IU beats Purdue in Crimson & Gold Cup kickoff

Last night with the Big Ten Network televising the game, the IU volleyball team defeated Purdue 3-1 (31-29, 21-30, 30-25, 30-26).\nThe network’s presence heightened the excitement of the in-state rivalry match at the University Gym, and the Hoosiers responded well to the pressure. IU dropped 12 consecutive games to Purdue spanning over two years. But in the latest series match up, the Hoosiers prevailed, improving their record to 5-4 in the conference and 14-7 overall. \n“This win gives us a sense of pride,” IU coach Sherry Dunbar said. “Being the state school, this is a big win for us.”\nIn a wild game one in which IU was down 20-28, the Hoosiers scored four consecutive points to make the score 24-28. Purdue then took a timeout, but that was not enough to stop IU’s momentum. They went on to score the next four points to tie the game at 28. Purdue then took another timeout. When play resumed on an IU serve, freshman middle blocker Ashley Benson''s kill gave IU their first lead since the opening point of the match. Purdue scored the next point on a dive attempt that could not keep the ball alive. That put the match at 29. IU’s next point came on junior outside hitter Erica Short''s kill making the score 30-29. IU scored matchpoint with an attack error by Purdue to win game one, 31-29. \nIn game two, Purdue came out strong. After taking a 3-4 lead they never looked back, pushing the lead to 15-22. A bad break for the Hoosiers came on a spike by Benson, which was called out when it appeared to go off a Boilermaker player. Purdue scored the match’s next nine of 12 points to eventually win game two 21-30. Benson led IU again with five kills to bring her total to 10 at that point in the game. \nIn game three, Purdue once again came out strong, having a lead at one point 6-10. IU fought back to tie the game at 11 and then again at 14. The Hoosiers took their first lead at 15-14. IU pushed the lead to 22-17, then to 27-20, and eventually to the final score of 30-25. \nGame four proved to be the closest of the four games with 12 ties and four lead changes. Purdue fought to tie match at 22. The teams traded the next five points making it 25-24 with IU in the lead. IU went on to score six of the next eight points in the game to win 30-26. \n“As soon as we scored that last point it felt amazing,” freshman defensive specialist Morgan Miller said. “I was screaming; it felt amazing.”\nBloomington-product Benson has been waiting for this moment ever since she was a child. \n“Ever since I was little, I wanted to come play volleyball at IU to play (against Purdue),” Benson said. “This game will do a lot for our confidence.” \nLeading IU statistically was outside hitter Kelsey Hall with 17 kills and 14 digs. The Hoosiers had two other women with double digit kills. Senior Lauren Ditteon recorded 15 kills and Benson had 14. IU is back in action Friday as they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich.