straight out of the break to seal the 25-18 win and the match victory. Ohio State hit .364 in the set, while the Boilermakers managed just a .097 effort.
Purdue (11-9, 3-6 Big Ten) returns to action at 7 p.m. Saturday when they take on No. 1 Penn State in University Park, Pa. The match will air tape-delayed on the Big Ten Network at 8 p.m. Sunday.