Sept. 4, 2010
PITTSBURGH - The Boilermakers clinched the Pitt Invitational title with a hard-fought four-set win over the Tulane Green Wave Saturday afternoon. Purdue won the match 25-18, 25-27, 25-14, 26-24.
Sophomore Ariel Turner led all hitters with 23 kills on a .305 hitting effort, while redshirt freshman Catherine Rebarchak added 11 kills at a .400 clip. Junior Tiffany Fisher put down seven kills, while hitting .462.
Defensively, redshirt junior Blair Bashen paced the team with 19 digs, while sophomore Carly Cramer added 13. At the net, senior Kristen Arthurs again led the way with five stuffs.
"Playing three matches in just over 24 hours is difficult and we saw the consequence of that today," head coach Dave Shondell said. "We struggled, but we did have a few good performances. Ariel Turner was clutch for us down the stretch. We started Rachel Davis at setter and she did a nice job, but didn't get our middles involved. In the last two sets, Jaclyn Hart did a good job of doing that and balanced our offense. Catherine Rebarchak saved our tail out there. She is hitting nearly 50 percent and making it look easy."
Hart was named tournament MVP, while Rebarchak and Cramer garnered all-tournament team nods.
The Boilermakers jumped out to a 6-2 lead in Set 1, but scored just three of the points in their own right with a pair of Turner kills and an ace by Cramer. Purdue upped its lead to 12-6 after a kill by senior Kristen Arthurs and a block by Arthurs and redshirt freshman Catherine Rebarchak. Tulane narrowed the gap to two with five of the next six points, including an ace. The teams split the next several points, leading to a 17-15 score, but Purdue was able to close out the stanza with eight of the last 11 points. Redshirt freshman Rachel Davis and junior Emily Ehlers each served up an ace in the stretch. A block by Arthurs and Rebarchak and a Green Wave hitting error made it 24-17, before Turner wrapped up the stanza with a kill.
Tulane scored four of the first five points in Set 2 and held Purdue at bay until the Boilermakers were able to score three in a row on Green Wave miscues to go ahead 8-6. The teams tie at 10, 11 and 12, before Cramer rolled an ace over the tape to go up 14-12. The score was tied again at 14, 15, 16 and 17, before a Rebarchak kill gave Purdue a 20-18 edge. A tie at 20-20 sparked a 3-0 Purdue run, including an ace by Cramer and a block by Davis and freshman Elena Perri. A Turner putaway made it 24-22, but the Boilermakers were unable to convert a pair of set point opportunities as Tulane tied it up at 24. A kill by Griffin gave Purdue another shot at the set, but the Green Wave hitters managed three straight kills to steal the 27-25 win.
Purdue came out revived after intermission and quickly put up a 7-2 advantage. Turner and Fisher each tallied two kills, while the pair also teamed up for a block during the stretch. The Boilermakers went up 14-7 after back-to-back Rebarchak putaways and another by Arthurs. The Green Wave cut the margin to five at 16-11, but Purdue scored nine of the last 12 en route to the 25-14 win. A pair of Tulane hitting miscues offered the final points of the set as the Boilermakers outhit the Green Wave .343 to .129 in the stanza.
Points were scored fast and furiously in the fourth set which featured 10 ties and four lead changes. The Boilermakers played from behind for the majority of the stanza, save a brief 4-3 advantage. The Green Wave turned the deficit around with seven of the next nine points to go up 11-6 and prompt a Purdue timeout. Trailing by five again at 15-10, Purdue countered the Tulane rally with a 7-2 run of its own. Turner pounded down three kills and Fisher added two in the comeback which tied the score at 17-17. The teams tied at 18, but Tulane pushed ahead 21-19. A net violation and a pair of Turner kills tied things again at 22. A stuff block by Hart and a Turner kill put Purdue on the hill at 24-23, but a putaway by Izabela Grot kept the set going. Hart redirected things at the net to set up another match-point attempt, then Rebarchak and Arthurs closed the door with a block at 26-24.
The Boilermakers return to action at 10 a.m. Friday when they take on Duquesne to open the Active Ankle Challenge.