IU forces 5 sets against No. 12 Purdue before loss

In the battle for statewide glory, Indiana, riding a 10-game losing streak into West Lafayette, took No. 12 Purdue  to five sets, falling in the fifth set 15-6.

After losing the first set, the Hoosiers battled back from four set points to win the set 32-30.

IU Coach Sherry Dunbar said the difference between the team in the first and second sets was like night and day.

“Our mentality was so great,” Dunbar said. “The first set, we were so passive. We talked between sets, and I told them we need to turn up the intensity. It was a different team.”

In the next set, the Hoosiers jumped out to a lead, but the set saw 12 ties before the Hoosiers fell behind 23-21, forcing Dunbar to take her first timeout of the set.

The Hoosiers responded by winning the next two points to even the score at 23-23. After junior outside hitter Ivie Obeime’s serve went out of bounds to give Purdue a set point, Dunbar used another timeout.

“You always try to make the server take that extra second,” Dunbar said. “We had the play we wanted, but we just couldn’t put the ball away.”

Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, they dropped the next point and third set to fall behind, two sets to one.

“I was happy we didn’t let them run off,” Dunbar said. “We stayed in every point and battled with them.”

IU responded and won the fourth set 25-23. Purdue fought off several set points trailing 24-20, but Obeime buried the Boilermakers with her tenth kill of the night. IU never trailed in the set.

With the match on the line, the Hoosiers had a slow start in the final set, trailing 5-1 early, and could not keep up the fight, losing the set 15-6 and the match three sets to two.

During the night, two players had double-doubles, including junior setter Whitney Granado, who had 39 assists and 10 digs.

“I thought Whitney came in and really balanced out the offense for us,” Dunbar said. “The last set is tough because it’s only 15 points, and they jumped on us early, but I was very proud of our effort.”