Sept. 3, 2010
PITTSBURGH - The Boilermaker volleyball team downed the Lipsomb Lady Bison 3-0 to start the Pitt Invitational on Friday morning. Purdue held the Bison, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2009, to a hitting effort under .100 and outblocked the team 9-4 in the 25-15, 25-18, 25-23 win.
Sophomore Ariel Turner paced the Boilermaker offense with 12 kills, while junior Tiffany Fisher and sophomore Anna Drewry each put down nine kills. Fisher also added a team-high five blocks, while Drewry and senior setter Jaclyn Hart managed four stuffs a piece.
Defensively, libero Carly Cramer racked up 21 digs, while also serving up the team's lone ace. Junior Emily Ehlers also reached double-digits with 13 saves.
The teams split the first 10 points of the match, but Purdue soon built a six-point advantage at 12-6. Kills from Turner, Hart and Drewry as well as a few Lipscomb miscues accounted for the margin. Four Boilermakers managed putaways as the lead swell to 10 at 20-10. A block by Drewry and Hart and a Bison service error put Purdue on the hill. Drewry pounded down a kill to close the set at 25-15. Purdue outhit Lipscomb .290 to .050 in the stanza.
Purdue trailed 3-1 in the early goings of Set 2, but managed four of the next five points, two on blocks by Fisher and Turner, to take a 5-4 lead. The teams tied at five and six, but that sparked the Boilermakers to eight of the next 10 points and a 14-8 advantage. Redshirt freshman Katie Griffin, senior Kristen Arthurs, Turner and Drewry supplied the Purdue offense during the stretch. Lipscomb narrowed the gap to three at 16-13, but kills by Griffin and Hart helped Purdue back to a five-point lead at 19-14, prompted the second Lipscomb timeout. The Bison made a late run, however, cutting it to 20-18. The Boilermakers wrapped up the set with five straight points - a kill by Turner, three Lipscomb miscues and an ace by Cramer.
After the intermission, Lipscomb came out with something to prove and started the set with a 10-6 advantage. Purdue managed ties at 13, 14 and 15, but could not break through. The Bison in turn raised its edge to three at 19-16 on an ace. That marked the turning point for Purdue, which posted six of the next eight points to go up 22-21. Drewry tallied two kills and a block to start the rally. Turner added one and a pair of Lipscomb hitting errors put the Boilermakers ahead. The Bison tied it at 22 and 23, but a net violation made it 24-23 and set up a final block by Drewry and Hart. Fisher racked up five kills in the stanza as Purdue clinched the sweep with a 25-23 win.
The Boilermakers (3-1) are back in action at 7 p.m. when they take on the host Pittsburgh Panthers.