Sept. 14, 2013
TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 22 Boilermaker volleyball team won its fifth straight match and clinched the USF Invitational title with a 3-0 sweep of the host USF Bulls Saturday night. Purdue won the match 25-12, 25-21, 25-19 thanks to a strong blocking effort and an offensive attack that saw six different players post five or more kills.
Junior Val Nichol, sophomore Annie Drews and redshirt freshman Faye Adelaja led the Boilers with seven kills apiece. Sophomore Sam Epenesa and redshirt senior Katie Griffin added six putaways each and junior KiKi Jones rounded out the offense with five kills. Adelaja again paced the team at the net, putting up nine blocks as Purdue outblocked USF 12-5.
Defensively, senior libero Carly Cramer posted 13 digs to go with her match-high four aces. Nichol rounded out a double-double with 11 digs to go with 16 assists. Nichol, Jones and Drews were named to the all-tournament team for their efforts.
After trailing 7-4 early in Set 1, the Boilermakers put on a clinic, finishing the stanza with a 25-12 win. Purdue outhit USF .545 to 0, thanks in part to five blocks, all involving Adelaja. Epenesa, Adelaja and Drews each chipped in three kills as Purdue managed 12 kills on 22 swings with no errors. Purdue erased the early deficit with an 8-1 run, including four stuffs, to go up 12-8. Kills by four different Boilers and a pair of aces by Cramer boosted the edge to 10 at 20-10. A pair of Epenesa putaways and a setting error by USF capped the 25-12 win.
The Bulls led 10-5 in Set 2, before allowing the Boilermakers to chip away and eventually nab the 25-21 victory and 2-0 lead at the break. A solo block by Jones and an ace by Cramer cut the margin to one at 13-12. Two USF miscues and a pair of Jones putaways gave Purdue the 16-15 lead. The teams traded points over the next eight serves, until a served error and Jones kill made it 22-20 Boilers and forced USF to use its final timeout. The Bulls scored first out of the break, but a service error and a kill by Griffin put Purdue on the hill. A net violation wrapped up the set.
The Boilers and Bulls splits the first 14 points of Set 3, before Purdue went up by four at 12-8 with a 5-1 run, including two kills each by Adelaja and Nichol. USF cut the margin to one at 13-12, but an ace by Cramer and block by Epenesa and Jones put the Boilermakers back up four at 16-12 and forced a timeout. Back to back miscues by the Bulls made it a five-point game at 18-13. USF charged back to within two at 20-18. Purdue closed out the sweep at 25-19 with a 5-1 run. Adelaja ended it with a solo block and a kill.
No. 22 Purdue (6-2) is back in action at 7 p.m. Friday when the team faces off with Syracuse to close Day 1 of the Active Ankle Challenge on Belin Court.