Junior Annie Drews became the first Boilermaker to reach double digit kills with a team-best 11 in the win. Redshirt freshman Ashley Evans and senior KiKi Jones added six putdowns each, while redshirt sophomore Faye Adelaja chipped in five. Senior Val Nichol and junior Sam Epenesa rounded out the offense with four kills apiece as Purdue outhit San Diego .234 to .135.
Junior Amanda Neill led the Boiler defense with 13 digs, while Nichol chalked up the 23rd double-double of her career with 26 assists and 10 digs. Jones paced the team at the net with five blocks, while Drews added four stuffs as well as two aces.
The Boilers took a 4-1 lead to start the match, but the Toreros rallied to turn the deficit into a 6-5 lead of their own. Purdue charged back with seven straight points, including two service aces by Drews to regain the edge at 12-6. Down by six again at 21-15, San Diego called timeout and sparked a 5-1 run to narrow the gap to just two. A Drews kill ended the rally, but the Boilers were clinging to a 23-22 lead after a USD kill and a hitting error. Epenesa and Adelaja then sewed up the Purdue win with a pair of kills.
San Diego scored three of the first four points in Set 2, but the Boilermakers turned the tables with a 7-0 run as Epenesa put down three kills and Evans wreaked havoc at the end line. The Toreros were within one again, however at 11-10. Evans had a kill and an ace as Purdue pushed the margin to 16-11. Adelaja managed two kills and teamed up with Evans on a block that put the Boilers up 21-16. A pair of Drews putaways gave Purdue its first shot at set point at 24-18. Four serves later after a Boilermaker timeout, a Jones kill secured the 25-21 win. Drews had five kills in the stanza.
The Boilermakers outhit San Diego .290 to .054 in the final set en route to a 25-20 win, which featured seven ties and two lead changes. A pair of blocks by Jones helped the Boilers to a 4-1 lead. The Toreros crept to within one twice, last at 7-6, but the Boilermakers led by five at 13-8 after a Drews kill. Six straight USD points made it 14-13 in favor of the visitors. The Boilers regained the lead at 16-15 on an ace by freshman Lydia Dimke. Ties at 16, 17 and 18 followed, but Purdue broke free and went up 23-18 with a 5-0 run featuring a kill and an ace by Nichol and a kill and solo block by Drews. A solo block and a kill by Jones accounted for the final two Purdue points.
The No. 8 Boilermakers (2-0) return to action at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, when they face LSU. Tickets are just $2 with a Purdue-Western Michigan football ticket stub.