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Purdue Fort Wayne
Western Illinois
IPFW Wins on Senior Night 3-0
11/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 15, 2008
Fort Wayne, IN – The IPFW Mastodons clinched the third seed in the upcoming Summit League Tournament with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-22) victory over the Westerwinds of Western Illinois University on Saturday afternoon.
With the third seed, IPFW will face tournament host Oral Roberts in the semi-finals on Friday, November 21, with IUPUI to take on top seeded North Dakota State in the other semi-final match.
The match also saw four seniors from IPFW, Christine Simon, Jessica Dominiak, Kylee Hervey and Jessica Miller playing in their final match at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center.
Against Western Illinois, IPFW was led by Rebekah Roehm who had a match-high 14 kills, with Miller adding nine in the winning effort. Dominiak dished out 27 assists, while Jamie Schwartz led three Mastodons in double figure digs with 16, as Dominiak (11) and Miller (10) finished just behind in the category. Three players, Roehm, Dominiak and Schwartz each had two service aces, with Taryn Parker blocking a team-high four kill attempts.
The teams battled to start the opening set, before the Westerwinds pulled ahead by three at 12-9, forcing an IPFW timeout. Coming out of the break, IPFW scored the next five points behind the service of Roehm, including a pair of service aces, and a Parker kill, pushing the ‘Dons ahead 14-12. IPFW would not relinquish their lead over the remainder of the set, out-scoring the Westerwinds 5-2 to end the set with a 25-18 score on a Dominiak service ace.
IPFW never trailed in the second set, as the ‘Dons jumped ahead quickly in the middle of the three sets, using a 2-0 and a 5-0 run to pull ahead 8-2. Trailing by six, Western Illinois ran off a 5-0 run of their own, cutting the deficit to one, before the ‘Dons sandwiched a Westerwind point with runs of 2-0 and 3-0, the latter of which was fueled by a Schwartz ace, pulling IPFW ahead 13-8. The Mastodons used a trio of 2-0 runs and later one of 3-0 to win the second set 25-20 on a kill by Roehm.
Like the second set, IPFW jumped ahead 5-1 in the final frame, before the Westerwinds clawed back, tying the set at five apiece, and it was a tight third-set battle ensued. A Parker block capped a 3-0 run by IPFW, as they jumped ahead 8-5. The teams went back-and-forth before Western Illinois scored four straight points to take a one-point lead, one that they increased to as many as two at 18-16. IPFW followed by scoring four consecutive points behind the serve of Parker, giving IPFW a narrow two-point advantage. IPFW led by just two at 23-21 before the ‘Dons pulled away, capping the match with Roehm’s 14th and final kill of the evening.
Western Illinois did not have a player reach double figure kills, as the team was led in the category by setter Sarah Trimpe, who had eight, with Monique Houston and Allison Gilbert each totaling seven. Trimpe, who set the school record for career assists the evening before, tacked on to hear lead with 21 in this match, while also digging up seven kill attempts for the near-triple-double effort. Elyse Crnjak, ranked 19th in Division I in digs per set, upped her average by digging up 23 IPFW kill attempts, with Ellen Miller chipping in a dozen digs as well. Six-foot, three-inch middle hitter Megan Toczek had a team-best five blocks, as the Westerwinds needed each and every one, as they were held without a service ace in the contest.
IPFW gets a week to prepare for their second consecutive Summit League tournament, as the squad will travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma where they will face off against Oral Roberts, with the match time still to be announced.
~Dons~
