The Spike Is Ours

Nov. 4, 2009

Shondell's Overall Thoughts On The Spike Match

Shondell On The Keys To The Match

Photo Gallery

Final Stats

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball team exacted revenge on the Indiana Hoosiers Wednesday night, downing IU 3-1 to keep the Monon Spike travelling trophy in West Lafayette for another year. Purdue won the match 20-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-19 to even the season series and win the Spike match for the 24th time in 36 tries. The Boilermakers have now topped the Hoosiers in 12 of the last 14 meetings.

Freshman Ariel Turner paced the Purdue offense with 12 kills, while fellow rookie Anna Drewry added 10. Senior Carrie Gurnell chipped in nine kills, while juniors Kristen Arthurs and Jaclyn Hart tallied eight and seven respectively. The Boilermakers outhit the Hoosiers .289 to .173.

Defensively, Purdue outblocked Indiana 17.5 to six and outdug the Hoosiers 55 to 46. At the net, Arthurs and Drewry registered eight blocks apiece and Hart added six. In the backcourt, sophomore Emily Ehlers racked up 24 digs, while freshman Carly Cramer added 10.

The Hoosiers led early in the first set, but Purdue tied it up at 5-5 on a block by Arthurs and Hart. Indiana built a four-point advantage at 13-9 after a run including two aces. Purdue fought back to make it 14-14 after a Turner kill and an IU hitting error. The teams would tie again at 18 on a Gurnell putaway, but Indiana scored seven of the last 10 to clinch the 25-20 win. The Hoosiers were credited with six aces in the stanza.

The Boilermakers bounced back in the second set, racking up seven and a half blocks and hitting .367 en route to a 25-23 win. Purdue went up 4-2 after kills by Drewry and Turner and a solo block by Hart. The Hoosiers tied it up at six, but the Boilermakers pushed ahead to a 12-8 advantage after a stuff by Drewry, Arthurs and Turner. Indiana battled back with a 11-5 run to take a 19-17 lead of its own. Purdue countered with six of the next eight points, including three blocks, to reach their first set point attempt at 24-22. Hart and Fisher combined on two of the rejections, while Fisher tallied a solo stuff on the third. A service error kept the set going, but Gurnell pounded down the final point of the win.

Purdue led 3-2 to start the third set as Arthurs, Turner and Drewry posted kills. After a tie at 4-4, The Hoosiers scored six of the next seven, including a 5-0 run, to go up 10-5. The Boilermakers charged back to tie it up at 11-11 after a series which included three Gurnell kills and a block by Drewry and Arthurs. The teams tied at 12 and 13, before Purdue took advantage of an IU ball handling error to gain a 14-13 lead. Indiana led briefly at 16-15 and 18-17, but after that it was nearly all Boilermakers. Purdue snapped a 19-19 tie with three straight points, a kill by Arthurs and two Hoosier hitting miscues. An Indiana kill slowed the effort momentarily, but kills from Drewry and Turner put Purdue on the hill at 24-20. The pair combined for a block to cap the 25-20 win.

The Boilermakers scored seven of the first 10 points in Set 4. The Hoosiers came back to tie it at eight and nine, but Purdue never relinquished control. From the tie at nine, Purdue scored seven straight, including kills by Arthurs, Turner and Drewry and an ace by Cramer. The Boilermakers upped their advantage to nine at 21-12 after back to back IU errors. Indiana would not give in, scoring seven of the next nine, narrowing the gap to 23-19. Hart put down a kill and then served up the ace for the 25-19 win. Drewry was 4-for-4 in the stanza, while Hart chipped in three kills. Purdue outhit Indiana .320 to .071 in the final stanza.

Purdue (12-12, 4-9 Big Ten) returns to action at 2 p.m. Sunday when it takes on No. 12 Minnesota in Minneapolis. The match will air live on the Big Ten Network and will be rebroadcast at 8 p.m. ET.