Junior Annie Drews capped a stellar weekend with a match-high 23 kills on a .439 hitting effort, while senior KiKi Jones (13) and junior Sam Epenesa (12) also reached double-digit s and hit over .300. The Boilers also won the battle at the net with Jones putting up a team-leading six stuffs and senior setter Val Nichol adding five blocks.
Defensively, junior Amanda Neill pulled up 17 digs, while redshirt freshman Ashley Evans added 15. Redshirt sophomore Kate Workman and Drews chipped in seven saves apiece.
Drews and Nichol were named to the all-tournament team for their efforts on the weekend.
The Boilers' efficient offense, outhitting WMU .433 to .029, set up a 25-14 Set 1 victory. The Broncos scored two of the first three points, but Purdue broke off a 9-0 run, including three kills by Epenesa, to take a 10-2 lead. WKU cut the margin to five, but the Boilermakers countered with eight of the next 11 points to up the edge to 10 at 20-10. Drews had four kills during the rally. The Boilers closed out the set with a 3-0 run including a block by Jones and Nichol and a kill by freshman Azariah Stahl.
Western Michigan countered in Set 2, turning an early 4-2 deficit into a 25-19 win. Purdue tied the set at six and eight, but WMU went ahead by four at 16-12, forcing a Boilermaker timeout. The Boilers scored three straight out of the break including a pair of blocks to narrow the gap to one. The Broncos boosted their lead to five at 22-17 and held on for the 25-19 win.
Set 3 saw the Broncos take an early lead, but the Boilermakers close it out going away in a 25-17 win. WMU led 3-2 and 5-4, but Purdue scored three in a row to take the lead and held on the rest of the stanza. A 4-0 run featuring a kill and solo block by Epenesa put Purdue up 16-11 midway through. Western Michigan pulled within two at 19-17, but the Boilers wrapped up the stanza with six straight points. Two kills each by Drews and Adelaja helped Purdue close the door. Drews had seven kills and Jones added five in the set, which saw Purdue hit .455.
The Boilermakers led Set 4 from start to finish, racing out to a 10-1 lead and never looking back. Drews, Jones and Epenesa had two kills apiece in the opening rally. Purdue upped its lead to 13 at 20-7 as Work,am turned in an ace and Nichol picked up a kill and a block. Putaways by Nichol, Jones and Evans set up match point at 24-11, while a WMU service error ended the match. Drews had six kills in the final stanza and Jones added four as Purdue hit .387 and held the Broncos to a .094 effort.
The No. 8 Boilers return to action at 10 a.m. Friday when they host Saint Louis to open the Active Ankle Challenge in West Lafayette. Purdue also welcomes Morehead State and Notre Dame to the tournament.