Aug 31, 2013
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball team picked up its first win of the 2013 with a 3-0 sweep of Alabama A&M Saturday morning to start Day 2 of the Mortar Board Premier. Purdue won the match 25-12, 25-19, 25-13 behind a balanced offence and serving which accounted for 14 aces.
The 14 perfect serves are the most by the Boilermakers in a three-set match during the rally scoring era, topping a previous high of 12 aces, which had happened twice, once in 2004 and once in 2006. It is the second most by a Purdue side overall in rally scoring, behind a 17-ace effort against Indiana State on Nov. 6, 2001. Sophomore Sam Epenesa served up five of the beauties, while sophomore Amanda Neill and redshirt senior Carly Cramer each added two. Five others also served up an ace in the match, including redshirt freshmen Kate Workman and Bridget Powell, who each made their Boilermaker debuts.
Offensively, junior Val Nichol led the way with nine kills to go with her 20 assists. Redshirt senior Katie Griffin downed eight kills, while redshirt senior Catherine Rebarchak and Epenesa chipped in seven apiece. Redshirt freshman middle Faye Adelaja put down six kills and added a team-best four blocks, including two solo efforts. Purdue outhit Alabama A&M .405 to .122 in the match.
Defensively, 12 of the 13 players that saw action recorded at least one dig. Cramer, Nichol and sophomore Amanda Neill led the team with five apiece.
The Boilermakers raced out to a 5-1 lead, including a pair of Epenesa putways and an ace by Nichol, and never looked back. A 14-6 run pushed the advantage to 19-7 as Purdue racked up four more aces, including two by Epenesa. Alabama A&M cut the margin to 10 at 20-10, but the Boilermakers finished out the set with five of the final seven points. An ace by Workman capped the 25-12 win.
A pair of Nichol kills and an ace by Neill put Purdue up 5-2 early in Set 2. The Lady Bulldogs pulled within one point at 7-6, but that sparked a 5-0 run, including three kills by Griffin. A 4-0 run a bit later featured a solo stuff by junior KiKi Jones and extended the lead to nine at 20-11. Alabama A&M charged back to within four at 22-18, scoring seven of the next nine points. Kills by Rebarchak and Adelaja and a stuff by Griffin and Adelaja put the set away for Purdue at 25-19.
The Boilermakers scored 11 of the first 15 points of Set 3, mixing up the offense with kills by five different players. A solo stuff and a kill by Adelaja coupled with a Cramer ace made it 15-8 Purdue midway through. Alabama A&M cut the margin to four at 16-12, but Purdue answered with six straight, including an ace by Powell to go ahead 22-12. Kills by Jones, Griffin and Rebarchak closed the door on the match at 25-13.
No. 16 Purdue wraps up its opening weekend with a 5 p.m. match against No. 21 Western Kentucky. Live video is available at purduesports.com/allaccess with a subscription. Live audio is available for free at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/purdue.portal.