Aug. 27, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball team made short work of Western Kentucky in its season opener, although Purdue had to come from behind in each of the last two sets of the 3-0 victory. Purdue won the match 25-20, 25-20, 25-18.
Sophomores Ariel Turner and Tiffany Fisher paced the Boilermaker offense, each reaching double-digit kill tallies with 12 and 11 respectively. Redshirt freshman Katie Griffin added nine putaways and sophomore Anna Drewry tacked on seven. Purdue hit .351 as a team, led by Drewry and Griffin's identical .600 efforts.
Redshirt junior Blair Bashen racked up a match-high 11 digs, while senior Jaclyn Hart and Turner each added six digs. Junior Emily Ehlers and Carly Cramer tacked on five and four respectively. Eight of the 11 Boilermaker players who saw action registered at least on dig.
Turner led Purdue at the net with four blocks, while senior Kristen Arthurs, Fisher and Drewry each put up two stuffs.
The Boilermakers jumped out to a 4-0 lead to start the night, capitalizing on two Fisher kills and a pair of WKU miscues. Purdue led 8-4 after a pair of Griffin putaways, but the Lady Toppers knotted it up at 8-8. Purdue then broke off a 5-0 run, including a kill and block each from Griffin and Fisher. WKU cut the margin to one at 19-18, prompting a Boilermaker timeout, but the Old Gold & Black responded with five of the next six points to take the opening stanza, 25-20. Fisher pounded down two kills and the Boilermakers tacked on three blocks , including back-to-back efforts by Turner and Drewry to clinch the set.
Western Kentucky turned the tables, taking four of the first five points of Set 2. The Boilermakers battled back to tie things up at seven and eight, but could not break through. Trailing 13-10, Purdue found its stride as Drewry, Turner and Griffin took the offensive reigns. After another tie at 14, Turner and Hart gave the Boilermakers a lead which they would not relinquish. After the 16-14 score, the teams split the next 12 points to make it 22-20. A service error kicked off a 3-0 Boilermaker run, which wrapped the 25-20 win. A kill by Turner and a block by Hart and Arthurs sealed the deal. Turner managed seven kills in the stanza, which saw Purdue hit at a collective .429 clip.
WKU took the early lead in Set 3, which featured eight ties in the first 18 points. The Boilermakers split the offensive load between Turner, Fisher and redshirt freshman Catherine Rebarchak, with each accounting for a pair of putdowns. After tying the score at 9-9 on a Lady Topper service error, Turner brought the crowd to its feet with an unassisted smackdown. Fisher pounded down an overpass the following play and added another kill and a block as Purdue boosted its lead to 14-10. The Boilermaker rally continued and Purdue soon led 22-13 after a series of WKU errors and a balanced offensive attack. Western Kentucky would not go quietly, however, scoring five of the next six points, while staving off two Purdue match-point attempts, to make it 24-18. The Boilermakers finally clinched the sweep with Fisher putaway.
The Boilermakers return to action at 10 a.m. Saturday when they take on Central Michigan (0-1) to kick off Day 2 of the Mortar Board Premier.