Purdue racked up 10 aces, including four by junior Annie Drews and three by freshman Lydia Dimke. Junior Amanda Neill chipped in two perfect serves and redshirt sophomore Faye Adelaja was credited with one ace.
The Boilermakers hit at a .294 clip despite putting 12 different players on the floor. Adelaja led all hitters with eight kills on a .700 hitting percentage in two sets of action. Freshman Azariah Stahl put down seven kills, despite playing in just the final two sets. Drews added five kills, while senior KiKi Jones and junior Sam Epenesa chipped in four apiece.
Defensively, the Boilermakers were led by junior Amanda Neill, who pulled up nine digs. Senior Val Nichol and redshirt freshman Ashley Evans managed five digs apiece, while Epenesa added four saves. At the net, Jones and Adelaja each had a hand in two of Purdue's four stuffs.
Adelaja was the star of Set 1, putting down six kills in seven swings, while Drews kept the Bulldogs off balance with strong serving, including three aces. After splitting the first four points of the night, the Boilermakers pushed ahead 11-4 as Adelaja pounded down three kills and got in a block, while Drews picked up her first ace. The Boilermakers upped the advantage to 18-9 as Evans tallied two points. A UNCA ace made it 19-13, but the Boilers finished off the set at 25-13 with a 6-0 run, including two more Drews aces.
A breakout stanza by Stahl in Set 2 helped the Boilermakers hit at a .300 clip en route to a 25-20 win. Stahl poured in six kills to pave the way, while Drews and Cuttino registered three each. UNC-Asheville led 8-5 in the early stages of the set, but Purdue bounced back with a 9-2 run, including three Stahl kills and an ace by Adelaja, to surge ahead 14-10. The Bulldogs cut the margin to two at 14-12, but a stuff by Adelaja and Nichol put the Boilermakers back on top 20-14. Two more kills from Stahl and the final nail by Cuttino sewed up the stanza.
The Bulldogs scored two of the first three points in Set 3, but it was nearly all Boilermakers in a 25-12 win. Purdue scored 15 of the next 16 points to turn the 2-1 deficit into a 16-3 edge. Jones added two kills in the stretch, while tough serving by Dimke, including three aces, kept UNCA off balance. The Boilers ended the night with a 4-0 run, which featured a kill by Stahl, an ace by Neill and a final block by Dimke and Jones.
Purdue returns to action at 10 a.m. Saturday when the team faces off with Elon to begin Day 2 of the KSU Owl Invitational. The Boilers also will face the host Kennesaw State at 7:30 p.m. live on ESPN3.com.