IU volleyball beats Purdue in five-set thriller

IU volleyball coach Sherry Dunbar said her team would have to be ready for a five-set match against Purdue given the rivalry’s recent history.

That recent history repeated itself Wednesday, but this time the end result favored IU.  

The Hoosiers (13-4, 2-1) won the third straight five-set match against the Boilermakers (9-5, 1-2) to earn IU’s first victory over Purdue in any sport in the 2009-10 academic year.

“When you go up 2-0, you’re excited, but you also know Purdue’s going to come back and play a lot harder,” Dunbar said of the match, which IU led 2 sets to none, followed by Purdue rallying and forcing a fifth set. “I was really proud of us just fighting.”

The Hoosiers entered the hostile environment of Purdue’s Intercollegiate Athletic Facility and won a tight first set 25-22. Junior middle blocker Ashley Benson and freshman outside hitter Jordan Haverly paced IU with six and five kills, respectively.

IU controlled the match’s second contest, jumping to a 21-15 lead on sophomore libero Caitlin Cox’s serve. The Boilermakers managed to win two points before freshman right-side hitter Kelci Marschall and Haverly recorded kills to seal a 25-17 win.

The teams went back and forth to begin the third set with a 7-7 start. However, several Hoosier errors allowed Purdue to jump to a 15-10 lead. The Boilermakers didn’t look back, cruising to a 25-17 victory in the frame.

Purdue seemed to carry its momentum into the fourth set with a 3-0 start. The Boilermakers maintained their five-point advantage and capitalized, taking a 19-12 lead to force an IU timeout.  

The Hoosiers were able to stage a small rally behind Benson’s five kills before Purdue clinched the set, sending the rivalry to a fifth set for the third straight time.

IU entered the final set with renewed vigor and started 4-0, but the Boilermakers responded with six straight points on sophomore libero Blair Bashen’s serve. The teams struggled for the lead until Haverly pushed the Hoosiers forward as they surged to match point at 14-11.

For the second straight match, freshman middle blocker Samantha Thrower put away the winning point to clinch the win for the Hoosiers.

Benson, who registered 21 kills to lead IU, said she was proud come through in the fifth set in a raucous environment.   

“We played really hard in that last game,” Benson said. “The Purdue fans are crazy and really loud. They pull out anything they can. Everyone just fought together and pulled it out.”

Dunbar agreed.        

“Fifth sets to me are like gut-checks,” Dunbar said. “Technique is kind of out the window then. You’re just going all-out and playing aggressive, and I thought we did that well.”

The Hoosiers return to action Sunday at home against No. 8 Minnesota. Dunbar said the team has a lot of work to do but will savor the moment of defeating a hated rival.

“Tonight, we’re going to enjoy Purdue,” Dunbar said.