Sept. 15, 2012
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Six players had five or more kills, while nearly every player contributed defensively as the No. 14 Boilermaker volleyball team clinched head coach Dave Shondell collegiate career win #200 and its second tournament title of the season with a 3-0 sweep of Bowling Green in Mackey Arena Saturday night. Purdue won the match 25-17, 25-12, 25-22.
Redshirt junior Catherine Rebarchak led all hitters with 10 kills, while also adding three blocks. Senior Ariel Turner added eight kills, a team-best 10 digs and four blocks, while sophomore Kiki Jones posted eight kills and a team-leading four blocks. Senior Anna Drewry chipped in six kills and four blocks, while sophomore Val Nichol also added six putaways. Redshirt junior Rachel Davis guided the ship with 32 assists, while also posting a perfect 5-for-5 effort offensively and adding six digs.
Senior Courtney Gosewisch (8 digs), redshirt senior Amanda Miller (7) and redshirt junior Carly Cramer (6) also aided the team in the backcourt. Cramer and Jones served up aces in the match for Purdue.
The Boilermakers outhit Bowling Green .296 to .065 and posted nine blocks in the match.
Jones was named Active Ankle Challenge MVP, while Drewry and Davis were named to the all-tournament team. Rounding out the all-tournament team were Paige Penrod and Laura Avila from Bowling Green, Sam Serley from UAB and Emily Rutherford from Jacksonville State.
After falling in a quick 7-3 hole, the Boilermakers battled back in Set 1 to go ahead at 9-8 and, despite ties at 9-9 and 12-12, never let up. Jones had two kills and teamed up with Nichol on a block in the go-ahead rally. Purdue led 12-10, when a Falcon kill and a block knotted the score for the last time. The Boilermakers scored nine of the next 10 points to pull away for good at 21-13. Four BGSU errors and kills from three different players aided in the stretch. Bowling Green scored four of the next six points to make it 23-17, but kills by Drewry and Rebarchak ended the stanza.
Set 2 was closer at the start as the teams traded small rallies leading to a 7-6 score. The Boilermakers scored six straight points to vault into the lead at 13-6. Drewry put down two kills and teamed up with Nichol on a block as Purdue surged ahead. Bowling Green made it a five-point game at 13-8 and again at 15-10, but would get no closer. The Boilermakers closed out the set with a 10-2 run. A trio of blocks, an ace by Cramer and kills from Nichol, Turner and Rebarchak helped Purdue to the 25-12 win.
Purdue looked to be cruising to an easy sweep, up 7-2 early in Set 3, but Bowling Green battled back to knot the score at 7, 8, 9 and 10. The Boilermakers pushed the advantage to four at 16-12 and 19-15, but couldn't shake the Falcons, which surged to take a 21-19 lead as leading hitter Paige Penrod racked up kills. Purdue righted the ship with a 5-0 run including a pair of stuffs by Rebarchak and Drewry and kills from each of the players. Up 24-21, a net violation kept the match going, but a kill from Turner sealed the sweep and the tournament title.
The No. 14 Boilermakers (9-2) return to action at 7 p.m. Friday when they kick off Big Ten play at Michigan State.