Oct. 26, 2012
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 21 Boilermaker volleyball team kicked off the second half of Big Ten play with a 3-0 sweep of Michigan, taking the season series for the second straight year. Purdue won the match 25-23, 25-19, 25-17 and dominated the Wolverines offensively and in the backcourt.
Purdue outhit Michigan .346 to .144, posted 50 kills to UM's 32 and pulled up 54 digs to the Wolverines' 33. Senior Ariel Turner paced the Purdue offense with 18 kills on a .302 hitting effort, while also adding an ace and a team-leading three blocks, including two solo stuffs. Sophomore Kiki Jones racked up 11 kills, while hitting at a .529 clip and freshman Annie Drews added eight kills on a .636 hitting effort.
Defensively, libero Carly Cramer racked up 24 digs on Dig For A Cure Night, while four other players had six or more. Junior Hilliary Fox added seven saves, while Turner, freshman Amanda Neill and redshirt junior Rachel Davis chipped in six. Fox and Cramer also had aces in the match for the Boilermakers.
Michigan boasted the early advantage in the match, leading from the start and going ahead by as many as five at 16-11, before the tides turned. After ties at one and two, Michigan went ahead 4-2 and the teams split the next 14 points leading to an 11-9 Wolverine lead. Jones, Turner and senior Anna Drewry (6 kills) each had two kills in the stretch. A Turner kill made it 11-10, but Michigan went on a 5-1 run to vault ahead 16-11. A kill by sophomore Val Nichol kicked off an 8-0 Purdue response, which gave the Boilermakers a 19-16 edge and forced a Michigan timeout. Nichol served up the final seven points of the rally. UM scored five of the next seven points to tie it up at 21. Kills from Davis, Jones and Turner put Purdue on the hill at 24-22. A Michigan hitting error two plays later clinched the 25-23 win. The Boilermakers outhit the Wolverines .500 to .333 in the set, while Turner racked up six kills.
Turner poured in six more kills and Drews added four as the Boilermakers cruised to a 25-19 Set 2 win. Purdue started the set with five straight points, including a pair of UM miscues. The Boilers soon led 9-3 after an overpass kill by Jones and an ace by Turner. A stuff by Nichol and Drewry made it 11-4, but Michigan countered with four straight points to make it 11-8. Kills by four different players, including two by Drews, and two more UM miscues pushed Purdue ahead 18-10. The Wolverines scored five of the next six to cut the margin to four at 19-15. Putaways by Nichol and Turner gave the Boilermakers a six-point edge. Michigan scored three of the next four, but Turner closed it out with back-to-back blasts.
Purdue outhit Michigan .344 to .053 in Set 3 as Turner and Jones each pounded down six kills and Turner racked up three blocks in the 25-17 win. A solo stuff by Turner and an ace by Fox started the Boilermakers on the right foot. Michigan countered with four straight points, but that sparked an 11-1 run for Purdue, which featured three kills apiece by Turner and Jones and a stuff by the duo. Jones added two more putaways to put the Boilermakers ahead 16-6. Kills by Turner and Nichol helped Purdue to a 20-10 advantage. The Wolverines scored three straight, including an ace, but Purdue answered with kills by Turner and Fox and a perfect serve by Cramer. A Michigan service error made it 24-15 Boilers. A Turner bash two plays later clinched the match.
The Boilermakers (15-7, 6-5 Big Ten) return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday against Michigan State. The match will be streamed live on BTN.com via Purdue All-Access. The team wraps up its "Cans for Cancer" promotion, asking fans to bring canned goods/non-perishable food items to the match, which will be donation to a local food pantry.