Sep 6, 2013
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The No. 22 Boilermaker volleyball team took a step away from its regular season slate to take on Polish professional team Dabrowa Gornicza to open the Golden Dome Invitational Friday afternoon. Purdue competed well for the first two sets, before Dabrowa pulled away for the 3-1 win. The Polish squad won the match 25-23, 28-30, 25-17, 25-16.
Redshirt senior Catherine Rebarchak led the way for the Boilermakers with 10 kills, while sophomore Sam Epenesa and junior KiKi Jones added eight apiece. Redshirt senior Katie Griffin and sophomore Annie Drews added six kills each, while redshirt freshman Faye Adelaja chipped in five putaways.
Defensively, redshirt senior Carly Cramer paced the team with 13 digs followed by sophomore Amanda Neill, who managed 10. Purdue outblocked Dabrowa 11.5 to 10, thanks in part to Jones and Adelaja, who posted five blocks apiece. Rebarchak added four stuffs.
Dabrowa led 10-7 midway through Set 1, but the Boilers scored five of the next six to take a 12-11 lead. Rebarchak pounded down two kills during the stretch. The Polish team rallied to go ahead 18-14. Purdue took a timeout and rallied to take a 23-22 lead. Purdue racked up three blocks in the stretch and also got kills from Rebarchak and Epenesa. Trailing 23-22, Dabrowa took a timeout and stole away the set at 25-23 with three straight points out of the break. The Boilermakers outblocked Dabrowa 4-2 in the set, which saw Rebarchak and Epenesa each tally three kills.
Purdue bounced back with a 30-28 win in Set 2, taking the stanza on their fifth set-point attempt. The Boilermakers scored four of the first five points in the set, including a kill and an ace by Drews. Dabrowa charged back to take a 10-7 lead, but kills by five different Boilers and a block by Jones and Drews put Purdue on top 14-13. The Boilermakers pushed ahead by three at 20-17, prompting a Dabrowa timeout. The teams traded points out of the break, but Purdue maintained a 23-21 edge before calling a timeout of its own. Dabrowa tied it up at 23-23, but a service error gave the Boilers their first chance at the set. Kills by Epenesa and Jones accounted for the next two attempts as the teams split the next four points. The Polish squad had a set point attempt of its own at 27-26, but a kill by Adelaja and a Dabrowa hitting error put the Boilers back on top 28-27. With the set tied at 28-28, Rebarchak pounded down a kill and Dabrowa hit one out of bounds to secure the Purdue win. Rebarchak, Jones and Epenesa downed four kills apiece in the stanza.
Dabrowa led Set 3 from start to finish, leading by as many as nine in the 25-17 win. Purdue trailed 8-3 early on, but back to back kills by Griffin kept the team close. With the Boilermakers down by eight at 15-7, a trio of Rebarchak kills cut the margin to five. Purdue held off a pair of set point attempts care of a service error and a stuff by Jones and Drews, but could not catch the Polish squad. Dabrowa hit .552 in the set to Purdue's .308 effort.
The Boilermakers scored three of the first four points of Set 4, but couldn't slow the Polish team in a 25-16 loss. Kills by Drews and Jones and a block by Jones and redshirt senior Rachel Davis accounted for the first three Purdue points. Dabrowa vaulted ahead with a 13-4 run. The Boilermakers made a late run and held off a pair of set point attempts thanks to kills by Griffin and Drews and a pair of blocks by Adelaja and Griffin, but could not close the gap.
The Boilermakers (1-2) return to action at 6 p.m. Saturday when they face off with the host Notre Dame Fighting Irish to close Day 2 of the Golden Dome Invitational.