Sept. 9, 2011
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 1 
| Photo Gallery 2
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Thirteen Boilermakers saw court time as the volleyball team swept Jacksonville State 3-0 Friday night at the Active Ankle Challenge. No. 13 Purdue won the match 25-16, 25-15, 25-16.
Junior Ariel Turner racked up a match-high 15 kills, while hitting .448 to pace the offense. Turner also contributed eight digs, an ace and two blocks to the effort. Senior Tiffany Fisher put down eight kills, while redshirt sophomore Catherine Rebarchak added seven. Redshirt sophomore Katie Griffin and freshman Kierra "KiKi" Jones chipped in six kills apiece as Purdue hit .400 on the night, matching its season best.
Senior Emily Ehlers led the Boilermaker backcourt with 11 digs, while also serving up two of the team's four aces. Turner followed with eight, redshirt sophomore Rachel Davis added seven and redshirt senior Blair Bashen tallied six. Jones led the Boilermakers at the net with four blocks, followed by Turner's two.
Purdue hit at a .500 clip in the first set as Turner racked up seven kills and Jones posted three blocks in the 25-16 win. The teams split he first six points, but Purdue built a small cushion at 8-5 after a pair of Griffin putaways, another by Jones and an ace by Ehlers. JSU stayed close, however, cutting the margin to one twice, at 8-7 and 9-8. The Boilermakers pulled away with seven of the next nine points, including four Turner kills and a block and a kill by Griffin. After going up 16-10, Purdue did not allow the Gamecocks closer than five the rest of the way out. The Boilermakers stretched their advantage to nine at 22-12 after a pair of blocks by Jones. JSU scored three of the next four, but kills by Turner and one by Davis capped the set.
The Boilermakers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in Set 2 and never looked back, allowing JSU as close at two points only three times, last at 6-4. A 5-1 run featuring kills by four different players put Purdue ahead 11-5 forcing a Gamecock timeout. JSU scored three of the next four points out of the break, but the Boilermakers countered to go up by seven at 16-9. Jacksonville State was within four again at 16-12, but that sparked a Purdue rally. The Boilermakers scored eight of the next 10 including two kills by Griffin and an ace by Ehlers to make it 24-14. A Gamecock block slowed Purdue momentarily, before a Jones putaway sealed the 25-15 win. Turner had five kills, while Jones, Rebarchak and Griffin each added three in the stanza, which saw the Boilermakers outhit JSU .324 to .083.
Set three saw a balanced Purdue attack, with six players contributing kills, which allowed the team to fight off a feisty Gamecock squad in a 25-16 win. JSU scored the opening point, but Purdue answered with three straight, including an ace by junior Courtney Gosewisch. Jacksonville State, however, knotted the score at four moments later. The Boilermakers managed to go up 10-7, but the Gamecocks remained close, keeping the margin at three or less over the next 14 points. Purdue finally broke free with a 5-0 run, starting with a kill by freshman Val Nichol. Three JSU miscues also helped the Boilermakers to the 21-14 lead. Kills by Jones and Rebarchak made it 23-15. The Gamecocks managed a kill to keep the set going, but a pair of miscues ended the night.
The No. 13 Boilermakers (7-0) return to action at 10 a.m. when they face Western Carolina. Purdue ends the weekend with a 7:30 p.m. match against Ball State, which pits Purdue coaches Dave and John Shondell against their older brother Steve's Cardinal team.