Purdue Fort Wayne
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Western Michigan
Mastodons Rally Late in Win Over Broncos
9/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 15, 2009
Fort Wayne, IN - The IPFW Mastodons jumped ahead 2-0 against the Mid-American Conference preseason favorite Western Michigan Broncos, and then rallied to win the exciting fifth set by scoring the final four points of the match in front of a loud crowd in the Hilliard Gates Center on Tuesday evening 25-19, 25-19, 13-25, 18-25, 15-12.
The Western Michigan Broncos (4-7), who returned all seven starters and all but one letterwinner from their NCAA "Sweet 16" berth a season ago, came into the game looking for momentum after splitting their previous weekend, falling to Marquette and Ohio State while beating Milwaukee and South Dakota. Likewise, IPFW was looking for consistency, after opening the year 5-5, and had never beaten Western Michigan in the previous three meetings of the squads all-time.
IPFW was led by a balanced attack, as four players had at least eight kills, led by Stephanie Lamberti's career-high-tying 11, and Rebekah Roehm's 10. Alli Hook added a career-high eight kills, four of which came in the fifth and deciding set, with Maya Schlindwein chipping in eight as well.
Shannon Reuter dished out a season-best 31 assists, while senior Jamie Schwartz had a season-high 27 digs, tied for the 12th highest single-match total in IPFW's rally-scoring era, while Roehm recorded her second straight double-double with 16 digs. Freshman defensive specialist Tessa McGill added nine digs, but her main contribution was from the serving line, where she served up four aces, all in the first two sets, which stands as the second highest freshman five-set total in school history, and the fifth most regardless of class in the current rally-scoring era (2001-present).
Tessa McGill, shown here serving up one of her four aces on the night, was a key component to helping IPFW jump ahead 2-0 in the match against Western Michigan  |
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The IPFW defense came out strong to open the match, as they forced the Broncos into a side-out in each of their first nine possessions, while running off a trio of 2-0 runs during that span to lead 12-9 following Lamberti's first kill of the match. Western Michigan fought back to tie the match on three straight points, forcing an IPFW timeout.
The team quickly regrouped after the break, and scored six straight points, a 4-0 and 2-0 run that sandwiched a WMU timeout. The final two points of the run was comprised by back-to-back McGill aces, pushing IPFW ahead 18-12. The teams played even volleyball for the remainder of the set, as the six-point IPFW lead held up, with the `Dons winning set one 25-19.
IPFW looked like it was going to keep its momentum early in the second set, as the hosts opened the frame with a combo block by Schlindwein and Hook; however, Western Michigan had different plans, as the Broncos scored the next eight points, with IPFW burning through both of its timeouts during the span. With the Mastodons trailing by seven just nine points into the set, things looked bleak, but three straight 2-0 runs separated by a side-out from Western Michigan cut the deficit to three at 10-7.
After a kill by the Broncos' Kate Corbett, IPFW rattled off three consecutive points, the last pair coming from the third and fourth service ace of the match by McGill, which cut the deficit to just one at 11-10. Two straight points by Western Michigan put them ahead by three at 13-10, until a Parker kill and three straight WMU attack errors gave IPFW a 14-13 lead. IPFW trailed by one at 16-15, before IPFW scored four straight points behind the power of kills by Schlindwein, Roehm, and Hook, and two more IPFW 3-0 runs closed the door on Western Michigan in the 25-19 second-set Mastodon victory.
Western Michigan made quick work of IPFW in the third set, jumping ahead 4-1 and never looking back, as the Broncos used runs of 4-0, 8-0, 3-0, and 4-0 to eliminate the IPFW sweep by a 25-13 Bronco third-set win.
The fourth set saw many mid-sized runs by each team, as each squad led by at least two at some point, as the teams were tied at every point increment from four through eleven, before Western Michigan sandwiched a Lamberti kill with runs of 4-0 and 3-0 to lead 18-12, before cruising to the 25-18 fourth set final score.
IPFW got a surprise boost in the fifth set from sophomore Hook, who had four total kills heading into the set. IPFW jumped ahead by three at 6-3 following Hooks third kill of the frame; however, the Broncos would fight back once again, and knotted the match at ten, and led by one at both 11-10 and 12-11, before IPFW scored four consecutive points on kills by Reuter and Hook, a solo block by Maya Schlindwein as the game ended on a Michelle Moore attack error.
Freshman Megan Steenhuysen dished out 14 assists, with Hook and Taryn Parker each blocking four total kill attempts, as IPFW blocked nine shots in the match overall.
Moore, a Fort Wayne Snider graduate and reigning MAC Offensive Player of the Week, had a match-high-tying 15 kills along with teammate Jessica Brown. Allyson Doyle and Corbett each had double-figure kills with 11 and 10, each, with Jillian Mitchell picking up a double-double with 46 assists and 15 digs. Two Bronco players, Doyle and Caitlin Strimel, had over 20 digs, led by Doyle's 28 and Strimel finishing close behind with 21.
The Mastodons remain at home for their next two matches, hosting The Summit League preseason favorite North Dakota State on Friday, September 18, before playing host to South Dakota State on Saturday, September 19. First-serve for both matches is at 7:00 PM at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center.
~Dons~
