Sep 7, 2013
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The No. 22 Purdue volleyball team outdid the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in every statistical category while coming back from a 2-1 deficit in the match to post a five-set win Saturday night. The Boilermakers won the match 21-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-13, 15-10.
Redshirt senior Catherine Rebarchak pounded down a match-high 20 kills, while junior Val Nichol and sophomore Annie Drews added 10 each. Junior KiKi Jones (9), redshirt senior Katie Griffin (8) and redshirt freshman Faye Adelaja (6) also aided the offensive effort. Nichol rounded out a double-double with 33 assists, while also adding nine digs and seven blocks. Redshirt senior setter Rachel Davis posted a 24 assist-11 dig effort.
Defensively, senior Carly Cramer managed a match-high 19 digs, while senior Hilliary Fox (12) and Davis followed. Adelaja led the Boilers at the net with nine blocks, while Nichol added seven and Jones managed six stuffs.
The Boilermakers outhit the Irish .230 to .097 and outblocked Notre Dame 17.5 to 8.
Set 5 echoed the back-and-forth nature of the match. Purdue jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, thanks to a pair of blocks by Nichol and Adelaja, but Notre Dame countered with five of the next six points to gain a 7-5 edge. Down 9-7, the Boilermakers scored six straight, including a pair of blocks by Nichol and Adelaja and a trio of Irish miscues, while forcing Notre Dame to use up its timeouts. The Irish managed a kill to slow the Boilers momentarily, but kills by Adelaja and Nichol wrapped up the comeback victory. Purdue hit .389 in the final set, while Notre Dame hit .000.
Set 1 was one of many rallies from the start. The teams split the first two points, but Notre Dame scored four straight to go up 6-2. The Boilermakers cut the margin to one at 7-6 after a pair of kills by Griffin. The Irish pushed their edge to seven at 15-8, but Purdue nudged to within four at 17-13 after two Rebarchak putaways. Notre Dame led it 24-18, but the Boilers fought off three set point attempts to force an Irish timeout. A kill by Jeni Houser capped the 25-21 win for the Irish despite Purdue winning the statistical battle.
The Irish scored the opening point of Set 2, but the Boilermakers led the rest of the way, save a trio of ties. Purdue forced the Irish to use their first timeout a 8-4 after an ace by Cramer and two kills each by Jones and Rebarchak. The teams tied at 12, but the Boilers pushed the lead to three again at 17-14 after three Rebarchak kills and a block by Rebarchak and Jones. Notre Dame scored four of the next five to knot the score at 18. The teams tied again at 19, but Purdue tallied four straight points, including a pair of Rebarchak kills and a solo stuff by Adelaja to take a 23-19 lead. The Irish cut the margin to one at 23-22, but kills by Rebarchak and Jones ended the set at 25-22.
Purdue led Set 3 from the start, but could not finish it off after a mid-set rally by Notre Dame. The Boilermakers raced out to a 10-6 lead, forcing an Irish timeout. Jones and sophomore Amanda Neill served up aces and Nichol and Griffin added kills in the opening stages. Notre Dame pulled within one at 12-11, but Purdue held the lead until a tie at 16. The Irish scored six of the next eight to go up by four at 22-18. Kills by Drews and Nichol kept the Boilers in the game, but Notre Dame snatched the win at 25-20 with a kill and two Purdue miscues.
Set 4 was no contest as the Boilermakers won it going away at 25-13. The Purdue offense was clicking on all cylinders as the team started the stanza with a 12-4 edge. Drews, Rebarchak and sophomore Sam Epenesa got in on the offensive barrage, while the Boilers also produced a pair of blocks. The errors also piled up for the Irish, which soon trailed by 14 at 22-8. A Jones kill made it 24-10, but Notre Dame made Purdue work for it, fighting off three set point attempts, before a stuff by Adelaja and Drews captured the 25-13 win. The Boilermakers held Notre Dame to a -.121 hitting effort with five blocks, while also getting kills from five different players in the set.
The Boilermakers (2-2) wrap up the Golden Dome Invitational with an 11:30 a.m. Sunday contest against Bowling Green.