Mastodons Rebound in Five-Set Thriller

Saturday, August 28

Fort Wayne, Ind.

1:00 PM

Purdue Fort Wayne

1-1

Saint Louis

0-2

Saint Louis

IPFW

8/28/2010 4:28:44 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Box Score

Fort Wayne, IN – Trailing 2-0, the IPFW Mastodons rallied to knock off the Saint Louis Billikins, who were receiving votes in the preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 Poll, by a 3-2 score (22-25, 27-29, 25-18, 25-18, 16-14).

Maya Schlindwein knocked down a team-high 17 kills, with Stephanie Lamberti finishing a kill shy of her career-high with 14. Taryn Parker also reached double figures with 11 kills, while adding four blocks. Tessa McGill's 28 digs were a new career-high, while Megan Steenhuysen tied her career-high with 17 digs while dishing out 43 assists. Schlindwein (16), and Jen Milligan (10) also reached double figures in the category.

The opening set was back and forth nearly the entire way, as the 'Dons trailed 12-11 before four straight IPFW points on kills by Haley Emenhiser and Schlindwein, a service ace by McGill, and a Parker block. The Mastodons kept their lead despite five straight points by the Billikins to turn an 18-13 IPFW lead into an 18-18 tie score.

After back-to-back kills by Parker and Lamberti, and another Lamberti kill after a combo block, the Mastodons still lead 21-19; however, the strong Billikin squad scored six of the final seven points to secure the 25-22 opening set win.

In the second frame, the teams once again traded points, and were tied at seven before the Mastodons ran off seven straight points behind two kills from Lamberti, and kills from Hook and Steenhuysen, and a Schlindwein service ace, putting the 'Dons ahead by seven at 14-7.

Saint Louis responded with an immediate 5-0 run, and trailing by five at 18-13 ran off four straight points to cut the deficit to one. Trailing by two, the Billikins scored three straight to lead 22-21. From there it was a neck-in-neck battle that saw the score tied at every numerical increment from 21 until 27 where the Billikins rallied to score back-to-back points and claim the 29-27 win.

The Mastodons responded well out of the ten-minute intermission period, scoring the first three points of the set, and never trailing the rest of the way, using two runs of 3-0 and another of 4-0 to run away with a 25-18 win.

In the fourth set, it was all Saint Louis early, as the Billikins lead by as many as four at 12-8, before the Mastodons came back with an 8-0 run which exhausted both of Saint Louis head coach Anne Kordes' timeouts, putting the Mastodons ahead 16-12. Neither team would be able to put together a run over the rest of the set, as the 'Dons won 25-18 for the second straight set, sending the match into a fifth and final set.

The fifth and deciding set saw the teams tied at four, before the teams traded 3-0 runs, each capped by a timeout from the opposition. Trailing 10-8, Saint Louis scored two in a row to tie the match at ten, as neither team would take a two-point lead until the end.

Saint Louis, after a Mastodon ball handling error, led 14-13, and served for the match, before Taryn Parker and Jessie Manwaring combined on a block to knot the game at 14 apiece. Lamberti followed with her 14th kill of the match, before Schlindwein ended the contest with a tip-kill that landed in the center of the floor for the 16-14 IPFW win.

Alyssa Deno knocked down a match-high 24 kills for the Billikins as Megan Boken added 17 and a team-high 20 digs. Carly Schumacher and Boken each had six blocks, with Hannah Kvitle dishing out 54 assists.

The Mastodons return to the court later tonight, when they compete in the final match of the 2010 IPFW Invitational against the Milwaukee Panthers at 7:00 PM.

~Dons~