Sept. 14, 2012
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 14 Boilermakers took care of business in quick fashion against UAB Friday night, downing the Blazers 25-17, 25-13, 25-11 with a team effort in Mackey Arena to close Day 1 of the Active Ankle Challenge.
Purdue got a 32-assist, 16-dig effort out of redshirt junior Rachel Davis, who guided the offense to a .300 effort. Seven players, including Davis, tallied kills in the match, as seniors Ariel Turner (15) and Anna Drewry (10) led the way. Drewry also paced the team defensively at the net, getting in on six blocks.
In the backcourt, Davis led the team with 16 digs, while redshirt junior Carly Cramer added 14 and senior Courtney Gosewisch pulled up nine.
Purdue scored the first four points of the match and went on to lead by as many as nine in a 25-17 Set 1 win. Turner downed six kills in the stanza, which featured putaways by six different Boilermakers. After the early 4-0 lead, UAB cut the margin to two twice, at 5-3 and 6-4, but then Purdue pulled away. The Boilermakers upped the margin to seven at 14-7 courtesy of an 8-3 run which included kills by four different players. Down 14-7, the Blazers called timeout, but there was no respite after the break as Purdue poured on more offense, as freshman Annie Drews tallied a trio of kills to put Purdue on top 18-9. The teams traded points down the stretch. A Val Nichol kill put the Boilers up 24-15. The Blazers held off Purdue for two points, before giving the Boilermakers the set on a service error.
After a close played beginning leading to a 7-6 score, Purdue outscored UAB 18-7 in the latter half of Set 2 to pick up a 25-13 win. The Blazers hit -.111 in the stanza aiding the Purdue effort, which included four blocks by Drewry. Drewry had a solo stuff and teamed up with Drews twice and Nichol once in the set as the hitting errors piled up for UAB. A 5-0 run put the Boilermakers up 12-6, but UAB answered with three straight points. Purdue countered with another five-point rally. A pair of late kills by sophomore Kiki Jones and a Turner putaway made it 24-13, setting the stage for a Turner ace which clinched the win.
Turner and Drewry tag-teamed for nine kills in the final stanza and got a little help from four other teammates as Purdue hit .333 to UAB's .000 effort. The Boilermakers quickly took a 9-3 lead and pushed ahead to 16-6 with relative ease. In addition to Turner and Drewry, Nichol and even Cramer got in on the offensive action. Blocks from Davis and Jones and a Turner kill made it 20-7. An ace by Jones and a kill by Drewry put Purdue on the hill at 24-9. After a pair of UAB points, a Blazer service miscue capped a 25-11 victory.
The No. 14 Boilermakers (8-2) return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday, wrapping up the Active Ankle Challenge against Bowling Green. Football patrons receive $2 admission with their Eastern Michigan ticket stub.