Nov. 2, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 11 Boilermaker volleyball team upset No. 5 Illinois 3-1 Wednesday night, avenging a road loss with stout defense at the net and in the backcourt. Purdue outblocked the Fighting Illini 18-9 and saw four players tally double-digit dig tallies in the 21-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-21 victory.
The win marked Purdue's third over a Top 5 foe since last October, after none in the program's previous 35 years, and moved the team to 21-3, its best mark through 24 matches since 1985 (22-2).
Junior Ariel Turner did it all for the Boilermakers, posting a 21-kill, 19-dig double-double, while narrowly missing the triple double with eight blocks. Senior Tiffany Fisher chipped in 12 kills and six blocks. Freshman Val Nichol added eight kills, while redshirt sophomore Catherine Rebarchak managed seven kills and five stuffs.
Senior Emily Ehlers paced the Purdue backcourt with 22 digs followed by Turner (19), redshirt senior Blair Bashen (19) and redshirt sophomore Rachel Davis (11). Davis rounded out a double-double with 45 assists. At the net, rookie Kierra Jones put up a team-best nine blocks, followed by Turner (8), Fisher (6) and Rebarchak (5).
The Boilermakers seemingly outplayed the Illini in Set 1, outhitting them .222 to .152 and outblocking them 5-3, but were bitten by six service errors in the 25-21 loss. Purdue led by as many as three in the early going, last at 11-8, but Illinois narrowed the gap and tied the score at 12 after a handful of Boilermaker miscues. The teams split the next 10 points, tying at 17. A Turner kill put Purdue on top 18-17, but UI outscored the Boilers 7-3 down the stretch en route to the win. A Fisher kill thwarted the Illini's first shot at the set, but a service error wrapped up the stanza. Turner posted seven kills in the set.
Purdue stifled the Illini hitters with five more blocks in Set 2, while an evenly distributed offense also aided in the 25-22 win. The Boilermakers again took a three-point edge early thanks to a trio of stuffs and held onto it, last at 12-9. Illinois countered with a 5-1 run to turn the deficit into a 14-13 lead. Purdue fought back, tying the score three times before taking a 19-17 lead thanks to a 4-1 rally, including a trio of UI miscues. Illinois tied the score 20, but the Boilermakers managed five of the next seven, including kills by Turner and Nichol and a stuff by Jones and Davis to steal away the set.
The Boilermakers fought off a pair of Illini set point attempts and capped the third set with a 4-0 run en route to a 26-24 win. After the teams split the first 14 points of the stanza, Purdue looked to be in control, using kills by Turner, Fisher and Jones to push ahead by eight at 16-8. Illinois charged back with a 12-3 run to steal a 20-19 lead. Junior Anna Drewry and Rebarchak pounded down kills as Purdue went up 22-1, but the Fighting Illini scored three straight to get the first shot at the set at 24-22. A Rebarchak kill and a UI miscue made it 24-24. Jones served up her first collegiate ace and Turner followed with a kill to clinch the set.
The Illini led 4-3 in Set 4, but Purdue cruised ahead 9-5 with help from a pair of Fisher kills and a solo block by Nichol. The Boilermakers maintained the four-point advantage midway through, leading 16-12 after a few more blocks. Illinois narrowed the gap to five times, last at 21-19, but Turner kicked it into overdrive with two more kills to extend the Boilermaker lead, while a stuff by Jones and Rebarchak set up match point at 24-20. Rebarchak tooled the UI block for the final kill of the 25-21 win. Turner managed six kills, nine digs and two blocks in the final stanza and Purdue outblocked Illini 5-2 again.
The Boilermakers (21-3, 10-3 Big Ten) return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday when they take on Northwestern. The match will be broadcast live on BTN.com.