Mastodons Win Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational, Florio Wins 100th Match

Saturday, August 27

Fort Wayne, Ind.

11 AM

Purdue Fort Wayne

1-1,0-0Horizon

Lindenwood

2-1,0-0OVC

Lindenwood

Purdue Fort Wayne

Madelyn Wurster, Sidney Schiller, Rachael Crucis

Mastodons Win Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational, Florio Wins 100th Match

8/27/2022 10:58:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Photo Gallery

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Purdue Fort Wayne women's volleyball team won both matches and won the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational presented by Sonesta Select on Saturday (Aug. 27). Sidney Schiller was named the tournament MVP.

Purdue Fort Wayne finished the weekend 2-1, winning the tournament tiebreakers over Lindenwood (2-1) and Canisius (2-1).

The Mastodons' win over Lindenwood in the morning match was Steve Florio's 100th win as the head coach of the Purdue Fort Wayne women's volleyball program.

All-Tournament Team
Sidney Schiller - Purdue Fort Wayne - MVP
Molly Mirabelli - Purdue Fort Wayne
Iris Riegel - Purdue Fort Wayne
Allie Otten - Lindenwood
Nyah Wilson - Lindenwood
Ella Loussia - Canisius
Aubrey Putman - Western Illinois

Match 1: Purdue Fort Wayne 3, Lindenwood 0 (25-23, 25-16, 29-27)
Purdue Fort Wayne picked up its first win of the season thanks to an overwhelming offensive effort against Lindenwood. The Mastodons hit .313 for the match, going as high as .444 in the second set.

The two teams traded points and mini-runs back and forth in the opening set until the Mastodons went on a 4-1 run to go up 22-19. This stretch saw kills from Maggie Castleman, Iris Riegel and Ramei Jackson, and a double-block from Schiller and Molly Mirabelli. Castleman finished off the set with her third kill of the match. Schiller, Jackson and Riegel had four kills each in the first set.

The second set was all Schiller, as the senior outside hitter went 8-1-15 in the frame. The 'Dons used three 4-0 runs to go up by as many as 10 at the 23-13 mark. After a resounding block from Mirabelli and Riegel, two kills from Schiller and Mirabelli put the 'Dons up two sets to none.

The Mastodons led 13-9 in the third set before the Lions went on a 6-1 run to re-take the lead. The 'Dons responded with a 6-2 push later on to take a 22-19 advantage thanks to three kills from Jackson. The final frame of the morning went extras, however, after Lindenwood made a 5-1 push to go up 24-23. Purdue Fort Wayne took the match after a kill from Taya Haffner and a hitting error from Lindenwood.

Schiller finished with 14 kills with Riegel chipping in 12. Rachael Crucis had 14 digs to lead the Mastodons' defensive effort, helping hold Lindenwood to a .162 hitting percentage for the match. Haffner paced the Mastodons' attack of .313 with 38 assists.

Lindenwood returned to St. Charles, Missouri with a 2-1 record in its first weekend of Division I volleyball.

Match 2: Purdue Fort Wayne 3, Western Illinois 1 (25-23, 26-24, 30-32, 26-24)
Purdue Fort Wayne beat former Summit League rival Western Illinois 3-1 in the nightcap in entertaining fashion, winning each set by just two points.

In the opening frame, Purdue Fort Wayne used an 8-3 stretch that started with a kill from Jackson and ended with two from Schiller. This put the 'Dons up three at 15-12.The lead never got larger than three as the Leathernecks kept within reach. The 'Dons got to set point first at 24-21 after a service error, but Western Illinois scored a pair to close the gap. Jackson got a kill to finish up the set and give the Mastodons a 1-0 lead.

The second set looked a lot different, as each team had multiple runs of three to five points. It was the Mastodons that had the better of the runs, however, as they went on a 6-1 push late that gave the 'Dons a 23-21 edge. Schiller got the kill to finish up the run and the set, but the freshman Riegel got two key kills to put the Mastodons in the position to do so.

Purdue Fort Wayne served for the match in set three four times, but the Leathernecks ultimately scored four of the last five and extended the match. In the fourth, it looked as though Western Illinois was going to push the match to a decisive fifth after a 6-0 run to go up 12-9, but the Mastodons kept within striking distance. The 'Dons eventually tied the match at 21 in the midst of a 6-1 run. The Leathernecks tied it up again at 24, but Castleman got the final two kills of the match and the tournament.

Schiller had 19 kills while Riegel had 17. Castleman (12) and Mirabelli (11) also reached double-digit kills. Schiller (19 kills, 15 digs) and Haffner (55 assists and 11 digs) recorded double-doubles.

The tournament MVP, Schiller, finished the weekend with 48 kills (4.00 per set), 34 digs (2.83 per set) and 10 blocks (0.83 per set).

Western Illinois fell to 0-3, while Purdue Fort Wayne improved to 2-1.

The Mastodons' next tournament will be Xavier's, where they will face off against Eastern Michigan, Virginia and the host Musketeers on Friday and Saturday (Sept. 2-3).

~ Feel the Rumble ~