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Purdue Fort Wayne
South Dakota State
IPFW Overcomes Early Deficit to Claim Summit Tournament Berth
11/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 9, 2008
Brookings, SD - Trailing 2-0 and facing the possibility of needing to go into the season's final regular-season weekend to clinch a berth into the four-team Summit League Championship, the IPFW Mastodons won the final three sets, including needing extra time in the fourth set, to win a dramatic 3-2 match over the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State 3-2 (19-25, 17-25, 25-18, 29-27, 15-13).
Leading the way for IPFW was Rebekah Roehm who had 17 kills while Jessica Miller and Ashley Dillon had 15 and 11 kills, respectively. Taryn Parker added a half-dozen kills, while picking up a match-high seven blocks. Jamie Schwartz dug up a career-high 31 kill attempts, a total that gives her a tie of the seventh highest single-match total in school history, and the fourth best five-set total since the inception of rally scoring in 2001. Jessica Dominiak and Roehm each finished with 14 digs, and each a double-double, Roehm's based on kills and digs, Dominiak's on digs and her 42 assists. Roehm and Christine Simon each also added a trio of service aces in the five-set victory.
The Jackrabbits started out quickly behind the strong right arm of Mackenzie Angner, ranked second in the NCAA in kills per set, as the senior had four kills early, as the hosts opened a 9-3 lead, forcing a timeout by the IPFW coaching staff. IPFW followed by going on a strong run of their own, scoring nine of the next 13 points to knot the set at 13, forcing a timeout by SDSU. The Jacks responded favorably to the break in Mastodon momentum, out-scoring IPFW 11-2 to lead 24-15. The `Dons would not back down, however, as IPFW proceeded to score the next four points to cut the deficit to five at 24-19 after an Allison Hook service ace, until SDSU followed with a timeout, and a subsequent kill to give the hosts a 25-19 opening-set victory.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair, as IPFW led 9-8 early in the frame before the host Jackrabbits scored four straight points, forcing a Mastodon timeout after seeing the hosts jump ahead 13-8. SDSU scored another point to push ahead by six at 14-8, until IPFW scored three straight points to cut the deficit in half at 14-11 following a kill by Miller. The hosts answered by scoring six of the next seven points to lead 20-12. IPFW attempted a comeback, going on a pair of 2-0 runs, but it was too little, too late in the second-set SDSU 25-17 victory.
IPFW came out with a purpose after the between-set break, scoring five straight points behind a pair of service aces from Roehm, after SDSU scored the opener in the set, giving the `Dons a 5-1 lead, forcing a Jackrabbit timeout. Following the break the Mastodons added another point, running their lead to 6-1 before South Dakota State ran off a pair of 2-0 runs to cut the deficit to two at 7-5. IPFW once again led by two at 8-6 before scoring seven of the next 10 points to lead 15-8. The closest the Jackrabbits would come for the remainder of the set would be four at 21-17, as IPFW scored four of the final five points to win the third set 25-18 on a Jackrabbit service error.
In the fourth set, the teams were tied at two before South Dakota State ran off four consecutive points, forcing an IPFW timeout, leading 6-2. The `Dons answered by scoring five straight points, taking a 7-6 lead and forcing a SDSU timeout following a Kylee Hervey kill. The hosts countered, using a series of small runs to lead by two at 12-10, as the hosts continued to lead by a pair at 15-13 until IPFW scored four straight points, the second large run served by Simon, giving IPFW a two-point, 17-15 lead. Three straight points by the Jackrabbits gave the hosts a one-point lead at 18-17, as the teams battled back-and-forth the rest of the way, as the `Dons captured the set victory after an Angner attack error.
In the fifth and deciding set, South Dakota State scored the first two points of the frame, and led by as many as four at 8-4, until IPFW responded by scoring six of the next seven points to lead for the first time in the fifth set at 10-9. An ace by SDSU's Justine Olsen gave the hosts a one-point, 11-10 lead, before the `Dons scored three straight to lead 13-11 following a Miller kills, her 14th of the match. The hosts ran off a 2-1 run to cut the deficit to one at 14-13, before Miller's 15th and final kill of the match sent the `Dons into the postseason tournament with a 15-13 fifth-set victory over the Jackrabbits.
Angner and Ellyce Youngren each had 25 kills to lead the two teams, as Kelli Fiegen added 17 in the losing effort. Melia Iwamoto dished out a match-high 58 assists, while Rachel Dahl had 29 digs to pace the hosts. Fiegen was the team's leading blocker with five, as Iwamoto and Angner each had 15 digs, with Stacey Wernert adding 13.
The `Dons get a pair of tune-up matches on Friday, November 14 and Saturday, November 15 as IPFW plays host to IUPUI on the 14th, and then against Western Illinois on the 15th, with the first-serve for each scheduled for 7:00 PM.
~Dons~
