MINNEAPOLIS - Sophomore Grace Cleveland registered her first career double-double against No. 7 Minnesota, but it was not enough to keep No. 15 Purdue (8-3, 0-2 Big Ten) from falling to the Gophers (8-2, 2-0 Big Ten) in straight sets (19-25, 21-25, 23-25) Saturday night.
Cleveland paced the Boilermaker offense with 11 kills, while also chipping in 11 digs and three blocks. Fellow outside hitters Caitlyn Newton and Emma Ellis followed with seven and six kills, respectively. The Gophers were guided 21 kills from Stephanie Samedy.
Defensively, Purdue out-blocked Minnesota 7-4 with eight Boilermakers picking up at least one stop. Junior Jena Otec continued to pace the Boilermakers in the backcourt with her fourth match of at least 20 digs this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (19-25) | Purdue wasted no time taking control of the set as kills from Newton and Cleveland, and an Otec ace gave the Boilermakers a 4-1 edge. A kill from freshmen Maddy Chinn capitalized on a pair of Gopher miscues, extending Purdue's lead to 7-4. Minnesota battled back with small runs to knot the score at 10. Three consecutive kills from Samedy broke the back-and-forth, helping Minnesota to a slim 15-13 edge. Aided by four Boilermaker errors, the Gophers maintained their advantage for a 25-19 set victory. Overall, the frame saw seven Purdue miscues to only four Minnesota faults.
SET 2 (21-25) | Minnesota jumped out to an early lead with a 4-1 opening run. Powered by kills from Samedy and Regan Pittman, the Gophers extended their edge to 14-8 as Purdue used both its timeouts. Trailing 20-10, a service ace from Bush sparked a 9-3 Boilermaker run, putting Purdue within five at 24-19. A Cleveland kill and a Minnesota attack error made it 24-21, but a kill from Pittman stalled Purdue's run for a 25-21 Gopher victory.
SET 3 (23-25| Determined to push the match into extra sets, Purdue matched Minnesota point-for-point, tying the frame 12 times. Knotted at 23, Minnesota claimed the winning points off a Samedy ace and a Pittman kill. Highlighting the set for the Boilermakers were five kills from Ellis and two assisted blocks from sophomore Jael Johnson.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers bring Big Ten action to Holloway when they host Northwestern and Illinois on Oct. 4 and Oct. 6, respectively.
Cleveland paced the Boilermaker offense with 11 kills, while also chipping in 11 digs and three blocks. Fellow outside hitters Caitlyn Newton and Emma Ellis followed with seven and six kills, respectively. The Gophers were guided 21 kills from Stephanie Samedy.
Defensively, Purdue out-blocked Minnesota 7-4 with eight Boilermakers picking up at least one stop. Junior Jena Otec continued to pace the Boilermakers in the backcourt with her fourth match of at least 20 digs this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (19-25) | Purdue wasted no time taking control of the set as kills from Newton and Cleveland, and an Otec ace gave the Boilermakers a 4-1 edge. A kill from freshmen Maddy Chinn capitalized on a pair of Gopher miscues, extending Purdue's lead to 7-4. Minnesota battled back with small runs to knot the score at 10. Three consecutive kills from Samedy broke the back-and-forth, helping Minnesota to a slim 15-13 edge. Aided by four Boilermaker errors, the Gophers maintained their advantage for a 25-19 set victory. Overall, the frame saw seven Purdue miscues to only four Minnesota faults.
SET 2 (21-25) | Minnesota jumped out to an early lead with a 4-1 opening run. Powered by kills from Samedy and Regan Pittman, the Gophers extended their edge to 14-8 as Purdue used both its timeouts. Trailing 20-10, a service ace from Bush sparked a 9-3 Boilermaker run, putting Purdue within five at 24-19. A Cleveland kill and a Minnesota attack error made it 24-21, but a kill from Pittman stalled Purdue's run for a 25-21 Gopher victory.
SET 3 (23-25| Determined to push the match into extra sets, Purdue matched Minnesota point-for-point, tying the frame 12 times. Knotted at 23, Minnesota claimed the winning points off a Samedy ace and a Pittman kill. Highlighting the set for the Boilermakers were five kills from Ellis and two assisted blocks from sophomore Jael Johnson.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers bring Big Ten action to Holloway when they host Northwestern and Illinois on Oct. 4 and Oct. 6, respectively.