The Boilermakers outhit WKU .215 to .209 as Drews hit a .308 clip, senior KiKi Jones had 12 kills hitting .524 and redshirt sophomore Faye Adelaja added 10 kills with a .259 efficiency. Freshman Azariah Stahl chipped in seven kills.
Defensively, junior Amanda Neill pulled up a match-high 27 digs, while senior Val Nichol added 15 and redshirt freshman Ashley Evans managed 10. At the net, Adelaja put up five blocks while Nichol and Jones were credited with four apiece.
Drews put down 11 kills and the Boilers outhit WKU .250 to .231 but found themselves on the short end of a 29-27 Set 1 score. The Lady Toppers jumped out to a 9-3 advantage with help from five Purdue miscues. Down by seven at 12-5, the Boilermakers launched a comeback, scoring 11 of the next 13 points, including five kills by Drews, to take a 16-14 lead on a solo block by Epenesa. Western Kentucky countered with six of the next seven to go ahead 20-17. Down 23-21, the Boilers got two kills from Drews and a stuff by Evans and Jones to earn their first set point chance at 24-23. WKU took a timeout and scored two in a row to earn their first shot at the set at 25-24. Purdue held off that attempt and two more at 26-25 and 27-26 with kills from Drews and Epenesa, but a hitting error and a Lady Topper kill gave WKU the set 29-27.
Western Kentucky outhit Purdue .219 to .100 in Set 2 en route to a 25-20 win. Purdue scored three of the first five points in the set, but the Lady Toppers took the lead at 4-3 and held the Boilers at bay the remainder of the stanza. WKU allowed four ties, the last at 9-9, before pushing the edge to as many as seven at 21-14. The Boilermakers cut the margin to three at 22-19 with kills by Drews, Stahl and Jones.
The Boilermakers put together a mid-set rally and held on for a 25-21 win over Western Kentucky in Set 3 to extend the match. Drews turned in eight kills in the set. WKU led 7-3 early, but a 12-2 run quickly turned the deficit into a 15-9 Purdue advantage. Western Kentucky narrowed the gap to one at 20-19. The teams split the next four points, before the Boilers ended the set on a 3-0 run with a kill by Stahl and two by Drews.
Purdue made quick work of Set 4, winning it 25-13 going away, outhitting WKU .458 to .174. Jones had five kills, while Adelaja put down three in the stanza. The Lady Toppers led 3-2, but the Boilers pushed ahead 7-4 behind two Drews aces and two kills by Adelaja forcing a WKU timeout. Purdue boosted the lead to 21-9 with help from a trio of Jones putaways. A stuff by Adelaja and Nichol made it 24-12 and a WKU hitting error ended it.
Western Kentucky took a 7-4 lead midway through the final stanza and held off a late Purdue surge for the 16-14 win. A kill by Neill and a block by Nichol and Adelaja cut the margin to one at 7-6. A Drews kill kept Purdue within one at 8-7, but WKU went ahead 12-8 with help from three Boiler miscues. Facing match point at 14-10, the Boilermakers scored four straight, including a solo stuff by Adelaja, to knot the score and force a Lady Topper timeout. A WKU kill and a block after the break ended the match. Drews capped her night with six kills in the final stanza.
The Boilermakers (7-1) return to action at 2 p.m. ET Saturday against Western Michigan.