Sept. 28, 2011
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Boilermaker volleyball team fought off a scrappy Northwestern Wildcats squad in a 3-1 win on Wednesday night to remain undefeated at 14-0 on the year. Purdue won the match 23-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-20, to post its best record since going 33-0 in 1982.
Junior Ariel Turner led the way for Purdue with a 20-kill, 14-dig double double. Senior Tiffany Fisher added nine kills, while redshirt sophomore Katie Griffin tacked on seven putaways. Purdue hit at a .199 clip, while holding Northwestern to a .110 effort.
Defensively, redshirt senior Blair Bashen pulled up a team-leading 16 digs, followed by Turner and redshirt sophomore setter Rachel Davis, who chipped in 13 digs and 48 assists. Junior Anna Drewry paced Purdue at the net with six blocks, while also adding five kills to the Boilermaker tally.
The Boilermakers led 6-4 early on in the first set, thanks to a pair of kills and an ace by Fisher. The Wildcats turned the tables with six straight points to go up 10-6 and held Purdue at bay over the next 11 serves. Down 15-11, the Boilermakers took advantage of a handful of NU miscues and a kill and block by Drewry to take a brief 17-16 lead. Northwestern scored four straight to surge ahead 20-17 and force Purdue to take its final timeout. A Wildcat miscue and a block by Drewry and Rebarchak cut the margin to one at 20-19, but the Boilermakers could not break through. Down 24-22, Griffin pounded down a kill to keep the set going, but a hitting error gave Northwestern the 25-23 win. Turner put up five kills in the set.
The teams split the first 10 points of Set 2 as Drewry put up a pair of blocks and Turner, Griffin and Fisher posted kills. Down 6-5, Purdue rattled off four straight points, including two more stuffs, to kick off an 11-3 run. The Boilermakers owned a 16-9 advantage after the rally and were up by seven again at 19-12, thanks to kills by Turner and Fisher. Northwestern narrowed the gap to two at 19-17 with five straight points, but Purdue countered with six of the final seven points to take the set 25-18. Fisher served up an ace to give Purdue its first shot at the set, which Griffin clinched with an overpass putaway.
Purdue ran off the first six points of Set 3 as Turner and Fisher put down kills and combined on a block along the way. The Boilermakers went on to an eight point lead at 13-5 as kills poured in from Fisher, Griffin, Drewry and Turner. Down 14-7, Northwestern made a run, scoring seven of the next nine points to cut the margin to two at 16-14. The Wildcats made it a one point game at 17-16, but Purdue countered with six of the next eight including a block by Turner and Fisher, to go ahead 23-18. A Northwestern kill slowed the Boilermakers momentarily, but Turner sealed the game at 25-19 with a pair of kills, boosting her total to eight in the stanza.
Northwestern boasted a 6-4 lead in Set 4, but Purdue scored three straight, including kills from Davis and Drewry. The Wildcats countered with three straight to jump ahead 9-7. The Boilermakers counterpunched with a 4-0 run, including two blocks, but Northwestern nudged ahead by one at 12-11 and held the advantage over the next five serves. Down 14-13, Purdue put forward a big push with six of the next seven points. Sophomore Hilliary Fox served up an ace and Rebarchak, Turner and Nichol added kills as the Boilermakers went up 19-15. Purdue upped its advantage to five after two Wildcat miscues. A pair of Drewry putaways made it 23-18 Boilermakers. A kill by Turner and another by Fisher wrapped the match at 25-20.
The Boilermakers (14-0) return to action at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday when they take on the No. 1 Illinois Fighting Illini in a potential battle of undefeated teams. Illinois is 13-0 entering its Friday evening match with Indiana. The match will be streamed live on fightingillini.com. Audio and live statistics will be available on purduesports.com.