Stats / Shondell Quotes / Highlights
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The No. 17 Boilermakers fought off a resilient Maryland team to win 3-1 on Wednesday night to move to 19-7 overall and 10-5 in the Big Ten. Purdue won the match 25-22, 22-25, 25-22, 25-15.
Senior Annie Drews led the way with 19 kills on a .341 hitting percentage, while adding four blocks. Redshirt junior Faye Adelaja added 10 kills, hitting at a team-best .571 clip, while senior Sam Epenesa added nine kills and four blocks. Sophomore Azariah Stahl managed six kills and four blocks, while redshirt sophomore Ashley Evans and sophomore Danielle Cuttino chipped in five putaways each.
Defensively, Cuttino paced the Boilermakers at the net with 10 blocks, marking the first time a Boilermaker had posted double-digit blocks since Faye Adelaja had 11 against Pittsburgh on Sept. 14, 2013. In the backcourt, senior Amanda Neill managed 19 digs, while senior Kate Workman and freshman Alexa Smith added 10 apiece. Evans added eight digs. Smith also served up two aces.
Purdue bested Maryland in every statistical category except aces, outhitting the Terps .325 to .215 and outblocking them 13 to 4.5.
Maryland boasted a 9-5 lead early in Set 1, but the Boilermakers turned the tables by scoring 10 of the next 11 points, including an ace by Smith and three blocks and two kills by Cuttino to go up 15-10. The teams traded points over the next 10 serves leading to a 20-15 score. A kill by Drews and three Terrapin errors put Purdue on the hill at 24-18, but Maryland thwarted four Boilermakers set point chances, before a service error ended it at 25-22. Drews had six kills in the opening stanza, while Cuttino added two kills and three blocks. The Boilermakers outhit Maryland .333 to .276 in the set.
The teams split the first 30 points of Set 2 with neither owning more than a two point edge in the span. Purdue owned a 9-7 edge after a kill and ace by Evans. Cuttino, Epenesa, Drews and Stahl tallied kills as the team's played to the mid-set tie. Maryland scored the next four points to go up 19-15. Purdue cut the margin to two at 20-18 with help from a service error and two kills by Epenesa. The Terrapins forced the Boilermakers to use their final timeout trailing 22-18. Purdue scored three of the next four to make it 23-21 after the break, including a Drews kill and two Maryland errors. The Terps got two kills in the next three points to take the set 25-22. Maryland outhit the Boilermakers .464 to .323 in the set.
Purdue owned an 8-6 advantage to start Set 3, but Maryland rallied to go up 11-8. The Boilermakers countered with four straight points, including back-to-back stuffs by Cuttino and Epenesa to go up 12-11. Purdue continue to rally with eight of the next 12 points to take a 19-15 lead with help from three Adelaja putaways. The Terrapins countered with five of the next six to tie it up at 20. Kills from Evans and Drews and a Terp error gave Purdue a 23-21 lead. An Epenesa kill and Maryland hitting miscue capped the set at 25-22. The Boilermakers got four kills each from Adelaja and Drews and outhit Maryland .231 to .196 in the stanza.
Purdue finished out the win with a 25-15 Set 4 victory. The Boilermakers hit at a .462 clip in the stanza and posted six blocks to hold Maryland to a -.034 effort. Drews had five kills, while Stahl added three kills and three blocks. Cuttino also added five stuffs in the set. Maryland led 3-1 early, but Purdue scored five of the next six, including three Drews kills and an ace by Workman, to go up 6-4. The Terrapins tied it at 6-all, but Purdue pulled away for good with a 6-1 run, including two stuff and two kills by Stahl. Maryland called timeout and cut the margin to three at 14-11. The Boilermakers capped the win with an 11-4 run as five different players tallied kills and Smith added an ace. A block by Cuttino and Drews accounted for the final point.
The No. 17 Boilermakers (19-7, 10-5 B1G) return to action at 2 p.m. ET Sunday against Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois.