Nov. 8, 2009
MINNEAPOLIS - The Boilermaker volleyball team saw leads slip away in the first two sets and couldn't quite catch up in the third in a 3-0 loss to No. 12 Minnesota on Sunday. The Golden Gophers won the match 25-22, 25-22, 25-17.
Freshman Ariel Turner paced the Boilermaker offense with 10 kills. Junior Kristen Arthurs added eight kills, while freshman Anna Drewry tacked on seven, while hitting at a team-best .467 clip.
Defensively, redshirt sophomore Blair Bashen pulled up a match-high 12 digs. Junior Jaclyn Hart added 10 saves to her 35 assists, while sophomore Emily Ehlers chipped in nine digs. Hart and sophomore Tiffany Fisher posted three blocks apiece to lead Purdue at the net.
Trailing 3-2 in the first set, Purdue posted six straight points, including kills by Turner, Fisher and Bashen, to go up 8-3. The Golden Gophers cut the margin to three at 12-9, but the Boilermakers pushed the lead back to five at 16-11 thanks to putaways by Turner, Fisher and Drewry. Minnesota pulled within two at 17-15. Purdue responded once again, scoring four of the next five points, including an ace by Cramer, to go up 21-16. UM rallied, however, posting a 9-1 to snag the 25-22 win. Six kills, an ace and two Boilermaker miscues helped the Gophers to the win.
The Boilermakers bounced back in Set 2, jumping out to a 5-1 lead behind two kills and two blocks. Fisher put up a solo stuff, while Turner and Drewry combined for the other rejection. The Gophers narrowed the gap to one a 10-9, but Purdue maintained control with putdowns by senior Carrie Gurnell and Arthurs. Minnesota tied the score at 12 and 13, but the Boilermakers soon owned a three-point lead at 17-14 after a block by Fisher and Hart and an ace by Turner. The Gophers put together a 6-1 run to go ahead 20-18. An Arthurs kill stopped the rally, but Minnesota had its first set-point opportunity at 24-21. A Drewry kill kept the stanza going, but a controversial kill by Hailey Cowles put UM up 2-0 heading into the intermission. Turner posted five kills in the set to lead Purdue.
Minnesota led 5-2 in Set 3, but Purdue charged back to within one at 6-5 after kills by Turner, Gurnell and Arthurs. The Golden Gophers scored five in a row to prompt a Boilermaker timeout at 11-5. Arthurs pounded down a kill out of the break, but UM used a 9-2 run to push the advantage to 12 at 20-8. The Boilermakers were down but not out, rallying with six of the next seven points, including aces by Ehlers and redshirt junior Lisa Pierce to pull within six. A service error ended the run, but Fisher tacked on another kill. Minnesota scored four of the last five to take the 25-17 win and the match.
The Boilermakers (12-13, 4-10 Big Ten) return to action on Friday, when they take on Michigan in Ann Arbor.