Oct. 16, 2007

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Monon Spike traveling trophy will be on the line Wednesday night as the Boilermaker volleyball team hits the court against Indiana in Bloomington. The match, which will air live on the Big Ten Network at 8 p.m., is Purdue's fifth in less than two weeks. The team also will face No. 15 Michigan on the road on Saturday.

Series Information
Indiana (Purdue leads the series 47-31): Purdue won the first two meetings of the series, which began in October 1975. Indiana won eight of the next nine contests from 1975 to 1977. The Boilermakers then rattled off 24-straight wins from 1978 to 1985, marking the longest win streak vs. a single opponent in school history. The teams split the next 14 matches before the Hoosiers started a 16-3 run from 1992 to 2002, including a five-match string. Purdue has taken the last eight matches, including four Monon Spike matches.

Michigan (Purdue leads the series 37-19): The series began with a 2-0 Boilermaker victory at the Big Ten Tournament on Oct. 31, 1975. Purdue won the next three before the first Wolverine win on Oct. 24, 1981. The Boilermakers won the next 19 from 1981 to 1990. The teams traded wins over the next several years, then Purdue won five straight from 1998 to 2000. Michigan answered with a four-match streak, which came to an end on Nov. 22, 2002. UM had won four in a row, before Purdue swept the 2005 meetings. The teams split the 2006 contests.

The Book on the Boilermakers
The Purdue Boilermakers (12-7, 5-3 Big Ten) are riding a three-match win streak into Wednesday's Monon Spike match with Indiana. The Boilermakers, who won three contests last week, defeating Illinois, Northwestern and Michigan State, will take on Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday.

Three players average more than two kills per game, led by junior middle hitter Stephanie Lynch. Lynch has put up 3.87 kills per game on a team-best .353 hitting percentage, while also racking up 1.20 blocks per game. Junior outside hitter Danita Merlau (3.65) and senior outside hitter Sammi Mader (2.81) follow. Sophomore outside hitter/middle hitter Carrie Gurnell (1.92), junior outside hitter/defensive specialist Kelli Miller (1.30), and freshman outside hitter Kristen Arthurs (1.29) also contribute to the offense. Gurnell and Arthurs also add 0.96 and 0.86 blocks per game respectively.

Senior defensive specialist Anne Mastandrea and junior libero Kelli Miller split the defensive load, providing 4.67 and 4.00 digs per game respectively. Merlau adds 3.32 digs per game. Sophomore setter Sam Gray (2.23), freshman defensive specialist Jessica Ullrich (1.82) and freshman setter Jaclyn Hart (1.60) follow. Nine different players have accounted for the team's 70 aces, led by Miller and Gray who have served up 19 and nine respectively.

Hints About the Hoosiers
The Indiana Hoosiers (13-7, 4-4 Big Ten) come into Wednesday night's match after splitting their contests last weekend. The Hoosier fell to Michigan State, but rebounded with a win over Northwestern.

Junior outside Erica Short leads the Hoosier offense with 4.51 kills per game. Four other players add more than two kills per game. Senior outside hitter Lauren Ditteon (2.75), freshman middle hitter Ashley Benson (2.47), redshirt sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Hall (2.26) and freshman middle hitter Taylor Wittmer (2.03). Senior middle hitter Annie Moddrell leads all hitters with a .309 hitting percentage to go with her 1.74 kills per game tally. Senior defensive specialist Juli Pierce has served up 32 of the team's 116 aces. Four other players have served up 10 or more aces.

Defensively, Pierce leads the team in the backcourt with 4.04 digs per game. Hall (2.89), Ditteon (2.12) and Short (2.00) also average more than two digs per game. At the net, Benson has chalked up 1.21 blocks per game, while Moddrell (1.15) and Wittmer (1.07) also contribute more than a stuff per game. Indiana is coached by Sherry Dunbar, who is in her first year with the team.

Words About the Wolverines
The Michigan Wolverines (16-4, 4-4 Big Ten) are slated to play Indiana on Friday night, before taking on the Boilermakers on Saturday. The Wolverines split their contests with No. 3 Penn State and Ohio State last weekend.

Senior outside hitter Katie Bruzdzinski leads the team with 4.24 kills per game, while three other players average more than two kills per game. Junior middle hitter Beth Karpiak (3.11), sophomore outside hitter Veronica Rood (2.97) senior middle hitter Lyndsay Miller (2.94) make up the group. Karpiak leads the team with a .382 hitting percentage, while Bruzdzinski has served up a team-best 41 aces.

Defensively, Michigan is led by senior libero Stesha Selsky, who is averaging 6.45 digs per game. Freshman setter Lexi Zimmerman (2.69), Bruzdzinski (2.42) and sophomore outside hitter Megan Bower (2.37) also contribute more than two digs per game to the team's tally. At the net, Karpiak posts a team-leading 1.10 blocks per game. The Wolverines are coached by Mark Rosen, who is in his ninth year with the team.

Comparing the Opposition

Category    Purdue   Indiana   Michigan
Hitting %   .203     .205      .242
Kills       15.19    14.78     16.23
Assists     13.86    13.63     15.13
Aces        1.01     1.59      1.65
Blocks      2.87     2.84      2.15
Digs        18.32    14.27     17.96

What a Difference a Win Makes...

If the Boilermakers top Indiana on Wednesday ...

• They will have beaten the Hoosiers in the last nine meetings.

• They will move to 13-7 on the year, including a 6-3 mark in Big Ten play, and extend their current win streak to four matches.

• They will move to 23-11 all time in Monon Spike matches, including five straight wins.

Defending The Spike
The Monon Spike travelling trophy will be on the line Wednesday night when the Boilermakers take on Indiana. Purdue has taken the trophy the last four years and leads the overall Spike series 22-11. The matchup is also part of the Crimson and Cream Cup, which highlights all sporting events between Purdue and Indiana during the year. Teams are awarded points for a victory in each of the head-to-head meetings between the school 18 common sports.

TV Time
The Boilermaker volleyball team will have five opportunities to show off their skills on the small screen in 2007. Three of the matches will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network, including Wednesday's contest in Bloomington, and a fourth will air on ESPN2.

The squad made its Big Ten Network debut on Monday, Oct. 8, topping Illinois in a live broadcast from Champaign, Ill. The BTN will air the team's Oct. 17 Monon Spike match with Indiana live at 8 p.m. from University Gym in Bloomington, Ind. The Network also will air the Nov. 14 rematch with the Hoosiers live at 7 p.m. from the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility.

Purdue will appear on ESPN2 for the third consecutive year, when it plays at Penn State on Nov. 2. The match in Rec Hall will be aired tape-delayed at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 4.

The team's Oct. 5 match with Wisconsin aired on Madison Public Television.

Mixing It Up
The Boilermakers have used 11 different starting lineups in their 19 contests. Juniors Stephanie Lynch and Danita Merlau each have started all 19 matches. Senior Anne Mastandrea has been the team's libero in 12 of the 17 and been among the starters in six others, while junior Kelli Miller has been among the starters in 11 matches and the team's libero seven times.

Eight other players have been among the starting six in at least one match: senior middle hitter Lizzie Jacques, senior outside hitter Sammi Mader, redshirt junior defensive specialist Meghan McCormick, sophomore setter Sam Gray, sophomore outside/middle hitter Carrie Gurnell, freshman middle hitter Kristen Arthurs, freshman setter Jaclyn Hart and freshman defensive specialist Jessica Ullrich.

Rank And File
Including the first two polls in 2007, the Boilermakers were ranked in 31-straight AVCA Top 25 listings, beginning on Sept. 19, 2005. The team peaked at No. 9 during the weeks of Oct. 2 and Oct. 9 last year, marking the program's highest ranking since Nov. 14, 1983 and putting Purdue among the nation's Top 10 for the first time since the final poll of 1985 when the Boilermakers were ranked 10th.

Purdue started 2007 with a No. 13 preseason ranking, the second highest preseason ranking for the Boilermakers in program history. The team fell four spots to No. 17 in the August 27 poll, and dropped out of the Top 25 in the Sept. 3 listing.

Since rankings began in 1982, Purdue has been ranked in 80 polls.

Against the Top 25
The Boilermakers were slated to face six ranked teams in 2007, based on the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll. The team already has taken on five ranked opponents. No. 15 Michigan will mark the sixth ranked foe on Purdue's 2007 slate.

During the Dave Shondell era, Purdue has beaten 11 Top 25 teams, including three Top 10 opponents. The Boilermakers posted wins over No. 10 Wisconsin and No. 9 Minnesota in 2005 and a victory over No. 9 Colorado State in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Purdue owns a 49-160 all-time record in matches against the Top 25.

Defense Across America
The Purdue volleyball team ranks 35th in the nation in digs per game with 18.32. Tennessee-Chattanooga is the national leader in the category with 22.77 digs per game. The Boilermakers also rank among the nation's top 50 in blocks per game with a tally of 2.87, which ranks 40th.

Turning A Negative Into A Positive
The Boilermakers held Furman to a -.031 hitting percentage on Sept. 7 at the Clemson Big Orange Bash. It marked the first time Purdue had held an opponent to a negative hitting percentage in a match since Sept. 19, 1998, when the Boilermakers limited Toledo to a -.051 effort.

A Century's Worth of Digs
The Purdue defense has racked up 100 or more digs twice this season, with 104 against North Carolina (9/1) and 109 at Clemson (9/8). The 109 dig tally marks the most for a Boilermaker team in the rally-scoring era, which began in 2001. Purdue has reached the century mark in digs just four times since 2001 with a 101-dig effort vs. Northwestern, Nov. 24, 2001; a 100-dig effort at Iowa, Oct. 7, 2006; and the two thus far in 2007.

Digging Up A Record
Senior defensive specialist Anne Mastandrea tallied a career-high tying 31 digs in Purdue's season opener against Winthrop, Aug. 24, marking the highest dig total in a four-game match in program history. The tally surpassed the 19-year old record of 29 set by Becky Kanitz on Sept. 24, 1988 vs. Iowa. The effort also made Mastandrea just the third player in Purdue history to tally 30 or more digs twice in her career.

The Right Stuff
Junior middle hitter Stephanie Lynch put up a career-best 15 blocks (4 solo, 11 assists) in Purdue's Sept. 1 contest with Utah. The mark is just one off the Purdue school record of 16, which has been reached three times in program history. Lynch became the first player to record 15 or more blocks since 1992. Thus far in 2007, Lynch has racked up 62 blocks, or 1.15 per game. She is just one block assists away from joining the career top 10 and just two total blocks from the 10th place spot in that category. As a Boilermaker, the New Albany, Ind., native has tallied 360 total blocks.

As a team, Purdue racked up 24.0 blocks in the contest vs. Utah, the third highest single-match total in program history. The blocking tally is the most for a Boilermaker team since 1991. Purdue is averaging 2.87 blocks per game this season, behind the strength of Lynch (1.15), sophomore Carrie Gurnell (1.00), freshman Kristen Arthurs (0.77) freshman Jaclyn Hart (0.72) and junior Danita Merlau (0.69).

On Sept. 22 vs. Iowa, the Boilermakers chalked up 18.0 blocks in a three-game sweep, marking the second-highest blocking tally in a three-game match in program history. Only the Sept. 10, 1983 match with Illinois State featured more Purdue stuffs in a three-gamer, with 19.0.

Double-Digit Delights
Junior Kelli Miller has recorded double-figure dig tallies 15 times, including 20 or more three times. Senior Anne Mastandrea has posted double-digit dig tallies in 13 of the team's 19 matches, including 20 or more digs in seven of those efforts. Miller also has posted double-digit kill totals four times.

Junior Stephanie Lynch has racked up double-digit kill totals in 15 of the team's 19 matches. Four of those efforts have featured 20 or more kills. Junior Danita Merlau has shown both her offensive and defensive prowess throughout the season with 10 double-doubles. She has put down 10 or more kills 15 times, including 20 or more on three occasions. Senior Sammi Mader has reached posted double-digit kills in 11 matches.

Ain't It Grand
Four Boilermaker players had added their names to the Purdue record books in 2007. Two players have reached the 1,000-kill milestone, while two others have tallied their 1,000th-career dig.

Senior outside hitter Samantha Mader became the 18th player in Purdue history to reach the 1,000 kill milestone during Game 4 of the team's Aug. 25 contest with No. 18 Duke. Mader entered the season with 967 kills, just 33 away from the milestone. With 34 kills at the Duke Invitational, Mader boosted her career tally to 1,001.

On Aug. 31, senior Anne Mastandrea became the 11th Boilermaker player to reach the 1,000-dig milestone. She entered the Mortar Board Premier opener with Dayton just 10 shy of the mark, and posted 65 on the weekend. That moves her career tally to 1055, which ranks ninth on the Purdue career digs list. Coming into the 2007 season, the Downers Grove, Ill., native had pulled up 907 digs. She began 2007 by tallying 83 at the Duke Invitational, an average of 7.55 per game.

Junior Kelli Miller posted her 1,000th-career dig in Game 2 of Purdue's Sept. 7 match with Florida A&M. Entering the weekend, Miller had racked up 987 digs, leaving her just 13 from the mark. Only 12 players, including teammate Anne Mastandrea, have reached the 1,000-career dig mark while wearing the Old Gold & Black. Entering the 2007 season, Miller had pulled up 889 digs.

Junior outside hitter Danita Merlau, who entered the weekend with 975 kills, racked up her 1,000th-career putdown in Game 3 of the team's match vs. Florida A&M. Only 18 other players in Purdue history, including teammate Sammi Mader, have reached the milestone. Coming into the 2007 season, Merlau had recorded 883 putdowns.

Conference Honors
Anne Mastandrea was named Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week August 27 for her efforts at the Duke Invitational. She racked up 83 digs on the weekend, a tally of 7.55 per game, while also making good on 96 percent of her serve reception opportunities, including a perfect 30-for-30 mark against Winthrop. With the performances, the Downers Grove, Ill., moved within 10 digs of the 1,000-dig milestone for her career. She also set a new four-game match record with 31 digs against Winthrop.

Tournament Honors
Senior defensive specialist Anne Mastandrea and junior outside hitter Danita Merlau garnered all-tournament team honors at the Duke Invitational Aug. 25-26. Mastandrea racked up 7.55 digs per game and made good on 96 percent of her serve reception opportunities. Merlau averaged 3.82 digs per game, 3.36 kills per game and 0.82 blocks per game, while also serving up three aces on the weekend.

Junior middle hitter Stephanie Lynch was named to the all-tournament team at the Mortar Board Premier, Aug. 31-Sept. 1. Lynch racked up 4.08 kills per game, while putting up 1.85 blocks per game. She tallied 15 blocks in Purdue's contest against Utah, just one shy of the Purdue record of 16 and the most for a Purdue player since the 1992 season.

Lynch was named MVP of the Big Orange Bash, while Merlau and freshman setter Jaclyn Hart were named to the all-tournament team. Lynch posted 4.91 kills per game on a .495 hitting percentage at the tournament. Merlau added 4.55 kills per game, 4.00 digs per game and 10 blocks, while Hart accounted for 14.36 assists, 1.82 digs, 1.09 kills and 0.91 blocks per game.

Preseason Predictions
Junior Stephanie Lynch was listed among the best volleyball players in the Big Ten as the league announced its Preseason All-Conference team. The 6-3 middle hitter was one of 12 players named to the preseason list as voted on by the league's coaches. The honor is just the latest conference accolade for the team's top blocker, who is looking to build on her previous success, which brought Honorable Mention All-America honors as well as first team All-Big Ten and All-Mideast Region accolades a year ago. All told, Lynch tallied 2.71 kills per game on a team-best .328 hitting percentage, which ranked seventh in the Big Ten, while adding 23 aces and 1.14 blocks per game.

Lynch became the first player in the storied history of the Purdue volleyball program to be name Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week, when she garnered the accolade on Nov. 20, 2006, for her performances against Northwestern and Illinois. The announcement followed news that she also was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Nov. 20. Lynch averaged 4.4 kills per game on .636 hitting, while also contributing 2.3 blocks per game and four aces in a pair of road wins for the Boilermakers that week. She began the weekend by posting a team-best 15 kills on .520 hitting and had a career-high 12 blocks and three aces at Northwestern. The 12-block tally (3 solo, 9 assists) marked the second-best four-game match mark in school history and first 12-block performance since 1992. Against Illinois, Lynch continued her offensive output, leading the team with a season-best 16 kills at a .789 clip, while also adding an ace and four blocks. The .789 hitting effort marked the second-best three-game match efficiency in school history.

Fabulous Freshmen
This year's freshman class was ranked as the seventh-best recruiting class in the nation by prepvolleyball.com. Three members of the class were included in prepvolleyball's list of top 50 recruits, while one was named to Volleyball Magazine's Fab 50 list. The class features six players: 6-3 middle hitter Kristen Arthurs, 5-10 outside hitter/defensive specialist Blair Bashen, 5-7 defensive specialist Jordan Fullove, 6-1 setter Jaclyn Hart, 6-3 outside hitter Mandy Nichols and 5-8 defensive specialist Jessica Ullrich.

Dig For A Cure
Cancer has impacted the lives of many Boilermaker students, athletes, coaches and fans and, each year, cancer claims the lives of more than 500,000 Americans. Purdue Athletics and its more than 500 student-athletes and coaches will be partnering with the Susan G. Komen Foundation (komen.org) and the American Cancer Society (cancer.org) for a year-long fundraising and awareness campaign to benefit cancer research.

The campaign will include one event from each Boilermaker team that will be designated as a cancer awareness day/event and will feature opportunities to donate and special recognitions or educational materials. To celebrate this event, Follett's Purdue Pride stores will have a commemorative t-shirt on hand at events for fans to purchase, with $3 from each shirt sold going directly to the cause.

As part of the campaign, the volleyball team hosted Dig for a Cure night on Oct. 13. Fans pledged funds for each dig the team tallied during the match against Michigan State, raising more than $1,200. The team wore pink ribbons and fans received pink rally towels to show support.

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