Sept. 11, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball swept Belmont 25-16, 25-18, 25-18 to garner the Active Ankle Challenge title Saturday night. The 3-0 win was Purdue's sixth straight and claimed the team its second straight tournament title.
Seven different hitters contributed offensively as the Boilermakers posted a .351 combined hitting effort. Sophomore Ariel Turner hammered down 15 kills, while hitting .300 on the night, and also accounting for seven digs, two blocks and an ace. Redshirt freshman Katie Griffin followed with nine kills on a team-best .500 hitting effort and accounting for one of the team's three solo blocks. Senior Kristen Arthurs and junior Tiffany Fisher added five kills apiece while hitting better than .400. Arthurs led the team at the net with three blocks, while Fisher served up two of the team' four aces.
Defensively, sophomore Carly Cramer pulled up nine digs, followed by Turner, senior setter Jaclyn Hart and redshirt junior Blair Bashen.
Turner was named Active Ankle Challenge MVP, while Fisher and junior Emily Ehlers garnered all-tournament team nods for their efforts.
Purdue was forced to play from behind after a handful of errors early in the match. Down 6-4, the Boilermakers capitalized on a Belmont miscue and a solo stuff by Griffin to tie it up, but could not break through. Down by two again at 9-7, the Boilermakers scored three straight, including a kill and a solo block by Turner to take the lead at 10-9. After a tie at 10, Purdue rattled off five straight points, including a solo block by Hart. The Boilermakers pushed the advantage to 10 at 22-12 after a 6-0 rally. Griffin tallied three kills in the stretch. A pair of kills by Arthurs made it 24-14, but Purdue would have to overcome a pair of hitting miscues, before claiming the set at 25-16 on a Bruin service error.
Turner tallied five kills in the second set as Purdue posted a 25-18 win. The teams split the first 12 points of the stanza, but the Boilermakers took 10 of the next 12 points to build a 16-8 advantage. Fisher served up two aces, while Turner, Arthurs and Rebarchak chipped in kills. The teams traded the next 10 points leading to a 21-13 score. Belmont cut the margin to six at 23-17, before a hitting miscue gave Purdue its first shot at the set at 24-17. A Bruin kill kept the stanza going, but Turner pounded down the final point.
The Boilermakers trailed 4-2 to start the third set, but used kills from Fisher and Griffin and a BU serving error to reverse the deficit. The teams tied at 4, 5 and 6, before Purdue put together a 6-1 run including an ace by Ehlers and two blocks and a kill by Drewry to make it 12-7. Up by just three at 13-10, Turner managed an ace and a kill, but Fisher added another putaway to put Purdue up 17-11. The Boilermakers would boast at least a five-point advantage through the rest of the match. Turner tallied three kills and Arthurs added one as Purdue went up 24-18, setting up a Belmont hitting error which clinched the sweep and the tournament title.
Purdue (8-1) returns to action at 7 p.m. Friday when they take on the Louisville Cardinals in the Big East/Big Ten Challenge in Louisville. The Boilermakers will wrap up non-conference play with a 4:30 p.m. Saturday contest against Cincinnati.