| Purduesports.com | WEB |
Dec. 4, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 17 Purdue volleyball team kicks off NCAA Tournament play against Louisville at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the friendly confines of Belin Court. A 4 p.m. Friday match between Middle Tennessee State and Miami (Ohio) begins play in the four-team pool. The winners of the two matches are slated to meet at 5 p.m. Saturday. Multimedia Ticketing The Book on the Boilermakers Last Time Out: The Boilermakers are on a three-match win streak, after wrapping up the regular season with a pair of five-set victories against Northwestern and Wisconsin. Statistically Speaking: Middle hitter Stephanie Lynch paces the Boilermaker offense with 3.45 kills on a team-best .409 hitting effort, while also leading the team at the net with 1.42 blocks per set. Outside hitter Danita Merlau is right behind with 3.09 kills per set. Middle hitter Kristen Arthurs tacks on 2.04 kills and helps out at the net with 0.85 blocks per set, while outside hitter Carrie Gurnell averages 1.98 kills and 0.71 blocks per set. In the backcourt, libero Kelli Miller racks up a team-best 4.23 digs per set. Merlau adds 1.95 digs per set, while defensive specialist Jessica Ullrich and setter Jaclyn Hart pull up 1.94 and 1.72 respectively. Hart also has dished out 9.92 assists per set, while adding 0.70 blocks per set. Purdue has served up 108 aces, paced by Miller's output of 28. Ullrich, junior outside hitter Sam Ainsworth and Lynch have added 22, 15 and 12 respectively. Learning About Louisville Last Time Out: Louisville has won its last 11 matches, eight via sweep, dating to Oct. 24. The Cardinals downed Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame at the Big East Tournament Nov. 21-23, then capped the regular season with a 3-0 sweep of Tennessee Tech on Nov. 29. Statistically Speaking: Outside hitter/middle hitter Jana Matiasovska paces the offense with 3.47 kills per set on a team-best .322 hitting effort. Outside hitter Justine Landi (3.10) and outside hitter Tatyana Kolesnikova (2.54) follow. Landi has served up a team-best 25 aces, while also adding 2.53 digs per set. Defensively, libero Lindsey Mango has pulled up a team-best 3.45 digs per set, while defensive specialist Kristie Wetterer adds 1.76. Middle hitter Lecia Brown and outside hitter Rui Liu lead the team at the net with 1.42 and 1.09 blocks per set. The Cardinals have served up 110 aces and are outblocking opponents 3.05 to 1.45 per set. Series Information Miami (Ohio) (Purdue leads the series 6-2): The Boilermakers own a 5-2 edge in the series with the Redhawks which began on Oct. 15, 1977. Purdue won the first three meetings. Miami took the Sept. 14, 1991 contest, but the Boilermakers responded with wins in 1992 and 1996. The Redhawks took a Sept. 8, 2001 contest in Oxford, Ohio, but Purdue won the most recent meeting, a Sept. 20 contest in Dayton, Ohio. Middle Tennessee State (Purdue leads the series 2-0): The Boilermakers have taken both previous meetings with the Blue Raiders. Purdue won the initial meeting in five sets at the Lady Raider Tournament in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The Boilermakers then swept MTSU at the Mortar Board Premier in 2003. Comparing the Teams Statistic Purdue Louisville Miami (Ohio) MTSU Hitting % .232 .259 .245 .284 Kills 12.64 12.91 13.83 13.51 Assists 11.43 12.08 12.94 12.72 Aces 0.89 1.00 0.97 1.12 Blocks 2.63 3.05 2.00 2.61 Digs 13.07 12.73 14.61 11.59 What a Difference a Win Makes... • They will advance to the NCAA Second Round for the fifth-straight season, while moving to 13-11 all time in NCAA Tournament matches. • They will move to 10-2 all time in NCAA first round matches, including a 6-0 mark at home. •They will move to 25-8 on the season, reaching the 25-win milestone for just the second time since 1985 (34-4), The Boilermakers were 25-9 in 2005 including a Sweet 16 appearance. • They will move to 6-0 all-time against the Cardinals. Reading About the Redhawks Last Time Out: Miami went 2-0 at the Western Michigan Clarion Invitational last weekend, topping IPFW in four sets and sweeping Marquette. Statistically Speaking: Outside/middle hitter Emily Schroeder headlines a group of five Redhawk players averaging more than two kills per set. Schroeder has racked up 3.20 kills per set, followed by middle hitter Megan Griffin (2.79), middle hitter Hallie Hanks (2.68), outside hitter Maria Leahy (2.46), and middle hitter Michele Metzler (2.04). Griffin boasts a team-best .357 hitting effort and leads the team at the net with 0.79 blocks per set. Defensively, libero Melissa Zenz leads the way with 4.37 digs per set. Leahy (2.94) and setter Andrea Atteberry follow (2.29) follow. Zenz has served up a team-best 29 aces, while Atteberry has added 24. A Bit About the Blue Raiders Last Time Out: Middle Tennessee State fell to No. 22 Saint Louis and topped Connecticut in a pair of five-set matches on Nov. 29. Statistically Speaking: A trio of players lead the Blue Raider offense with more than three kills per set. Outside hitter Izabela Kozon (3.33), outside hitter Ashley Mead (3.32) and middle hitter Ashley Asberry (3.20) make up the group. Asberry is hitting at a team-best .469 clip, while also contributing 1.41 blocks per set. Defensively, libero Ashley Waugh has pulled up 3.48 digs per set. Kozon (2.02) and setter Leslie Clark follow (1.81). Clark has served up 33 of the team's 139 aces, while Kozon has added 31. Rank And File Purdue has been ranked among the nation's top 25 throughout the 2008 season, peaking at No. 15 on Sept.8, which marked the Boilermakers' highest ranking since earning the No. 13 spot in the 2007 preseason listing. Since rankings began in 1982, Purdue has been ranked in 90 polls, including preseason and postseason listings. Big Ten Honors Lynch is averaging 3.45 kills per set on a .409 hitting effort, while also posting 1.42 blocks per set this season. The .409 hitting efficiency ranks her seventh nationally, while the blocks tally ranks 10th nationally. In conference play, the New Albany, Ind., native tallied 3.36 kills per set on a team-best .392 hitting effort, while racking up 1.47 blocks per set. Lynch was a preseason All-Big Ten selection and was named Big Ten Player of the Week four times during the season. The senior garnered offensive honors on Sept. 15 and Oct. 20, while earning defensive honors on Nov. 17 and Dec. 1. The senior has smashed the career block assists and total blocks records and surpassed the single-season block assists mark. Among the Nation Hey, We Played Them Too... Louisville also battled Indiana and Penn State, falling to the Hoosier in five sets and being swept by the No. 1 Nittany Lions. Purdue lost both of its contests with the Nittany Lions in 2008, while sweeping the season series with the Hoosiers. Miami (Ohio) played Saint Louis twice during the opening weekend of the season falling in four and three sets respectively. The Redhawks also took on Wisconsin and Ball State, topping the Badgers in four and falling to the Cardinals in five. Purdue downed Saint Louis 3-1 at the Utah Classic, while also defeating the Badgers in a pair of five set matches. The Boilermakers swept Ball State at the Active Ankle Challenge in Muncie. Middle Tennessee State faced off with Duke at the UT-Arlington Hilton Invitational on Sept. 13, topping the Blue Devils in five sets. The Blue Raiders played Saint Louis to a five-set loss on Nov. 29. Purdue defeated Duke 3-1 in the season opening Mortar Board Premier. As previously mentioned, the Boilermakers topped Saint Louis in four sets on Sept. 12. Against the Top 25 Block Party Lynch became Purdue's all-time career blocks leader with five stuffs against Michigan State on Oct. 25. The New Albany, Ind., native, who also is the all-time leader in block assists, took the career mark from Marianne Smith, who tallied 567 from 1982-85. Lynch now has tallied 636 total blocks. Lynch snapped Kim McConaha (2001-04)'s career record mark of 382 block assists against Tennessee State on August 30. She now owns the record with 528. She then surpassed the 500 total blocks milestone on Sept. 13 and ranks among the career top 10 in solo blocks (4th with 108). Packing The House Super Seniors Lynch, a two-time honorable mention All-America and three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, owns the career records for hitting percentage (.350), total blocks (636) and block assists (528). She also ranks second in blocks per set (1.33), fourth in solo blocks (108) and sixth in kills (1,503). Merlau, a three-time Academic All-District and Academic All-Big Ten selection, is the Boilermaker career record holder for hitting attempts (5,138). She also ranks second all-time in kills (1,696) and fourth in kills per set (3.56). Miller, a three-time Academic All-Big Ten and five-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week selection, owns the career records for digs (1,961) and digs per set (4.06). She also set the school record for digs in a match with 40 against Indiana on Oct. 17, 2007. Swinging For The Record Merlau has chalked up 1,696 kills in those attempts, a mark which ranks her second on that Purdue career list. With six putaways against No. 1 Penn State on Nov. 15, Merlau passed Brooke White (1993-96) for the second spot. White accumulated 1,642 kills. Quick Set Can You Dig It? Tale of the Century Dig For A Cure In 2007, the Purdue volleyball team raised more than $1,300 as fans pledged fund for each dig the team tallied during its Dig for a Cure match against Michigan State on October 13. The Boilermakers wore pink ribbons and fans received pink rally towels to show support. A Defensive Force Against the Hoosiers on Friday, the senior recorded her first double-digit blocking performance of the season with 10 total stuffs. The total ties for the fourth-highest in the conference this season and the second-highest tally during a Big Ten match this year. The effort lifted Lynch to the 600 career blocks milestone and helped the Boilermakers defeat Indiana, 3-2, securing the Monon Spike travelling trophy. Against top-ranked Penn State on Saturday, Lynch tallied nine total blocks, including two solo efforts, to help Purdue score 20 points in two sets against a Nittany Lion squad that has yet to drop a single stanza this season. Behind Lynch, the Boilermakers tallied nine team blocks in the match, which is the highest total by a PSU opponent this year. The weekly award is the fifth of Lynch's career and her third this season. The senior was named Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 15 and Oct. 20, while libero Kelli Miller took the defensive nod each time. Dynamic Duo Lynch tallied 4.4 kills per set on the strength of a .439 hitting percentage, also adding 1.9 blocks per stanza to move into second place on Purdue's all-time total blocks list. Against the nationally ranked Badgers, the senior put down 20 kills at a .459 clip with a match-high seven blocks in a 3-2 win. The next day against the Wildcats, she tallied 15 kills at a .414 mark with a service ace and eight stuffs in a 3-0 sweep. With 15 total blocks on the weekend, Lynch owns 563 in her career and needs just four more for the school record. The offensive accolade is her second of the season and the fourth of her career. Miller earns Big Ten defensive accolades after averaging 5.0 digs and 0.6 aces per set as Purdue defeated nationally ranked Wisconsin and Northwestern over the weekend. Miller also executed on 44 of 45 (98 percent) of her service reception attempts and helped the Boilermakers to a .320 hitting mark on the weekend with her passing. Against No. 19 Wisconsin on Friday, Miller recorded 20 digs and five service aces, which is the highest total in any Big Ten match this season. Versus Northwestern, the libero posted her fifth 20-dig match of the year while executing on all 13 of her service reception opportunities as she helped pass her squad to a season-high hitting percentage of .352. The award is Miller's second this season and the fifth of her career. Conference Honors Lynch garnered offensive honors after earning MVP honors at the Utah Classic, racking up 4.1 kills, 1.4 blocks and 0.6 digs per set over the weekend. The senior totaled 19 stuffs in 14 sets to surpass the 500 blocks milestone, now with 510 in her career. The New Albany, Ind. native led the Boilermakers in kills in all three matches, recording 14 against St. Louis, 18 versus Utah State and a season-high 25 against Utah in the tournament's championship game. In all, Lynch tallied 57 total kills on a .533 hitting percentage, including a .564 mark against Utah in which she put down 10 hits in Set 4 alone. The award is the third of Lynch's career as she was also honored once as a junior (Nov. 5, 2007 Defensive) and once as a sophomore (Nov. 20, 2006). On the defensive side, Miller became Purdue's all-time digs leader, tallying 76 saves over the weekend to total 1,602 in her career. The senior recorded 19 digs in the Boilermakers' opening match vs. Saint Louis before breaking the previous school record of 1,564 against Utah State with 23 saves. Miller tacked on 34 digs against Utah in the championship game of the Utah Classic, posting the Big Ten's third-highest single-match digs total this season. The effort was Miller's fifth career 30-dig effort, giving her three of the top five single-match totals in Purdue annals. On the weekend, Miller executed on 97 percent of her service reception opportunities and also recorded six assists and one ace in 14 sets. Behind Miller, the Boilermaker defense held opponents to just a .123 combined hitting percentage. The weekly honor is the fourth of Miller's career as she was recognized twice in 2006 (Sept. 4 and Oct. 9) and once last season (Oct. 22). Accumulating Accolades Lauds For Lynch Lynch averaged 3.53 kills per game on a .318 hitting effort, while also posting 1.38 blocks per game in Purdue's 33 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. Preseason Picks In 2007, the Boilermakers finished tied for third with the Golden Gophers, marking their best conference placing since 1990. Staff Additions Katie McGuine, a native of Rochester, Minn., is in her first year as Supervisor of Volleyball Operations for the Boilermaker volleyball team after serving in the same position at the University of Iowa for the last two years.
|
 Summer Camps Benefit Boilermakers
2008 Photo Retrospective
2009 Big Ten Season Preview
Never Too Early To Look Ahead
Lynch All-American Highlight Video
Purdue Volleyball Facilities Tour
All In The Family For The Shondells
|
 |
