Purdue Fort Wayne
2-0,0-0Horizon
Siena
0-2,0-0MAAC
Mastodons Win Skyhawk Invitational, Ratkai Named MVP
8/31/2024 5:22:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
EASTON, Mass. - The Purdue Fort Wayne women's volleyball won the Skyhawk Invitational on Saturday (Aug. 31), topping Siena 3-1 and Holy Cross 3-2.
Panna Ratkai was named the Skyhawk Invitational MVP. Jena Medearis and Abby Stratford joined Ratkai on the All-Tournament Team.
Purdue Fort Wayne 3, Siena 1
The Mastodons took the first game of the day over Siena 3-1 (15-25, 25-11, 25-21, 25-15) behind 21 kills from Ratkai.
In addition to Ratkai's game-high 21 kills, the Mastodons got 13 aces up and down the roster. Meg Berkland and Becky Barrett had three each, Miona Dimitric, Ratkai and Taya Haffner had two each, and LonDynn Betts pitched in one. The Mastodons' 13 aces matched their most in a contest since 2021. They had 13 in one match last season.
After a suboptimal first set, Purdue Fort Wayne stormed back and never gave the Saints a chance in set two. After a 10-6 lead, the Mastodons rattled off a 12-2 run. The 'Dons gave up two points before getting the final two they needed to even the match at one set apiece. The 'Dons hit a match-high .462 in the second set.
In set three, Siena led 14-13, but Ratkai silenced the Saints, single-handedly earning the next four points with three kills and a solo block. This was the bulk of a 7-0 Mastodon run. Siena got within two at 20-18, Dimitric had an ace in her next service to push it back out to five and out of reach for the Saints. Ratkai had eight kills on 13 attempts in the third set.
The Mastodons jumped out to a 5-0 lead in set four and Siena was never able to tie the set from there. The 'Dons went on a 14-4 run after Siena got within one to slam the door on a comeback attempt. Ratkai was an errorless 6-of-13 in the final frame, helping the 'Dons hit .385.
The 'Dons hit .308 as a team, their second match in a row hitting over .300. Haffner had 39 assists
Siena fell to 0-2.
Purdue Fort Wayne 3, Holy Cross 2
Purdue Fort Wayne trailed by three in the fifth set, but the Mastodons came back to beat Holy Cross in five sets (19-25, 25-19, 25-17, 23-25, 16-14).
With the win, the Mastodons won the Skyhawk Invitational with a 3-0 mark.
Abby Stratford came up big in the fifth, recording four kills in a five-point stretch to tie up the set at 12. Iris Riegel had a tip over the net that was ruled an attack error, but a well-timed challenge flipped the score to give the 'Dons a 14-13 lead. After Holy Cross evened it up, Jena Medearis and Ratkai got kills to put away the Crusaders for good.
Stratford had five kills on eight attempts in the fifth set. She finished with 19 kills, behind just Ratkai's match-high 24. Ratkai paired Stratford's five kills with four of her own in the fifth. Riegel was the third Mastodon with double-figure kills with 15.
The Mastodons were at their best in set three, which saw the 'Dons hit .361 while holding the Crusaders to .161. After a 12-12 draw, the Mastodons went on a 10-2 run to put the Crusaders behind the eight-ball.
Ratkai (24 kills, 12 digs) and Haffner (57 assists, 15 digs) both had double-doubles. Betts had 23 digs and Barrett recorded 10.
Purdue Fort Wayne improved to 3-0 with the win. Holy Cross moved to 1-2.
The Mastodons will take the floor again on Friday (Sept. 6) at Western Illinois' Leatherneck Classic. They will face UIC, Western Illinois and South Dakota State next weekend.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
