Oct. 18, 2013
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The No. 25 Boilermaker volleyball team spread the ball around in an efficient offensive effort en route to a 3-0 sweep of Iowa Friday night. Purdue won the match 25-18, 25-14, 25-17 and topped the Hawkeyes in all major statistical categories, including hitting percentage, which the Boilers won .347 to .157.
Redshirt senior Catherine Rebarchak chalked up a match-high 12 kills, while four others managed six kills or more. Juniors Val Nichol and KiKi Jones put down eight apiece, while redshirt freshman Faye Adelaja (7) and Sam Epenesa (6) rounded out the group. All but one of the Purdue hitters managed an efificency of .250 or better in the match.
Defensively, Nichol and redshirt senior Carly Cramer pulled up 14 digs apiece, while senior Hilliary Fox and redshirt senior Rachel Davis were credited with seven saves each. At the net, Jones paced the team with six stuffs. Sophomore Amanda Neill and Davis served up two aces each in the match.
Set 1 featured six ties and four lead changes through the first 13 points, before Iowa pulled away to go ahead by three at 10-7. Purdue cut the margin to one at 10-9 after kills by Adelaja and Rebarchak. Down 11-9, the Boilermakers kicked off a 10-0 run, which featured two aces by Davis and four straight blocks. An Iowa kill stopped Purdue momentarily, but the Boilermakers scored three of the next four, including putaways by Epenesa and Jones, to go up 22-13. The Hawkeyes put together a late rally with five of the next six points to cut the margin to five at 23-18. Kills by sophomore Annie Drews and Adelaja closed out the 25-18 win. Adelaja had four kills in the set as Purdue outhit Iowa .333 to .132.
Purdue led Set 2 from start to finish save a tie at 2-2. The Boilermakers hit .294 to Iowa's .122 effort and got offensive output from five different players. Rebarchak put down five kills, while Nichol was a perfect 4-for-4.The Boilers jumped ahead 7-4 after back-to-back kills by Nichol and raised the edge to four at 9-5 after a kill and an ace by Jones. A pair of Rebarchak putaways put Purdue on top 13-8 and forced Iowa to use a timeout. The break did not stop the Boilermaker onslaught, however, as Purdue posted eight of the next 10 points. Kills from Nichol, Rebarchak and Jones coupled with back-to-back aces by Neill made it 21-10. The Hawkeyes scored four of the next six points, but an Iowa service error and a kill by Adelaja capped the set at 25-14.
The Boilermakers carried the momentum into Set 3, taking a 7-2 lead, but Iowa charged back to tied it up at 10-10. A pair of Rebarchak kills and a third by Adelaja gave Purdue a three-point edge at 13-10. The teams split the next six points, but the Boilers put up five of the next eight after that to boost their edge to five at 21-16. A stuff by Jones and Drews and four Hawkeye miscues aided the effort. Another Rebarchak putaway made it 22-17 and force Iowa to use its final timeout. After the break, the Boilers put down three straight kills, one each by Rebarchak, Epenesa and finally Jones to wrap up the sweep at 25-17. Purdue hit .412 in the final stanza, which featured five Rebarchak putaways and four each by Nichol and Jones.
The No. 25 Boilermakers (12-6, 3-4 Big Ten) return to action at 8 p.m. ET Saturday when they take on the No. 8 Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln, Neb.