Purdue completes season sweep of Hoosiers in 5-setter

Parking spaces were scarce Wednesday night at University Gym as the IU women's volleyball team played host to arch-rival Purdue. The crowd was loud and the players were pumped, but the Hoosiers came up short for the fifth straight time, losing in a five-game heartbreaker.\n"Purdue's a very good team that always plays hard," IU coach Katie Weismiller said. "You really have to show up to stick with them."\nIn the first game, the Hoosiers came out ready to play, hanging right with the Boilers. After the first 24 points, the game was knotted at 12-12. Purdue then went on a 10-3 run to take a 22-15 lead. The Hoosiers rallied to make it 22-18, but the Boilermakers closed out the game on a 8-3 run to clinch game one, 30-21.\nDespite dropping the first game, the Hoosiers came out hot in game two, taking an 11-7 lead. IU squandered the lead it held the entire game, and Purdue managed to tie the game at 29. A smash by IU senior Christina Archibald and a block by senior Katie Pollom on consecutive plays sealed the game, 31-29, and reenergized the home crowd.\nFollowing the break, IU jumped out to an 8-4 lead. As in the first two games, the third game remained close and featured 16 ties. Purdue rebounded from a slow start and closed the gap to 15-13. The Boilers would then take a 21-20 lead, but IU bounced back to take control 27-26. Following a timeout, freshman Juli Pierce served up an ace to give the Hoosiers a 31-30 lead. Two consecutive kills by Archibald and sophomore Lindsay Cochrane gave IU a 33-31 win and a 2-1 edge in the match.\n"The team did a great job of regrouping after falling early," Pollom said. \nIn game four, the Boilers looked for revenge and grabbed an early 16-8 lead. The Hoosiers continued to dig themselves into a hole, falling behind 22-12. Despite a late surge, the team was never able to climb out, dropping the game 30-19.\nIU looked to regain its momentum in the deciding fifth game, but quickly fell behind 6-2. The Hoosiers stayed tough and cut the lead to 10-8 on a combined block by freshmen Lauren Ditteon and Annie Moddrell. A service ace by freshman Christine Nilles tied the game at 11, but her following serve fell short of the net. The Boilers scored on the next two points to make the score 14-12, but a kill by Pollom kept the Hoosiers alive. On the next play, a questionable call on a ball which appeared out of bounds gave the Boilers the win, three games to two.\n"We really competed and had the fire to send the match to five games," Archibald said. "We just made too many careless mistakes."\nThe Hoosiers look to end their home stand on a positive note Friday when they take on the nationally ranked Fighting Illini of Illinois. The match will begin at 7 p.m. and will be played at University Gym on the corner of the 45/46 bypass and 10th Street. \n-- Contact staff writer Kevin Dwire at kdwire@indiana.edu.