Sept. 22, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Boilermakers volleyball team issued Indiana its first loss of the season with a gutsy 3-1 victory in University Gymnasium Wednesday night. The 23-25, 26-24, 25-23, 28-26 Purdue win blemished the Hoosiers' 12-0 mark and put the Boilermakers at 1-0 to start Big Ten play.
"This is one of the sweetest wins I have had as a coach at any level," head coach Dave Shondell said. "Indiana did everything they could to beat us tonight - they packed the house with standing room only and even had fans behind our bench giving our team the business, yet our players persevered. Not many teams would find a way to win in these conditions.
"Jaclyn (Hart) was steady as a rock for us and played the way I hoped she would this year. She did a great job of getting the ball to the right people at the right times. Ariel Turner was fabulous. When we needed someone to get the job done, she was right there, even right up until the second to last point. And I thought Katie Griffin did a great job off the bench for us, giving us a real shot in the arm and a burst of positive emotion out there on the floor while providing a little offense."
Turner led the way offensively with a career-high 24 kills, while hitting .321 in the match, pulling up nine digs and adding a team-leading five blocks. Redshirt freshman Catherine Rebarchak followed with 10 kills, while the senior setter, Hart, added nine and junior Tiffany Fisher chipped in eight putaways. Purdue outhit the Hoosiers .297 to .278 in the match.
Defensively, sophomore Carly Cramer paced the team with a match-high 19 digs, while Turner and junior Emily Ehlers added nine apiece and redshirt junior Blair Bashen tacked on eight. At the net, Turner, Fisher and sophomore Anna Drewry each put up five stuffs. Purdue also served up five aces in the match, two by Turner, two by Bashen and one by Fisher.
The Boilermakers fell behind 15-9 at the halfway point of the set, despite four kills by Turner and a pair by Fisher. After a TV timeout, Turner racked up three straight points with a pair of kills and an ace. Back-to-back Hoosier hitting errors brought Purdue within two at 17-15. A block by Drewry and Rebarchak made it 19-17, but Indiana pushed its lead to four at 22-18. Kills by Fisher and senior setter Jaclyn Hart and a Hoosier miscue cut the margin to one at 22-21 forcing an IU timeout. Indiana had its first chance at the set at 24-22, but a Turner kill thwarted the effort. A Hoosier kill the following play capped the set at 25-23.
Purdue leveled the match at a set apiece as they outhit Indiana .500 to .237 and racked up six blocks in the second stanza. The set, which featured 14 ties and five lead changes, began with the team splitting the first eight points. Indiana pushed ahead by three at 10-7, but the Boilermakers fought back, evening the score at 12 and 13 before taking a 14-13 advantage on a block by Drewry and senior Kristen Arthurs. Purdue maintained the edge for the next few serves, but Indiana turned a 17-16 deficit into a 20-17 lead of its own with a pair of kills and a net violation. The Boilermakers scored four of the next five to tie it up at 21. Turner served up an ace, while also contributing a kill and a block in the stretch. A kill by Arthurs and a Hoosier hitting miscue put Purdue on top 23-22. Another Arthurs putaway gave Purdue its first shot at the set at 24-23, but IU used a kill to prolong the set. A block by Rebarchak and Drewry and a Turner kill wrapped up the 26-24 Boilermaker win.
Hart put down five kills of her own in Set 3 as the Boilermakers held the lead for the majority of the stanza en route to a 25-23 win. Purdue scored three of the first five points, but Indiana came back to go ahead 5-3. An ace by Fisher tied it up at five. A Hoosier service error sparked an 8-2 Purdue run, which gave the Boilermakers a 14-9 advantage. Turner managed three kills in the stretch, while Bashen served up an ace. A pair of Hart putaways put Purdue up 16-11, but Indiana rallied to cut the margin to one at 18-17. The Boilermakers denied the Hoosier comeback, however, preventing even a tie down the stretch. Purdue built its lead to three at 23-20 forcing Indiana to use its final timeout, but IU scored a pair of points to pull within one. Redshirt freshman Katie Griffin put down a kill to make it 24-22 and Rebarchak capped the set two points later with a kill at 25-23.
Turner chalked up eight kills and the Boilermakers block added four stuffs as Purdue eeked out a 28-26 win in Set 4 to clinch the match. Purdue jumped out to an 11-7 lead, with help from Hoosier miscues, an ace by Bashen and a block by Turner and Fisher. Indiana called a timeout and scored five straight points after the break to go up 12-11. A service error and kill by Turner put Purdue back on top, but Indiana pushed out to a 16-13 advantage. The Boilermakers responded with four points in a row, two on blocks by Fisher and Griffin, to regain the lead at 17-16. Purdue went up by two at 23-21, prompting IU to use its final timeout, but the set was far from over. The Hoosiers tied it up at 23 and thwarted Purdue's first match point attempt at 24-23 with a block. A kill by Griffin gave the Boilermakers another chance, but again the Hoosiers answered. A service error marked match point #3, but a Hoosier kill leveled the score at 26-26. A Turner putaway, her 24th of the night, put Purdue on the hill once again at 27-26, then a stuff by Drewry and Rebarchak issued the final blow.
The Boilermakers (10-2, 1-0 Big Ten) return to action at 8 p.m. ET Saturday, when they take on the Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston, Ill.