Oct. 8, 2011
IOWA CITY, Iowa - An efficient Boilermaker offense and tough net defense made it a quick night as Purdue swept Iowa Saturday. The Boilermakers hit at a season best .410 clip and outblocked the Hawkeyes 7-1 in the 25-19, 25-13, 25-21 victory.
Junior Ariel Turner led the way with 16 kills, while hitting .333 and adding nine digs and two aces. Senior Tiffany Fisher chipped in nine kills, while hitting .600 and putting up three blocks. Redshirt sophomore Rachel Davis and rookie Kierra Jones and Val Nichol each tallied six kills. Jones led the way at the net with four blocks.
Defensively, redshirt senior Blair Bashen pulled up 12 digs, followed by senior Emily Ehlers (10). Davis, Turner and junior Courtney Gosewisch each chipped in nine saves.
The Boilermakers scored seven of the first nine points of the night, including a 4-0 run to start the match. Turner piled up four kills during the stretch. Kills from Nichol and Jones and an ace by Davis made it 10-4 and brought on Iowa's first timeout. Purdue boosted its lead to eight at 14-6, thanks to an ace by Bashen and a few Hawkeye miscues. Iowa mounted a comeback, however, slicing the margin to two at 16-14 with help from five kills and an ace. The Boilermakers countered with a 4-1 run, including a Fisher ace, to go up 20-15. A trio of blocks involving Jones helped Purdue to a 24-18 advantage, before Fisher capped the set at 25-19. Turner racked up seven kills with no errors in the stanza.
Iowa led 3-1 early in Set 2, but the Boilermakers charged back to take a 7-4 lead. A pair of kills, an ace and a block by Turner turned the set around. The teams traded points over the next eight serves, until a solo stuff by Turner kicked off a 6-0 Purdue run. Gosewisch served up the last five points in the stretch, including an ace, while Turner, Davis and Fisher provided the offense. A block by Fisher and Davis and kills by three players, including Nichol pushed Purdue ahead by 11 at 22-11. A pair of Hawkeye kills slowed the Boilers for a moment, but a pair of Nichol putaways and a stuff by Jones and Rebarchak clinched the set at 25-13. Purdue hit .516 in the set, while holding Iowa to a .189 effort.
Purdue took a 3-1 lead to start Set 3, but Iowa quickly tied it up at three and four. An ace by Turner and kills by Fisher, Nichol and Davis put Purdue up 8-5. The Hawkeyes pulled within one at 9-8, sparking a Boilermaker rally. Purdue scored nine of the next 13 points to go up 18-12, forcing Iowa to use up both of its timeouts in the process. Iowa rallied to cut the margin to four at 19-15 and 21-17, but a Hawkeye service error and a kill by Turner lifted Purdue to a 23-17 advantage. Another Turner putaway ended a 3-0 Iowa run and put the Boilermakers on the hill for the match. A kill by Rachael Bedell thwarted the first match point attempt, but a serve into the net ended the match at 25-21.
The No. 11 Boilermakers (15-2, 4-2 Big Ten) return to action at 7 p.m. Friday when they return to the home boards of Belin Court to face off with No. 8 Penn State.