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Saturday, September 21
Fort Wayne, Ind.
11 AM
Purdue Fort Wayne
6-6,0-0Horizon
3
vs
0
Indiana State
3-9,0-0MVC
1
2
3
F
Indiana St.
19
14
23
0
Purdue Fort Wayne
25
25
25
3
The 'Dons celebrate Saturday night's win over Eastern Michigan.
'Dons Sweep Saturday to Win Invitational Title, Jones Named MVP
9/21/2024 9:33:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational presented by Hyatt Place championship trophy will stay in Fort Wayne. The Mastodon women's volleyball team swept Indiana State and Eastern Michigan to defend their home court on Saturday (Sept. 21) to win the event. Nicole Jones was selected as the tournament MVP.
Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational All-Tournament Team
Nicole Jones - Purdue Fort Wayne - MVP
Abby Stratford - Purdue Fort Wayne
Jena Medearis - Purdue Fort Wayne
Abby Stanford - Eastern Michigan
Taeley Mahler - Eastern Michigan
Korrin Burns - Saint Francis
Emma Kaelin - Indiana State
Purdue Fort Wayne 3, Indiana State 0
The Mastodons cruised in the first match of the day, topping Indiana State 25-19, 25-14, 25-23.
Purdue Fort Wayne hit .294 or better in each set. Jones and Taya Haffner split the setting duties, dishing out 18 and 17 assists, respectively. Jones recorded her third double-double in a row, adding 11 digs to her 18 assists. She is the first Mastodon to notch three consecutive double-doubles since Katie Crowe in 2021.
The Mastodons had an 8-2 run in the opening set to go up 20-15. This stretch included an ace from Panna Ratkai, two kills from Riley Rosneck and one from Mya Plemons, and a block from Iris Riegel and Medearis. The Sycamores got within three, but Purdue Fort Wayne had a 5-2 closing push, which had two kills from Stratford, including the set-winner.
Purdue Fort Wayne vaulted out to an 8-2 lead in set two with Jones setting up for five kills in the first 10 points of action. Stratford also had a solo block. Later on, the 'Dons had a 7-1 run with Haffner distributing things. Ratkai had two aces and a kill in that stretch. The 'Dons were on fire offensively, hitting .387 as a team.
The third set looked similar to the second as the home team built up an 11-5 lead early on. Mya Plemons had a big solo block to cap off the good start. Indiana State brought it back to within one at 19-18, but after the teams traded 3-0 and 2-0 mini-runs, the Mastodons had a match point opportunity. Haffner found Rosneck to put the match away without needing extra points. The Mastodons had just two attack errors in the third set.
The 'Dons finished with a .324 hitting percentage while holding Indiana State to .160. Ratkai (13) and Rosneck (10) reached double-figure kills. Becky Barrett (12), LonDynn Betts (11) and Jones (11) did so for digs. Medearis had a team-high five blocks.
Indiana State fell to 3-9.
Purdue Fort Wayne 3, Eastern Michigan 0
Both clubs entered the final match of the invitational 2-0 meaning the event's championship was on the line. Purdue Fort Wayne wasted little time making sure they defended their home court by dispatching Eastern Michigan in just over an hour and 15 minutes.
The 'Dons never let the Eagles reach 20 points in any of the three sets, winning 25-16, 25-17, 25-15. Purdue Fort Wayne started the match with a 5-0 lead and then opened set two with a 4-1 advantage. The script seemed to flip in the third as the Eagles opened a 7-4 advantage. The 'Dons, however, responded with an 11-1 run. The stretch included eight consecutive points with five on kills and one on an ace by Haffner.
The balanced Mastodon attack saw seven 'Dons record a kill, including freshman Jaelyn Hall notch kills for points 23 and 25 of the third set.
The 'Dons out-hit Eastern Michigan .381 to .176. The Mastodon offense was run by Haffner and Jones. Haffner finished with 20 assists and four aces. Jones totaled 21 assists and six digs. The 'Dons had only 10 hitting errors in the entire match.
Ratkai had a match-high 13 kills (.345) with seven digs. Jena Medearis was 10-1-11 for an .818 attack percentage with five blocks. Abby Stratford totaled nine kills and added four blocks.
The 'Dons recorded seven aces as a team, while giving up only one. LonDynn Betts had a match-high 14 digs.
Jones was named tournament MVP while Medearis and Stratford picked all-tournament team accolades.
Purdue Fort Wayne improves to 7-6. Eastern Michigan is now 6-8. Up next for the 'Dons is Horizon League play at Robert Morris (Sept. 27-28).
Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational All-Tournament Team
Nicole Jones - Purdue Fort Wayne - MVP
Abby Stratford - Purdue Fort Wayne
Jena Medearis - Purdue Fort Wayne
Abby Stanford - Eastern Michigan
Taeley Mahler - Eastern Michigan
Korrin Burns - Saint Francis
Emma Kaelin - Indiana State
Purdue Fort Wayne 3, Indiana State 0
The Mastodons cruised in the first match of the day, topping Indiana State 25-19, 25-14, 25-23.
Purdue Fort Wayne hit .294 or better in each set. Jones and Taya Haffner split the setting duties, dishing out 18 and 17 assists, respectively. Jones recorded her third double-double in a row, adding 11 digs to her 18 assists. She is the first Mastodon to notch three consecutive double-doubles since Katie Crowe in 2021.
The Mastodons had an 8-2 run in the opening set to go up 20-15. This stretch included an ace from Panna Ratkai, two kills from Riley Rosneck and one from Mya Plemons, and a block from Iris Riegel and Medearis. The Sycamores got within three, but Purdue Fort Wayne had a 5-2 closing push, which had two kills from Stratford, including the set-winner.
Purdue Fort Wayne vaulted out to an 8-2 lead in set two with Jones setting up for five kills in the first 10 points of action. Stratford also had a solo block. Later on, the 'Dons had a 7-1 run with Haffner distributing things. Ratkai had two aces and a kill in that stretch. The 'Dons were on fire offensively, hitting .387 as a team.
The third set looked similar to the second as the home team built up an 11-5 lead early on. Mya Plemons had a big solo block to cap off the good start. Indiana State brought it back to within one at 19-18, but after the teams traded 3-0 and 2-0 mini-runs, the Mastodons had a match point opportunity. Haffner found Rosneck to put the match away without needing extra points. The Mastodons had just two attack errors in the third set.
The 'Dons finished with a .324 hitting percentage while holding Indiana State to .160. Ratkai (13) and Rosneck (10) reached double-figure kills. Becky Barrett (12), LonDynn Betts (11) and Jones (11) did so for digs. Medearis had a team-high five blocks.
Indiana State fell to 3-9.
Purdue Fort Wayne 3, Eastern Michigan 0
Both clubs entered the final match of the invitational 2-0 meaning the event's championship was on the line. Purdue Fort Wayne wasted little time making sure they defended their home court by dispatching Eastern Michigan in just over an hour and 15 minutes.
The 'Dons never let the Eagles reach 20 points in any of the three sets, winning 25-16, 25-17, 25-15. Purdue Fort Wayne started the match with a 5-0 lead and then opened set two with a 4-1 advantage. The script seemed to flip in the third as the Eagles opened a 7-4 advantage. The 'Dons, however, responded with an 11-1 run. The stretch included eight consecutive points with five on kills and one on an ace by Haffner.
The balanced Mastodon attack saw seven 'Dons record a kill, including freshman Jaelyn Hall notch kills for points 23 and 25 of the third set.
The 'Dons out-hit Eastern Michigan .381 to .176. The Mastodon offense was run by Haffner and Jones. Haffner finished with 20 assists and four aces. Jones totaled 21 assists and six digs. The 'Dons had only 10 hitting errors in the entire match.
Ratkai had a match-high 13 kills (.345) with seven digs. Jena Medearis was 10-1-11 for an .818 attack percentage with five blocks. Abby Stratford totaled nine kills and added four blocks.
The 'Dons recorded seven aces as a team, while giving up only one. LonDynn Betts had a match-high 14 digs.
Jones was named tournament MVP while Medearis and Stratford picked all-tournament team accolades.
Purdue Fort Wayne improves to 7-6. Eastern Michigan is now 6-8. Up next for the 'Dons is Horizon League play at Robert Morris (Sept. 27-28).
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Team Stats
INS
Pur-FW
Kills
34
45
Errors
17
11
Attempts
106
105
Hitting %
.160
.324
Points
41.0
58.0
Assists
33
44
Aces
4
6
Blocks
3
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
4
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH/OPP
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB/OPP
/ Women's VolleyballWomen's Volleyball Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational Trophy
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