Oct. 17, 2010
MADISON, Wis. - The Boilermaker volleyball team suffered a tough 3-1 road loss in UW Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon. The Wisconsin Badgers won the match 25-22, 21-25, 25-16, 25-17.
Sophomore Ariel Turner led the Boilermaker offensive attacked with 13 kills. Redshirt freshman Katie Griffin added nine putaways, while senior Kristen Arthurs chipped in seven kills and three blocks. At the net, sophomore Anna Drewry paced the team with six blocks, helping Purdue to a 12-6 lead in the category.
Defensively, sophomore Carly Cramer racked up 17 digs, while junior Emily Ehlers and redshirt junior Blair Bashen added nine apiece.
"After an emotional weekend like we had last week, it is always tough to repeat your effort and we weren't able to do it this weekend," head coach Dave Shondell said. "Wisconsin is a talented team and they had hit rock bottom. When that happens, you either give up on the year or work it out. You have to give them credit, they played well today. On our side, we just played with a lack of passion and purpose. We looked worn out emotionally and we found out today how tough it is to win on the road in the Big Ten."
Wisconsin took an early 5-3 lead in the first set, but a kill and an ace by Fisher tied the score at 5. The teams split the next four points before the Badgers surged ahead by three at 10-7. Purdue played from behind from that point, trailing by three again at 15-12 before putting together a 6-0 run to go up 18-15. A trio of Wisconsin hitting errors, kills by Rebarchak and Griffin and a block by Rebarchak and Arthurs accounted for the rally. A service error slowed the Boilermakers temporarily, but a kill by Rebarchak and a solo stuff by Arthurs pushed the advantage to four at 20-16, forcing UW to use its final timeout. The teams split the next four points leading to a 22-18 score, but Wisconsin managed the next seven points in a row to steal the 25-22 win.
The Boilermakers raced out to a 4-2 lead to start the second set, capitalizing on a pair of Badger miscues and a kill and a block by Drewry. Drewry combined with Hart and Griffin on two more blocks to push the score to 6-4. Wisconsin tied the score at seven, and eight before edging ahead 9-8 on a kill by Alexis Mitchell. Arthurs answered with a pair of kills and Drewry added another block to her tally as Purdue charged ahead to a 14-11 lead. Griffin tacked on a trio of putaways and Arthurs added another to put the Boilermakers up by seven at 21-14. The Badgers narrowed the gap to four on three occasions, before making it 23-20 on a Purdue hitting miscue. Turner pounded down a kill to make it 24-20 and added another two plays later to close the set at 25-21 and even the match at a set apiece. Turner, Arthurs and Griffin each posted four kills, while Drewry chalked up four stuffs.
Purdue scored three of the first four points in Set 3, but the Badgers closed at tied the score at 4-4. The Boilermakers went up 7-5 after a pair of blocks and a kill by Drewry. Wisconsin made another run with five of the next six to go ahead 10-8. Purdue countered with three straight on a kill by Arthurs, a UW hitting error and an ace by Ehlers to take an 11-10 lead. The Badgers outscored Purdue 15-5 down the stretch en route to the 25-16 win. Wisconsin hit .333 to Purdue's .071 mark in the stanza.
Turner posted two kills and a block in the opening five points of Set 4, but Wisconsin rallied with eight straight points to go ahead 10-3. Trailing 16-8 later in the stanza, Purdue put together a 4-1 run, including three kills from Turner, one from Griffin and a block involving Fisher, to cut the margin to four at 17-13. The Badgers called a timeout and scored four of the next five out of the break, before pushing ahead to the 25-17 win.
The Boilermakers (13-6, 4-4 Big Ten) return to action at 7 p.m. Friday when they take on Michigan State at home on Belin Court.