LEXINGTON, Ky. – Behind veteran performances from Hayley Bush Shavona Cuttino, Caitlyn Newton and Jena Otec, No. 21 Purdue upset No. 16 Kentucky in a five-set thriller Wednesday night. The Boilermakers redeemed last year's NCAA Tournament loss to the Wildcats with scores of 25-21, 20-25, 19-25, 25-22, 15-8.
Delivering her third 20+-kill career performance, Newton powered Purdue's victory with 24 kills on 59 attempts. Sophomore Grace Cleveland aided the offense with 15 kills, followed by freshmen Maddy Chinn with nine and Cuttino with seven.
Overall, the Boilermakers outhit the Wildcats, .237-.180. The effort was directed by Bush, who tallied a match-best 50 assists.
Defensively, the Boilermakers turned in an all-around back-court and front court effort. Otec guided the back-row with a career-best 29 digs, while Cuttino topped the front row with a career best eight blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (25-21)| Ignited by three Newton kills, Purdue jumped out to a 7-4 lead to open the match. Three consecutive Wildcat errors cushioned the Boilermaker edge, forcing Kentucky to a timeout. Regrouped, Kentucky delivered small runs to knot the score at 13. The teams tied the score twice, before Purdue broke the back-and-forth with a 3-0 run. Leading 24-21, Purdue put the set away on a Cleveland kill. Overall, Newton finished the set with seven kills, followed by Cleveland with four and Chinn with three.
SET 2 (20-25)| The Wildcats quickly shifted the momentum, posting a 4-0 Kentucky run to open the second frame. Following an early Purdue timeout, the Boilermakers rallied to come within one at 8-7, but Kentucky maintained the lead with a pair of small runs. Trailing 22-16, Purdue delivered one last push on a Cuttino kill down the middle and solo block from Cleveland, but ultimately fell short, 20-25. In the set, Kentucky limited Purdue to only 11 kills, while the Wildcats hits .233 with 17 kills on 43 attempts.
SET 3 (19-25) | The third set was all Kentucky as the Wildcats opened the frame on a 10-0 run. Unable to contain Kentucky's Leah Edmond, who registered six kills in the frame, Purdue would not find the equalizer, dropping the set, 25-19.
SET 4 (25-22) | Fighting for control, Purdue utilized a 9-1 run to jump out to an 11-6 edge in the fourth frame. However, the advantage was short lived as the teams traded small runs, tying the frame at 15. Tied again at 21, Purdue found the go-ahead on a Cleveland kill, closing out the set on a 4-0 run. The Boilermakers owned the frame both offensively and defensively with a .286 attack percentage and 3.5 blocks.
SET 5 (15-8) | Three consecutive Newton kills helped Purdue win the first eight points, forcing Kentucky to burn both of its timeouts early in the frame. The Wildcats closed the gap late in the fifth with a charge to pull within 13-8, but Purdue closed out the match and its fifth win of the season on a solo stop from redshirt senior Blake Mohler.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers return to Holloway Gymnasium to host Texas A&M – Corpus Christi, Murray State and Eastern Michigan in their annual Stacey Clark Classic, Sept. 20-21.
Delivering her third 20+-kill career performance, Newton powered Purdue's victory with 24 kills on 59 attempts. Sophomore Grace Cleveland aided the offense with 15 kills, followed by freshmen Maddy Chinn with nine and Cuttino with seven.
Overall, the Boilermakers outhit the Wildcats, .237-.180. The effort was directed by Bush, who tallied a match-best 50 assists.
Defensively, the Boilermakers turned in an all-around back-court and front court effort. Otec guided the back-row with a career-best 29 digs, while Cuttino topped the front row with a career best eight blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (25-21)| Ignited by three Newton kills, Purdue jumped out to a 7-4 lead to open the match. Three consecutive Wildcat errors cushioned the Boilermaker edge, forcing Kentucky to a timeout. Regrouped, Kentucky delivered small runs to knot the score at 13. The teams tied the score twice, before Purdue broke the back-and-forth with a 3-0 run. Leading 24-21, Purdue put the set away on a Cleveland kill. Overall, Newton finished the set with seven kills, followed by Cleveland with four and Chinn with three.
SET 2 (20-25)| The Wildcats quickly shifted the momentum, posting a 4-0 Kentucky run to open the second frame. Following an early Purdue timeout, the Boilermakers rallied to come within one at 8-7, but Kentucky maintained the lead with a pair of small runs. Trailing 22-16, Purdue delivered one last push on a Cuttino kill down the middle and solo block from Cleveland, but ultimately fell short, 20-25. In the set, Kentucky limited Purdue to only 11 kills, while the Wildcats hits .233 with 17 kills on 43 attempts.
SET 3 (19-25) | The third set was all Kentucky as the Wildcats opened the frame on a 10-0 run. Unable to contain Kentucky's Leah Edmond, who registered six kills in the frame, Purdue would not find the equalizer, dropping the set, 25-19.
SET 4 (25-22) | Fighting for control, Purdue utilized a 9-1 run to jump out to an 11-6 edge in the fourth frame. However, the advantage was short lived as the teams traded small runs, tying the frame at 15. Tied again at 21, Purdue found the go-ahead on a Cleveland kill, closing out the set on a 4-0 run. The Boilermakers owned the frame both offensively and defensively with a .286 attack percentage and 3.5 blocks.
SET 5 (15-8) | Three consecutive Newton kills helped Purdue win the first eight points, forcing Kentucky to burn both of its timeouts early in the frame. The Wildcats closed the gap late in the fifth with a charge to pull within 13-8, but Purdue closed out the match and its fifth win of the season on a solo stop from redshirt senior Blake Mohler.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers return to Holloway Gymnasium to host Texas A&M – Corpus Christi, Murray State and Eastern Michigan in their annual Stacey Clark Classic, Sept. 20-21.