Oct. 22, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 12 Boilermaker volleyball team wrapped up the first half of Big Ten play with a 3-1 win over No. 14 Minnesota Saturday night. With the 25-16, 20-25, 25-19, 25-14 win, Purdue snapped an 11-match losing streak to the Gophers, which dated to 2005.
The Boilermakers dominated the Gophers at the net, posting 14 blocks to UM's 3, while outhitting Minnesota .283 to .112.
Junior Ariel Turner led the way with 17 kills, but her supporting cast of senior Tiffany Fisher, redshirt sophomore Catherine Rebarchak and freshmen Val Nichol and Kierra Jones also did damage at the net both offensively and defensively. Nichol posted 10 kills. Rebarchak added seven putaways, a team-high eight blocks and two aces. Fisher chipped in six kills and seven blocks, while Jones managed seven stuffs and three kills.
A balanced back court effort solidified the Boilermaker effort. Redshirt senior Blair Bashen pulled up 13 digs followed by redshirt sophomore setter Rachel Davis who managed 12 digs and 35 assists. Senior Emily Ehlers and Turner each added nine digs to the team tally.
Minnesota jumped out to a 4-1 lead in Set 1, but Purdue charged back with seven of the next eight points to go up 7-5. Turner posted three kills in the stretch, while Fisher and Nichol added a block. The Gophers tied the score at seven and nine, but the Boilermakers rallied with a 7-3 run. Nichol put down two kills while Rebarchak added a kill and an ace as Purdue went up 16-12. The Gophers pulled with two at 16-14, but the Boilermakers closed out the set with a 9-2 run, including a pair of Jones stuffs and kills from Nichol and Turner. A service error capped the set at 25-16. Purdue hit .522 in the set, while limiting UM to a .077 effort.
Minnesota rebounded with a 25-20 win in the Set 2, coming from behind early and never looking back. Purdue led 4-2 thanks to an ace, a block and a kill by Rebarchak. The Golden Gophers scored six straight to take an 8-4 lead. Down 10-6 moments later, Purdue leveled the score at 10 with a pair of kills and a block by Nichol. An ace by Ehlers tied the score again at 12. UM broke the set open with an 8-3 run. Down 22-16, Purdue rallied with four of the next six, three on Minnesota miscues, but a net violation ended the set at 25-20. The Gophers hit .441 as Purdue managed a .261 effort.
The Boilermakers put up six blocks and held Minnesota to a .049 hitting effort in a 25-19 Set 3 victory. Purdue took the early lead, going ahead 6-4, including overpass kills by Fisher and Turner. Minnesota countered with five straight points, including two aces to go up 9-6. The Boilermakers trailed by as many as four, last at 16-12, before mounting a monster comeback. Purdue scored eight of the next 10 to turn the deficit into a 20-18 lead. Jones combined on blocks with Rebarchak and Turner, then Rebarchak teamed up with Fisher for a third in the run, which forced Minnesota to burn both timeouts. A hitting error, an ace by Bashen and a block by Rebarchak and Fisher put Purdue up 23-18. A Turner kill and another UM hitting miscue sealed the 25-19 win.
Minnesota scored the first two points of Set 4, but it was nearly all Boilermakers from there. Purdue rattled off 10 straight points, including three blocks and three more UM hitting errors. The Gophers used both timeouts during the rally and finally stopped the run with a kill out of the second break. The Boilermakers continued to build the advantage to 16-6 as Minnesota errors piled up and four different Purdue hitters pounded kills. The Gophers cut the margin in half, trailing by just five at 17-12, but that sparked a 4-0 Purdue rally, including an ace by Ehlers. A Minnesota kill slowed Purdue momentarily, but a Turner kill and two UM miscues put the Boilermakers on the hill at 24-13. A hitting error thwarted the first match-point opportunity, but Turner pounded down the final point to stanza at 25-14. Minnesota hit at a -.071 clip in the final set.
The No. 12 Boilermakers (18-3, 7-3 Big Ten) return to action at 7 p.m. Friday when they take on Michigan in Ann Arbor. Purdue is off to its best start since 2005.