Nov. 27, 2007

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball team treks to Athens, Ohio, this week for NCAA Tournament action. Purdue is slated to face the host Ohio Bobcats in the first round. This marks the fourth-straight trip to the Big Dance for the Boilermakers, who advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2005 and 2006.

Multimedia
Live Statistics will be available on purduesports.com via GameTracker. A live audio broadcast also will be available on WSHY 1410 AM in Lafayette and on purduesports.com. Tournament central on the web for the Athens, Ohio, pool is located here.

The Book on the Boilermakers
The Purdue Boilermakers (18-13, 11-9 Big Ten) are making their fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearances after posting a third-place finish in the Big Ten, its best since 1990. The Boilermakers wrapped up the regular season with a weekend split against Michigan State and Northwestern. Purdue fell to the Spartans, but rebounded with a come-from-behind effort against the Wildcats.

Junior outside hitter Danita Merlau and junior middle hitter Stephanie Lynch lead the Purdue offense with 3.79 and 3.60 kills per game respectively. Lynch boasts a team-best .321 hitting percentage and racks up 1.36 blocks per game, while Merlau contributes 3.17 digs per game in addition to her kill tally. Senior outside hitter Samantha Mader (2.92) and sophomore outside hitter/middle hitter Carrie Gurnell (2.08) also average more than two kills per game. Freshman outside hitter Kristen Arthurs (1.42) also contributes to the offense. Arthurs and Gurnell also add 0.98 and 0.86 blocks per game respectively.

Junior libero Kelli Miller leads the Purdue backcourt with 4.69 digs per game. Senior defensive specialist Anne Mastandrea and Merlau provide 3.81 and 3.17 digs per game respectively. Freshman defensive specialist Jessica Ullrich (1.77), sophomore setter Sam Gray (1.59), redshirt junior Meghan McCormick (1.49) and freshman setter Jaclyn Hart (1.34) follow. Eleven different players have accounted for the team's 108 aces, led by Miller's tally of 28. Four other players also have served up double-digit aces tallies.

An Overview of Ohio
The Ohio Bobcats (26-5) are making their fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance after receiving an at-large bid. The Bobcats posted a 15-1 record in Mid-American Conference play, but lost to Miami (Ohio) in the finals of the MAC Tournament.

Three Bobcat players average more than 2.00 kills per game. Senior middle hitter Melissa Griffin (4.15), sophomore outside hitter Ellen Herman (4.02) and senior outside hitter Stephanie Blackburn (2.88) lead the offense. Griffin paces Ohio with a .362 hitting percentage, while Blackburn adds a team-best 3.76 digs to the team's tally. Blackburn also has served up 35 aces, leading a group of six Bobcat players who have served up double-digit ace tallies.

Defensively, Blackburn leads the way with 3.76 digs per game, while four other players average more than 2.00 digs per game. Senior defensive specialist Janice Matacic (2.42), freshman setter Michelle Jantsch (2.28), junior defensive specialist Molly Mangan (2.10) and sophomore defensive specialist Sarah Petrulis (2.09) make up the group. At the net, sophomore middle hitter Meghan Simons (0.99), sophomore middle hitter Jane Sytsma (0.91) and Griffin (0.87) make up the blocking front. As a team, Ohio is hitting .276 and has served up 155 aces. The Bobcats are coached by Geoff Carlston, who is in his fifth year with the team.

Series Information
Ohio (Purdue leads the series 2-0): The Boilermakers have won both previous meetings with the Bobcats. The first was a 2-0 victory on Oct. 15, 1977, in Oxford, Ohio. The last was a 3-0 Purdue sweep at the Mortar Board Premier on Sept. 16, 2005, in West Lafayette.

Xavier (Purdue leads the series 2-0): The Boilermakers have won both previous meetings with the Musketeers in the series which began on Sept. 10, 1999, at the Northern Arizona Fiesta Bowl Tournament in Flagstaff, Ariz. Purdue also won the next meeting via sweep at the 2005 Mortar Board Premier in West Lafayette.

Cal Poly (Purdue leads the series 2-1): Cal Poly won the first meeting in the series taking a 2-0 decision on Sept. 26, 1980, at the San Jose State Invitational. Purdue swept the Mustangs in the next two contests, at the Illinois State Invitational on Sept. 10, 1983, and at the Mortar Board Premier in West Lafayette on Sept. 1, 1990.

Comparing the Opposition

Category    Purdue    Ohio     Xavier     Cal Poly
Hitting %   .201      .276     .241       .233
Kills       15.19     16.81    16.20      15.29
Assists     13.88     15.61    14.95      14.09
Aces        0.96      1.40     1.30       1.84
Blocks      3.02      2.45     2.24       3.21
Digs        17.85     15.69    17.95      16.82

What a Difference a Win Makes...

If the Boilermakers top No. 19 Ohio on Friday ...

• They will advance to the NCAA second round for the fourth-straight season.

• They will move to 12-10 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches.

• They will have beaten their second ranked foe of the season, and 13th in the Shondell era.

• They will extend their current win streak to two matches.

• They will improve to 163-124 all-time when playing in the month of November, including a 4-2 mark when playing on Nov. 30.

Musings About the Musketeers
The Xavier Musketeers (24-10) earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament after finishing second in the Atlantic 10. The Musketeers, which posted an 11-2 mark in conference play, wrapped up the season with a split at the A-10/MAC Challenge, topping Western Michigan after falling to Miami (Ohio). Xavier is making the second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.

Senior middle hitter Jill Quayle leads a group of five Xavier players averaging more than 2.00 kills per game. Quayle has put down 3.74 kills per game, while also boasting a team-leading .388 hitting percentage and a team-best 1.31 blocks per game average. Sophomore outside hitter Kelly Ruth (3.40), sophomore outside hitter Hillary Otte (2.84), freshman middle hitter Katie Russell (2.35) and senior outside hitter Jenni Horvath (2.29) round out the group.

Ruth leads the Musketeers on defense with 3.75 digs per game. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Kaminsky (3.18), Horvath (2.88), Russell (2.42) and freshman setter Claire Paszkiewicz (2.04) follow. At the net, Quayle tallies 1.31 blocks, followed by Russell (0.71) and Ruth (0.70). Seven different Xavier players have served up double-digit ace tallies to help the team to its total of 156. Xavier is coached by Floyd Deaton, who is in his 18th year with the team.

Chatting About Cal Poly
The Cal Poly Mustangs earned an automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big West Conference title with a 15-1 mark. The Mustangs ended the season on a 12-match win streak and last played on Nov. 17. Cal Poly is making its 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and second straight.

Junior outside hitter Kylie Arherstone leads the Mustang offense with 4.74 kills per game. Three other Cal Poly players add more than 2.00 digs per game. Junior outside hitter Ali Waller (3.66), junior middle hitter Jaclyn Houston (2.21) and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Gaby Rivera (2.03) make up the group. Atherstone has served up a team-best 50 aces, while Houston leads the team with a .340 hitting percentage and 1.52 blocks per game.

Defensively, senior libero Kristin Jackson leads the way with 5.22 digs per game. Waller (2.63), Atherstone (2.59) and senior setter Chelsea Hayes (2.36) also add more than two digs per game. At the net, Houston posts 1.52 blocks per game, followed by freshman middle hitter Dominique Olowolafe (1.19), Hayes (0.97) and Waller (0.90). As a team, Cal Poly has served up 193 aces and average 3.21 blocks per game. The Mustangs are coached by Jon Stevenson, who is in his third year with the team.

Connect the Dots
Ohio's head coach Geoff Carlston and assistant coach Nadia Edwards are both Big Ten alumni. Carlston is a 1993 graduate of Minnesota, while Edwards completed her degree at Penn State in 2001.

Xavier sophomore outside hitter Lauren Kaminsky played high school volleyball at Muncie Burris High School under Steve Shondell, the brother of Purdue head coach Dave Shondell and assistant coach John Shondell. Kaminsky is one of three players from the state of Indiana on the Xavier roster. Three players on the Ohio roster hail from the state of Indiana.

Hey, We Played Them Too...
The Boilermakers and their three potential NCAA first and second round foes have a few common opponents.

Ohio battled Minnesota on Aug. 31 at the Diet Coke Classic in Minneapolis and won the match 3-2. Purdue lost both of its contests with the Golden Gophers in 2007.

Xavier played Michigan to a five-game match on Sept. 7 at the Michigan Pepsi Challenge in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Wolverines won the match 3-2. Purdue won a pair of four-game decision over the Wolverines in 2007.

Cal Poly faced off with Penn State at the Holiday Inn Downtown Classic on Aug. 31, falling to the Nittany Lions in five games. PSU took both contests against Purdue in 2007.

Big Ten Honors
Junior middle hitter Stephanie Lynch was one of 12 players named to the All-Big Ten team as announced by the conference on Monday. The honor is the second straight for Lynch, who also received first team all-region and honorable mention All-America acclaim in 2006. Lynch averaged 3.60 kills per game on a .321 hitting effort, while also posting 1.36 blocks per game in Purdue's 31 matches. In conference play, the New Albany, Ind., native tallied 3.24 kills per game on a team-best .289 hitting effort, while racking up 1.51 blocks per game. Lynch was a preseason All-Big Ten selection and also earned Defensive Player of the Week honors from the conference on Nov. 5.

Defense Across America
In statistics through Nov. 25, the Purdue volleyball team ranks 26th in the nation in blocks per game with 3.02. Louisville is the national leader with 3.99 blocks per game. Junior middle hitter Stephanie Lynch also ranks among the nation's best in blocks with 1.36 per game, a tally that ranks 46th. Louisville's Lecia Brown leads the nation with 2.12 blocks per game.

Movin' On Up
Junior defensive specialist Kelli Miller moved into second place on the Purdue career digs list on Nov. 4 against Ohio State. Miller pulled up 28 digs against the Buckeyes to move her career tally to 1,317. With 31 digs against Michigan State and Northwestern last week, she boosted her total to 1,419. She trails only record holder Becky Kanitz, who posted 1,564 digs from 1985 to 1988.

Senior defensive specialist Anne Mastandrea is right on Miller's heels, in third place on the career digs list with 1,338.

Junior outside hitter Danita Merlau sits third in career attempts with 3,879. Merlau also ranks among the Top 10 in career kills with 1311, a mark which ranks eighth.

Junior middle hitter Stephanie Lynch ranks among the career top 10 in solo blocks, block assists and total blocks. She sits third on the block assists list, just 13 behind career leader Kim McConaha's mark of 382. Lynch also ranks fifth in solo blocks with 83 and fifth in total blocks with 452.

Sophomore setter Sam Gray ranks ninth in career assists with 1,566, while senior outside hitter Sammi Mader ranks ninth in career kills with 1,297.

Academic Accolades
Junior outside hitter Danita Merlau was honored for her work in the classroom when she was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V second team.

Merlau, a communications major, was one of 12 student-athletes named to the two Academic All-District V teams. The District V accolade is the second straight for the New Palestine, Ind., native, who received second team honors last season, as well.

Against the Top 25
The Boilermakers were slated to face six ranked teams in 2007, based on the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll, however the team has taken on eight ranked foes. No. 19 Ohio will mark the ninth.

During the Dave Shondell era, Purdue has beaten 12 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 50-160 all-time record in matches against the Top 25.

Offensive Options
The Purdue volleyball team has found success this season with a variety of players leading the way on offense. Five different players have led the team in kills in its 31 matches. Junior outside hitter Danita Merlau has done so on 13 occasions, while junior middle hitter Stephanie Lynch has posted a team-high putdown tally 12 times. Those numbers including three matches when the two posted identical tallies: 10 against Michigan State on Oct. 13, 19 at No. 15 Michigan on Oct. 20 and 14 against Iowa, Nov. 9. Lynch has tallied 20 or more kills in five of her team-high performances.

Senior outside hitter Sam Mader has registered a team-leading kill tally six times, while sophomore outside/middle hitter Carrie Gurnell has posted a team-best twice and junior outside hitter/libero Kelli Miller has done so once.

Mixing It Up
The Boilermakers have used 12 different starting lineups in their 31 contests. Juniors Stephanie Lynch and Danita Merlau each have started all 31 matches. Senior Anne Mastandrea has been the team's libero in 12 matches and has been among the starters in 17 others, while junior Kelli Miller has been among the starters in 11 matches and the team's libero 19 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.

A Record Night
Junior libero Kelli Miller did something no other Purdue player had done in program history on Wednesday, Oct. 17, as she chalked up 40 digs vs. Indiana. Miller became the first player to surpass the 40-dig mark as she snapped the 20-year old school record of 37 digs set by Becky Kanitz during the 1987 season. Kanitz achieved the mark twice that season in five-game matches against Northwestern on Nov. 7 and against Western Michigan on Nov. 10.

Miller racked up her record mark in just four games, helped out by a 15-dig effort in the opening stanza. The Muncie, Ind., native also became the first Purdue player to surpass the 30-dig milestone three times in her career. In addition, the 40-dig effort established a four-game match record, surpassing the mark of 31 set by teammate Anne Mastandrea earlier this season.

Digging Up a Record
Senior defensive specialist Anne Mastandrea tallied a career-high tying 31 digs in Purdue's season opener against Winthrop on Aug. 24, marking the highest dig total in a four-game match in program history until teammate Kelli Miller posted 40 on Oct. 17. 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.

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.

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 139 blocks, or 1.32 per game. She ranks among the Purdue career top 10 in solo blocks, block assists and total blocks. As a Boilermaker, the New Albany, Ind., native has tallied 452 total blocks, including a 13-block effort on Nov. 4, 2007, at Ohio State.

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 3.02 blocks per game this season, behind the strength of Lynch (1.36), freshman Kristen Arthurs (0.98), sophomore Carrie Gurnell (0.86), freshman Jaclyn Hart (0.77) and junior Danita Merlau (0.65).

On Sept. 22, 2007, 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.

Ain't It Grand
Five Boilermaker players have added their names to the Purdue record books in 2007. Three 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. Coming into the 2007 season, the Downers Grove, Ill., native had pulled up 907 digs.

Junior Kelli Miller posted her 1,000th-career dig in Game 2 of Purdue's Sept. 7 match with Florida A&M. Entering the 2007 season, Miller had pulled up 889 digs.

Junior outside hitter Danita Merlau, who entered that weekend with 975 kills, racked up her 1,000th-career putdown in Game 3 of the team's match vs. Florida A&M. Coming into the 2007 season, Merlau had recorded 883 putdowns.

Junior middle hitter Stephanie Lynch posted her 1,000th career kill against No. 1 Penn State on Nov. 2. She entered the match needing just seven kills to reach the milestone. Coming into the 2007, Lynch had put down 663 kills.

Super Stephanie
Junior middle hitter Stephanie Lynch was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 5, for her performances against No. 1 Penn State and Ohio State over the weekend. Lynch anchored the Purdue block with 2.43 stuffs per game, including a 13-block effort against Ohio State, equalling the second-highest block total in a conference match this season. She rounded out the double-double against OSU with 11 kills. Lynch contributed 2.71 kills per game on the weekend, including a .429 hitting percentage against Penn State. The New Albany, Ind., native reached the 1,000-kill milestone in the match with PSU, making her the 20th Purdue player to achieve that mark.

The Player of the Week honor is the second of Lynch's career and her first defensive accolade. She was named the conference's Player of the Week on Nov. 20, 2006, when she also was named National Player of the Week by the AVCA.

Marvelous Miller
Junior libero Kelli Miller garnered Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honor on Oct. 22, after helping the Boilermakers climb to third place in the conference on the strength of the team's first win over a ranked opponent this season. The junior racked up 9.5 digs per game and was a perfect 81-for-81 on service receptions as Purdue went 1-1 on the week, including a four-game win at No. 15 Michigan on Oct. 20. Against Indiana on Oct. 17, Miller broke a 20-year-old school record with 40 digs. Against Michigan, she added 36 digs to her tally. The Muncie, Ind., native also contributed seven assists and three services aces on the weekend, including game point in Game 1 (31-29) against the nationally ranked Wolverines.

Amazing Annie
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. The Downers Grove, Ill., also set a 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 on 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. 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. As a team, the Boilermakers were picked to finish fifth in the league.

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
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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