Oct. 12, 2012
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The No. 17 Boilermakers led early in all three sets, but could not manage a win against No. 1 Penn State Friday night. The Nittany Lions won the match 25-19, 25-16, 25-16.
Purdue spread the offense around with seven players posting kills, including a team-best eight by senior Ariel Turner, who also led the Boilermaker defense with 11 digs. Senior Anna Drewry and freshman Annie Drews added six kills apiece, while sophomores Kiki Jones and Val Nichol chipped in four and three respectively.
Redshirt junior Carly Cramer added six digs and redshirt junior Rachel Davis chipped in five. Jones led the team at the net with three blocks, while Turner was credited with two stuffs.
The Boilermakers played nose-to-nose with the No. 1 Nittany Lions in Set 1, even leading 15-14, but could not hold on in a 25-19 contest. Purdue led early on going up 2-1 on a block by Turner and Jones and added an overpass kill by Jones and putaways by Davis and Drewry en route to a 6-5 advantage. PSU surged ahead 7-6, but the teams tied at 7 on a hitting miscue. The teams traded points, but Penn State went ahead 13-11. The Boilermakers countered with four of the next five points, including two Drewry kills and another by Turner to boast the 15-14 edge. PSU scored four straight out of the media time out. Purdue tallied three of the next five, including kills by Turner and Jones to pull within two at 20-18. Penn State finished the stanza on a 5-1 run.
Purdue held the early lead again in Set 2, scoring four of the first seven points thanks to a pair of Drews kills and another by Turner. Penn State turned the 4-3 deficit into a 9-5 lead after a pair of blocks and an ace. A service error and a stuff by Nichol and Drewry cut it to two at 9-7. The Nittany Lions scored five straight to make it 14-7 and force the Boilermakers to use their final timeout. After the break, Purdue scored three in a row on kills by Drews and Cramer and an ace by freshman Amanda Neill, which made it 14-10. PSU stretched its advantage to seven at 18-11. Kills by Turner and Nichol cut the margin to five, but Purdue couldn't break through, falling 25-16.
The Boilermakers led 3-1 to start Set 3, thanks to kills by Jones and Turner and an ace by Cramer, but Penn State scored six of the next seven to steal away the lead. A Nichol putaway and PSU service error kept it close at 8-6, but the Nittany Lions built a five-point lead at 12-7. A stuff by Drews and Jones pulled Purdue within three at 12-9. Penn State pulled away with a 7-2 run. Down 22-13, Drewry and Drews managed kills to prolong the set, but PSU scored three of the last four, save another Drewry putaway, to win 25-16.
The Boilermakers (13-5, 4-3 Big Ten) return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday when they take on Ohio State in Columbus. The match will be streamed at BTN.com.