Sept. 10, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 13 Purdue volleyball team survived an early scare from Ball State to take the Active Ankle Challenge title with a 3-1 victory over the Cardinals. The Boilermakers won the match 23-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-9, while setting a school record for blocks in a four-game match in the rally scoring era with 19. (Purdue's previous best since rally schoring began in 2003 was 17.5 at Indiana on Nov. 4, 2009.)
Junior Ariel Turner led the Boilermaker offense with 16 kills, while also posting eight digs, eight blocks and an ace. Redshirt sophomore Catherine Rebarchak tallied 10 kills and six blocks, while redshirt sophomore Katie Griffin added nine putaways. Senior Tiffany Fisher and redshirts sophomore Rachel Davis chipped in five kills apiece.
Junior Carly Cramer paced the defense with 15 digs followed by redshirt senior Blair Bashen (12) and senior Emily Ehlers (10). Davis added nine digs, while Turner registered eight. Fisher led Purdue at the net with nine blocks, followed by Turner (8) and Rebarchak (6) as the Boilermakers outblocked BSU 19-4. Fisher, Cramer and Bashen each served up two aces.
Davis was named the Active Ankle Challenge MVP for her efforts on the weekend, while Turner and Rebarchak garnered all-tournament team nods.
Set 1 was a back-and-forth battle from the start as the teams split the first eight points of the night. Ball State surged ahead with an 8-3 run , including an ace. Purdue took a timeout and scored five straight out of the break, including a pair of aces by Cramer and two kills by Rebarchak. The Boilermakers went ahead 14-13 on an ace by Bashen, but BSU countered with a pair of points to regain the advantage. A Turner kill and a Cardinal miscue put Purdue back on top, but it was short-lived as Ball State scored six of the next eight to go up 21-18. The Boilermakers took a timeout and scored two points out of the break, including a kill by Griffin, but the Cardinals responded with three straight to go ahead 24-20. A pair of Turner putaways and a third by Rebarchak kept the set going, but a Whitney Heeres kill gave Ball State the 25-23 win.
The Boilermakers shook off the first set and came out with guns blazing in Set 2, racing out to a 6-2 lead behind the strength of three blocks. Fisher was in on two stuffs with Rebarchak and Turner, while freshman Kierra "KiKi" Jones had a solo block. Ball State cut the margin to two at 9-7, but Purdue ran off nine of the next 11 points to surged ahead 18-9. A block and a kill by Turner and four BSU miscues helped the Boilermakers to the advantage. Trailing 19-10, the Cardinals made a comeback with a 6-2 run. Kills by Davis and Griffin and a BSU error set up a shot at set point at 24-16. A Kylee Baker kill thwarted the first attempt, but Griffin downed her third kill of the stanza to capture the 25-17 win and tie the match at a set apiece. Purdue outhit the Cardinals .244 to .048 in the set and outblocked BSU 5-2.
Purdue carried the momentum into Set 3, going ahead 6-2 aided by a pair of blocks by Fisher and Turner. The Boilermakers upped their lead to six at 11-5 after kills by Turner and Jones and a solo block by Rebarchak. Another block by Turner and Fisher and a BSU miscue put Purdue up by eight at 14-6. The Cardinals countered with a 6-0 run, including four kills and two Boilermaker miscues, to make it a two-point game at 14-12. Purdue once again found an answer, scoring nine of the next 12 points, as BSU committed four errors and Fisher chipped in two kills. Ball State slowed the Boilermakers with a block and a kill, but a Griffin putaway and a solo stuff by Turner gave Purdue the 25-17 win. Turner managed five blocks in the set.
The Boilermakers wrapped up the match, cruising to a 25-9 Set 4 victory. Turner pounded down six kills and Purdue hit .565, while holding BSU to a -.029 effort with help from five blocks. Rebarchak stuffed the first point for the Boilermakers. After a tie at 1-1, Purdue distanced itself with a 7-0 run, including an ace by Bashen, two kills by Turner, and a pair of blocks involving Fisher. A kill and an ace by Fisher kicked off a 10-2 Boilermaker rally, which made it 21-5. Griffin, Rebarchak and Turner contributed offensively in the run. A service error stopped Purdue for a moment, but Rebarchak and Turner putaways made it 23-6. Three straight BSU points, including an ace, prolonged the match, but a block by Fisher and Rebarchak and Turner's 16th and final kill of the night sealed the victory.
The Boilermakers (9-0) return to action at 5:30 p.m. ET Friday, when they take on the Louisville Cardinals in the Big Ten/Big East Challenge in Champaign, Ill.