Oct. 29, 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio - It took five sets, but the Boilermaker volleyball team pulled off its third season sweep of the Ohio State Buckeyes in the last four years with a 3-2 comeback win Friday night. Purdue won the match 25-19, 23-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-11 to start the second half of Big Ten play.
"This was a great win for our program tonight, coming out to beat a senior laden Ohio State team in their gym," head coach Dave Shondell said. "Anna Drewry had a career night and they had no answer for her tonight. She has had three great matches in a row. Tiffany Fisher also was nearly unstoppable tonight. Kristen Arthurs came back the last few sets and was a real leader for us and Katie Griffin's serving from Set 4 on was a real turning point in the match.
"Our focus coming in defensively was to contain their middles and we did a great job of that. In sets four and five we focused on their outsides and that changed things significantly. Another major factor was the block party we put on in the fifth set. This win really shows the maturity, guts and toughness our team needs to have this year."
Drewry racked up a career-best and match-high 19 kills and added four blocks, while committing just one error on the night. Fisher added 13 putaways, while senior setter Jaclyn Hart and redshirt freshman Catherine Rebarchak chipped in seven apiece. Arthurs registered six kills and a team-leading four blocks.
Defensively, libero Carly Cramer pulled up 16 digs, while junior Emily Ehlers added 10 saves. Sophomore Ariel Turner managed nine digs in addition to her five-kill effort. Purdue outhit Ohio State .261 to .234 and outblocked the Buckeyes 12-6.
Purdue scored six of the first eight points in the decisive fifth set, including a block by Fisher and Hart and three Buckeye hitting errors. The Boilermakers led 8-4 at the changeover as Fisher and Drewry teamed up for a stuff. OSU battled back to tie the score at 8-8. Purdue managed five of the next six points, including back-to-back blocks and two putaways by Drewry to go up 13-9. An Ohio State kill stopped the 4-0 streak, but a service error set up match point at 14-10. A Kelli Barhorst kill prolonged the match, but Arthurs offered the final nail at 15-11.
The Boilermakers led Set 1 from start to finish as Fisher and Drewry posted 10 of Purdue's 15 kills in the stanza. Purdue raced out to a 10-4 advantage as Fisher pounded down three kills, including two on overpasses, and Drewry tacked on two more putdowns. Ohio State cut the margin to three at 10-7, but a block by Fisher and Turner pushed the score to 13-8. Kills by Turner, Rebarchak and Arthurs and a stuff block by Hart, Arthurs and Drewry helped Purdue to a seven-point advantage at 21-14. The Buckeyes charged back with four of the next five points, but Hart and Fisher downed kills to end the stanza at 25-19.
Ohio State scored two of the first three points in Set 2, but Purdue soon owned a 9-5 advantage after a run including an ace by Fisher and a solo block and two kills by Drewry. A Rebarchak putaway made it 10-6, but the Buckeyes rattled off six of the next seven points to go ahead 12-11. Hart and Drewry posted back-to-back kills to put the Boilermakers back on top at 15-14. OSU answered with a 7-2 run to turn the deficit into a 21-17 lead. Purdue played from behind, trailing 23-19 before mounting a comeback. A pair of OSU hitting errors cut the margin to two at 23-21 and forced a Buckeye timeout. Purdue scored two of the next three out of the break, including a kill by Fisher and an Ohio State net violation to make it a one-point game at 24-23. Another OSU timeout iced the Purdue server and sealed the 25-23 Buckeye win.
The teams split the first 10 points of Set 3 before Ohio State gained a two-point lead at 7-5. Purdue knotted the score at eight after a pair of Drewry kills and a solo block by Arthurs, but the Buckeyes maintained control, pushing its advantage to 13-10. An overpass kill by Fisher and two putaways by Hart made it a one-point game at 14-13, but OSU would not relinquish the lead, instead forging ahead by four at 20-16. An Arthurs kill and a Buckeye miscue made it 20-18, but Ohio State closed out the set with a 5-2 run.
OSU carried the momentum into Set 4 scoring three of the first four points, but Purdue countered with a 5-1 run to take a 6-4 lead. Kills from Drewry and Fisher coupled with a trio of Buckeye errors put the Boilermakers on top 6-4. The teams traded points for the next several serves leading to a 11-9 score. Ohio State managed back-to-back kills, but Purdue answered with a 5-0 run, including an ace by Griffin, two blocks and two kills by Hart, to go up 16-11. The Boilermakers led by at least four the rest of the way en route to a 25-17 victory. Drewry pounded down three kills, while Arthurs added two and a Bashen served up an ace to put Purdue on the hill at 24-17. Hart managed the final kill in the set.
The Boilermakers (15-7, 6-5 Big Ten) return to action at 5 p.m. ET Saturday when they take on No. 9 Penn State in University Park, Pa.