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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ââ'¬" The No. 19 Boilermakers utilized a balanced offense, a strong blocking presence and steady passing to make quick work of Northwestern in a 3-0 sweep Friday night in front of a sell-out crowd.
Senior Annie Drews racked up a match-high 11 kills, but she had help from five other players, who registered more than four kills apiece. Sophomore Danielle Cuttino put down nine kills at a team-best .571 clip and added a team-leading four blocks. Senior Sam Epenesa and redshirt junior Faye Adelaja chipped in eight kills apiece, while sophomore Azariah Stahl and redshirt sophomore Ashley Evans added seven and four respectively. All six players hit at nearly a .400 clip or better in the match. As a team, the Boilermaker hit .462, committing just five errors on the night.
Senior Amanda Neill paced the defense with 13 digs, while Epenesa added a career-high 11 saves. Freshman Alexa Smith added six digs and Drews chipped in five. Adelaja, Drews and Evans put up three blocks apiece. Evans also served up three aces, while freshman Brooke Peters also had an ace.
The Boilermakers outhit the Wildcats .462 to .134 and outblocked them 9-0.
Northwestern took the early lead in Set 1, going up 4-1, but Purdue charged back to tie it up at five and six en route to a 14-9 advantage. Peters served up an ace and five different players put down a kill in the rally. Northwestern called timeout, but the Boilermakers managed four of the next six including a pair of Adelaja putaways en route to an 18-11 edge and another Wildcat break. A service error cut the margin to six at 19-13, but back-to-back kills by Stahl set up a 6-1 Purdue run to end the set. Cuttino had a block and two kills to set up an Evans ace to seal the win. Cuttino had five kills in the set, which saw the Boilermakers hit at a .615 clip with 16 kills and no errors in 26 swings.
The teams split the first 12 points of Set 2, before Purdue managed a 9-6 lead thanks to kills by Drews and Stahl and a stuff by Drews and Cuttino. Northwestern tied it up at 11 and came back from a 13-11 deficit to go ahead 14-13 with help from two kills and an ace. The Boilermakers countered with three straight points, including two Evans putaways, to push ahead 16-14. The Wildcats knotted the score again at 17, but Purdue pulled away and closed the set out with a 8-1 run. A kill and a block by Stahl and a trio of NU errors made it 21-17. The teams then traded service errors, before Epenesa capped things with back-to-back kills. Six Boilermakers contributed two or more kills in the set as Purdue hit .324 to NU's .027 effort.
The Boilermakers rounded out the night with a 25-17 Set 3 win that saw the Boilermakers commit just two errors for a .484 hitting effort as Epenesa and Drews led the way with five kills apiece. After trading points for the first 10 serves, Northwestern used a 3-0 run including an ace to go ahead 7-5. Purdue scored four of the next five including two Stahl kills and an ace by Evans to make it 9-8 Boilermakers. Down 11-9, Purdue got two kills from Drews, another from Cuttino en route to a 13-11 lead of its own. After a Northwestern kill, Purdue rattled off six straight, including three Epenesa kills, to boost the lead to 19-12. The Wildcats cut the margin to five at 19-14, but four straight put the Boilermakers on the brink at 23-14. NU held the Boilermakers at bay with two kills and an error, but a kill by Adelaja and a final stuff by Adelaja and Evans ended the night.
Purdue (16-4, 7-2 B1G) return to action at 1 p.m. Sunday against No. 18 Illinois. The match will air live on ESPN2.