Oct. 30, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Boilermaker volleyball team gave No. 9 Penn State all it could handle for four sets Saturday night, coming up just shy of extending the match to a fifth set. The Nittany Lions won the match 25-16, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23.
"Penn State has great talent and is one of the best teams in the league this year, but you have to give our team great credit for its fight," head coach Dave Shondell said. "We won a huge match last night in five, which took some of the pressure off of us. We did not look great in Game 1 but we were okay after that once we started passing well and staying in system. Our middles were great tonight - Kristen Arthurs was outstanding and Tiffany Fisher was steady again. Catherine Rebarchak was a thorn in Russ Rose's side tonight. Overall, we came out and competed. I wish we had been able to finish stronger in the fourth set and put the pressure on Penn State in a fifth set, but that didn't happen."
Rebarchak and Arthurs led the Purdue offense with kill tallies of 12 and 11, both hitting at better than a .300 clip. Fisher and sophomore Anna Drewry each chipped in nine putdowns.
Defensively, senior setter Jaclyn Hart led the team at the net with four blocks, while also adding 10 digs and 42 assists. Fisher put up three blocks including a solo effort. Sophomore Carly Cramer pulled up 16 digs, while junior Emily Ehlers added 15.
The Boilermakers held the early lead in Set 1, but could not hold off the Penn State surge, falling 25-16. Purdue led 3-1 after a PSU service error, a kill by Rebarchak and a block by Fisher and Hart. The Nittany Lions scored three straight to take a 4-3 lead, but Purdue responded with a kill by Hart and an ace by Turner to regain the advantage. Penn State countered with nine of the next 11 points to go up by seven at 14-7. A 3-0 Boilermaker run including kills by Arthurs and Rebarchak narrowed the gap to four at 14-10. Trailing by six at 18-12, Purdue made a push, slicing the margin to three at 19-16. Kills by Fisher and Drewry and a block by Hart and Arthurs aided in the rally. Penn State wrapped the set with a 6-0 run, including two blocks and an ace.
Purdue held the advantage for the first half of Set 2, but after a series of ties, the Nittany Lions pulled away, edging the Boilermakers 25-21. The Boilermakers boasted a 6-3 advantage after putaways by Rebarchak, Turner and Fisher and a block by the latter duo. Penn State tied it up at six, but Purdue would not relinquish the lead. A kill and a block by Arthurs put the Boilermakers up 10-8, but PSU scored the next four points to go ahead 12-10. Purdue stayed close and eventually took a 15-14 lead after kills by Fisher and Turner. Another Turner putaway made it 16-15, but Penn State again rallied, this time with a 5-0 run to turn the score to 20-16. A kill by Fisher and a ball handling error by PSU cut the margin to two at 20-18. PSU scored three of the next four to lead 23-19. A kill by Arthurs and a Nittany Lion hitting miscue made it 23-21, but Penn State managed a pair of kills to close out the set. Arthurs, Turner and Fisher posted three kills apiece in the stanza.
Purdue rallied from an early deficit, getting offense from a variety of sources en route to a 25-23 Set 3 win. Trailing 4-2, Purdue scored three in a row, two on kills by Drewry to take a 5-4 lead. Penn State went back on top 6-5, but a service error and hitting error gave the Boilermakers a 7-6 advantage. The teams tied at seven and eight, but a dump set by Hart and another PSU miscue gave Purdue a small cushion. The Boilermakers held the edge through the rest of the match save five tie scores. Purdue led 19-17 after a trio of kills by Rebarchak, but Penn State took three of the next four to tie it at 20 and prompt a timeout. The Boilermakers countered with a 3-1 run of their own as Fisher, Drewry and Arthurs recorded putaways to put Purdue on top 23-21 and force PSU to use both of its timeouts. A block by Drewry and Arthurs gave the Boilermakers their first shot at the set. A Rebarchak putaway sealed the win two plays later.
The Boilermakers gave it all they had in the fourth set, thwarting four PSU match-point attempts to cut the margin to one at 24-23 before falling 25-23. Penn State took a 7-3 lead, but Purdue charged back with five straight points to go up 8-7 Drewry pounded down two kills and added a block , while Fisher added an ace in the rally. The teams split the next four points leading to a 10-9 Purdue advantage. Penn State scored the next three points to go up by two at 12-10, but the Boilermakers kept battling eventually tying the score at 15-15 after kills by Griffin and Fisher. Ties at 16 an 17 followed, but PSU surged ahead 24-19. Fisher put the team on her back with three kills and the Nittany Lions aided the effort with a hitting error to draw the match to 24-23 PSU. An Arielle Wilson kill prevented the Boilermakers from completing the comeback.
Purdue (15-8, 6-6 Big Ten) return to action at 7 p.m. Friday when they take on the Iowa Hawkeyes on Belin Court.