Dec. 1, 2012
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 22 Boilermakers (23-10) won a five-set thriller over No. 12 Florida State, coming from behind in the final set to secure a spot in the Sweet 16 and a regional played at home in Mackey Arena. The 25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-11 win gave Purdue its sixth Sweet 16 berth in the last eight seasons.
Purdue bested FSU in every statistical category including a 17-7 edge in blocks, while also outhitting the Seminoles .266 to .169.
Senior Ariel Turner led the way offensively with 21 kills, but three other Boilermakers reached double digits in redshirt junior Catherine Rebarchak (12), senior Anna Drewry (11) and sophomore Kiki Jones (10). Sophomore Val Nichol and redshirt junior Catherine Rebarchak also added eight putaways.
Defensively, redshirt junior Carly Cramer led the way with 20 digs, while redshirt junior setter Rachel Davis and junior Hilliary Fox (13) followed. Jones led the way at the net with nine blocks, followed by Rebarchak's seven and Drewry's five.
FSU took the early 5-2 lead in Set 5, but the Boilermakers charged back with a 7-2 run to go ahead 9-7. Kills from Davis, redshirt junior Katie Griffin and Turner along with a block by Griffin and Jones aided the rally. The Seminoles scored three straight to go up 10-9, but Purdue finished out the night with a 6-2 run to clinch the upset win. Griffin started the final rally with her fourth kill of the night. Turner followed with two kills and a solo stuff to put Purdue up 13-10. A kill by Drewry put the Boilers on the hill at 14-11, but FSU hit the final ball into the antenna to wrap up the match. Turner had five kills in the final stanza in which Purdue outhit FSU .292 to .069.
The Boilermakers trailed 3-1 early in Set 1, but rallied to take an 6-5 lead and never relinquished it, boasting as much as an eight point lead in the 25-20 win. Kills by Rebarchak, Davis and Nichol and an ace by Neill put Purdue on top at 6-5, midway through a 10-2 Boiler run, which made it 11-5. The teams split the next eight points, before an overpass kill by Jones and a block by Turner and Jones stretched the Boilermaker advantage to eight at 17-9. After a timeout, the Seminoles pulled within five at 17-12 and cut the margin to four at 20-16. Kills by Drewry and Rebarchak put Purdue up six at 22-16, but the Boilermakers had to fight off another FSU charge at 22-18. Kills by Turner and Rebarchak gave Purdue its first chance at the set at 24-18. Three serves later a Florida State hitting error clinched the 25-20 win. Six different Boilermakers had kills in the stanza in which Purdue outhit FSU .295 to .121.
Florida State scored the final eight points of Set 2 to steal away a 25-21 win in a set that featured 12 ties and five lead changes. FSU led 4-2 early on, but the Boilermakers turned things around with a 3-0 run and went on to an 8-6 edge. The Seminoles tied it up at 8, but back-to-back blocks by Drewry, including Davis and Rebarchak put Purdue back up 10-8. FSU went up 12-11 with a 4-1 run. Trailing 14-13, the Boilermakers put scored four straight, including two Nichol kills and one by Davis and an ace by Turner. A block by Drewry and Rebarchak gave Purdue a 21-17 advantage. Florida State, which had taken a timeout down 20-17, adjusted and ended the set with eight straight points, including a trio of blocks and an ace.
The back-and-forth swing continued at the beginning of Set 3, but the Boilermakers eventually went up nine at 22-13 and held off a late FSU rally to win 25-21. Turner racked up eight kills in 15 swings with no errors in the stanza as Purdue hit .357. Jones added four kills and four others contributed offensively in the set. Florida State led 2-1 early and again at 4-3, but Purdue rallied to a 6-4 lead and never trailed after that. The teams tie at eight, nine and 11, before Purdue broke off an 8-1 run to go ahead 19-12. A kill stopped the Boilers momentarily, but three straight kills made it 22-13 and forced an FSU timeout. The Seminoles scored six of the next eight of the break to cut the margin to three at 23-20, but two Turner kills in the final three points capped the win.
Florida State led for the majority of Set 4, owning as much as a 10 point edge at 23-13, but Purdue rallied to within one, before falling 25-23. Florida State led 9-5 early, but Purdue clawed back to within one at 9-8 after two Turner kills and a solo stuff by Rebarchak. The teams split the next six points, before FSU kicked off an 11-2 run, which put them on top 23-13. The Boilers would not go down easy, scoring eight in a row, sparked by Griffin who entered the match just prior to the rally. Griffin got the first kill, Cramer followed with an ace and the Boilermakers got three straight blocks to continue the run. Rebarchak and Griffin added kills and a stuff by Jones and Rebarchak pulled Purdue within two at 23-21. A Seminole kill stopped the rally, but Purdue wasn't done yet, as Jones and Davis downed kills to make it 24-23. A Marija Milosavljevic kill sent the match to a fifth set.
The Boilermakers (23-10) return home to West Lafayette to face the winner of the Minnesota/Creighton match on Friday in Mackey Arena. Tickets are on sale now here.