Purdue Fort Wayne
Western Illinois
Mastodons Drop Five-Set Heartbreaker to Leathernecks
10/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 9, 2009
Fort Wayne, IN - The IPFW Mastodons were unable to win their third straight five-set match, falling to the Leathernecks of Western Illinois University 3-2 (14-25, 15-25, 31-29, 25-22, 15-8), in WIU's first-ever victory over the Mastodons in six previous tries.
Rebekah Roehm totaled 20 kills for the third consecutive match, while adding 16 digs for her 30th career double-double. Maya Schlindwein and Alli Hook each had 12 kills in the losing effort, Hook's marking a new career-high, as the Mastodons out-hit the Leathernecks .233 (60 kills, 23 errors, 159 attempts)-to-.123 (51 kills, 31 errors, 162 attempts).
Shannon Reuter dished out 44 assists and picked up 13 digs for her fifth double-double of the year, as Jamie Schwartz, the reigning conference Defensive Player of the Week, had a team-best 17 digs. Freshman Tessa McGill also added 10 digs in the losing effort, as junior middle hitter Taryn Parker led the Mastodons with six blocks, as Hook, Roehm, and Schlindwein each chipped in three blocks in the loss.
Roehm's double-figure kill total was her 12th straight match with double-figure kills, while Schwartz's double-figure digs was her 11th consecutive. Schlindwein was also deadly on the serve, with a career-high four aces, as Reuter also had a career-high with three, as the Mastodons totaled nine service aces in the match, against just five for the Leathernecks.
Western Illinois (8-11, 4-4 Summit League) jumped ahead early, leading 3-1 before IPFW (10-8, 4-4 Summit League) responded with a 3-0 kill to lead for the first time in the match at 4-3. The teams were tied again at four and five, before the Mastodons ran off five straight points, forcing a Leatherneck timeout with the `Dons leading 10-5.
After the break, the visitors re-grouped and scored three straight to cut the deficit to two at 10-8. Once the margin got cut to a pair, IPFW did not allow WIU to score on their own serve, forcing a sideout on each of their six remaining serves. During that span, IPFW had three 3-0 runs and a pair of 2-0 to surge ahead to the lopsided 25-14 opening-set victory.
For the second consecutive set, Western Illinois jumped ahead early, as the visitors led by two 5-3 before the Mastodons regrouped the score the next seven points, forcing a Leatherneck timeout at 10-5. For the second straight set, the visitors rallied after their timeout, scoring a point on a Krissy Bergquist kill to end the IPFW run, but IPFW would not back down, following with a 2-0 run and then a 3-0 to lead by seven at 15-8.
Two more 3-0 runs, the final one capped by a Schlindwein kill, put the `Dons ahead 21-11, as they cruised to the 25-15 second-set win.
The Mastodons jumped ahead in the third set, and led for the majority of the frame, leading by as many as four at 14-10, before the Leathernecks started the slow climb to the lead, eventually knotting the set at 21 apiece, forcing IPFW into their second and final timeout of the frame.
A point for IPFW on an attack error stopped the immediate WIU run; however, the visitors then ran off three more to lead by two at 24-22, serving for set point. IPFW rallied to score the next two points, knotting the set at 24 apiece. From that point on it was a back-and-forth effort, as Western Illinois served for four set points with IPFW answering each one with a sideout. The `Dons rallied to score back-to-back points, and to serve for the match, but three straight Leatherneck points, on an attack error, a combo block by Bergquuist and Cait Egan, and an Egan kill sealed the set for Western Illinois, sending the match to a fourth set.
In the fourth set, Western used an early 6-0 run to jump ahead by five at 7-2, and never trailed in the set. Despite the early deficit, the Mastodons were able to use a 4-0 run to climb back into the match, and knotted the score at nine apiece. After the tie score, Western Illinois ran off five consecutive points to re-capture their advantage.
The Mastodons once again showed their heart, facing their second different five-point deficit, and once again climbed back into the match, eventually tying the score at 19. As in the previous time IPFW tied the set, Western ran off a series of points, this time three straight, to lead 22-19. With the momentum strongly in the Leatherneck's corner, IPFW managed to knock down three consecutive kills from Hook, Parker, and Roehm, once again tying the score at 22. WIU still had one more run up their sleeve, as they ended the fourth set on a 3-0 run, sending the match into a fifth and final set.
IPFW is no stranger to five set matches, as their last two contests have been five-set victories, and the `Dons were 3-1 in matches that went the full distance, and the Blue and White showed their comfort with the five sets early, jumping ahead 2-0. However, Western battled right back, running off runs of 3-0 and 4-0 to lead by three at 6-3. The next seven possessions were sideouts, with IPFW trailing by four at the switch-over at 8-4.
The fifth set deficit grew to as many as five for the Mastodons, before two straight points, started by a Schlindwein kill, cut the Leatherneck lead to three at 10-7. Western Illinois led by three at 11-8 following Schlindwein's final kill of the match, and then scored the contest's final four points, capping the match on a Bridget Murphy service ace.
Western Illinois was led by Egan, who had 17 kills, while Megan Toczek had 10 in the win. Ellen Miller dished out 46 assists, and Lindsay Muehlbauer had a match-high 21 digs.
The Mastodons keep to the Hilliard Gates Sports Center for their second annual "Pink Out" match, in which fans are encouraged to wear pink to support breast cancer survivors, and $1 from every ticket sold at the match will go directly towards the American Cancer Society to help raise awareness and to find a cure for the deadly disease. First-serve for the match is slated for 7:00 PM against IUPUI, who topped Oakland tonight in five sets.
~Dons~
