Aug. 26, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 13 Boilermaker volleyball team won its home opener for the 10th straight year, topping Baylor 3-0 Friday night. Purdue won the match 25-14, 25-22, 25-17 with an evenly balanced offense and outstanding backcourt play. The Boilermakers topped the Bears in every major statistical category.
Junior outside hitter Ariel Turner led Purdue at the net with a match-high 15 kills and four blocks, while rounding out her double-double with 10 digs. Redshirt sophomore outside hitters Catherine Rebarchak and Katie Griffin chipped in nine and seven putaways respectively. Freshman middle blocker Kiera "KiKi" Jones and senior middle Tiffany Fisher each added five kills.
Defensively, junior libero Carly Cramer paced the team with 17 digs, while also serving up two of the team's four aces. Junior Emily Ehlers added 10 digs and an ace, while redshirt sophomore setter Rachel Davis recorded seven digs in addition to her 31 assist effort.
Purdue scored three of the first four points in the match, two on Turner putaways, then matched their lead teeter between one and five of the next several serves. Up three at 11-8, the Boilermakers mounted a 6-0 run, highlighted by two Turner kills, an ace by Cramer and a block by Fisher and Rebarchak. A service error and Fisher kill put Purdue up 10 at 19-9 and, despite splitting the next six points, never looked back. Kills by Griffin and Rebarchak gave the team its first shot at the set, but Baylor thwarted two efforts, before Griffin finally closed the door at 25-14. Turner racked up seven putaways in the stanza.
Set 2 was much closer due in part to shaky hitting efforts. Baylor racked up four blocks and held Purdue to a .095 hitting percentage, while Purdue served up two aces and held the Bears to a .132 effort at the net. The teams split the first 16 points of the stanza, before Baylor managed three point lead at 11-8 thanks to a 4-0 run. Putdowns by Rebarchak and Fisher and a BU miscue knotted the score at 13. After a one-serve pause, Purdue continued its rally, scoring four of the next six to go up 17-15. Baylor tied it up at 17 and 18, but the Boilermakers countered with a 4-0 run, which included a kill and a block by Turner and a Cramer ace. The Bears cut the margin to two at 23-21, but a pair of Turner putaways capped the set at 25-22. Rebarchak and Turner each posted four kills to pace Purdue.
The back-and-forth battle continued in Set 3 as the teams split the first 20 points. The Boilermakers broke through with nine of the next 10 points to turn the 10-10 knot-up into a 19-11 advantage. Griffin had two kills in the rally, which also featured an ace by Fisher, a putaway by Jones and four Baylor hitting errors. BU pulled within six at 20-14, but the Boilermakers responded with a kill by Rebarchak and a solo stuff by Turner. Up 22-16, Turner added a pair of kills to set up match point at 24-17. A block by Fisher and Davis sewed up the Boilermaker sweep.
No. 13 Purdue (1-0) returns to action at 10 a.m. against Virginia Commonwealth (1-0) to kick off Day 2 of the Mortar Board Premier.