BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The No. 14 Boilermaker volleyball team held off a scrappy Indiana team for a 3-1 win on Saturday night to move to 15-2 on the season, including 6-0 in the Big Ten, the program's best conference start since 1983.
Junior Annie Drews led all hitters with 14 kills. Senior KiKi Jones added eight, while senior Val Nichol and Azariah Stahl put down seven kills apiece. The Boilers outhit Indiana .242 to .027 and won the battle at the net, posting 20 blocks to just five for the Hoosiers. The 20 stuffs were the most for Purdue in a four-set match since 1991 and most ever in a four-set rally scoring match (previous 17.5 at Indiana in 2009). Nichol accounted for seven stuffs, while Jones had six and Stahl and freshman Danielle Cuttino added five each.
Defensively, junior Amanda Neill pulled up 20 digs followed by eight by freshman Lydia Dimke and seven each by Nichol and redshirt freshman Ashley Evans.
The Boilermakers led Set 1 from start to finish, outhitting the Hoosiers .321 to -.028 in a 25-15 win. Five Boilers had two or more kills, led by Jones and Drews with three apiece. Purdue led 5-2 early with help from two Jones kills and an ace by Neill. Indiana tied it up at 5 and 6, but the Boilermakers went up 10-6 as Nichol turned in four straight points on two kills and two blocks. Purdue upped its lead to seven t 19-12 on an ace by Dimke. The Boilers finished out the set on a 6-3 run, capped by back to back stuffs by redshirt sophomore Faye Adelaja.
Indiana took the early lead in Set 2, going ahead 9-6. A kill by Stahl, an ace by Nichol and a hitting error knotted the score at 9-9. The Hoosiers led by two again at 14-12 prompting a Purdue timeout and the Boilers scored four of the next five out of the break to go ahead 16-15. A pair of Nichol kills, a block by Epenesa and Adelaja and an ace by Evans made it 21-19 Boilermakers, but Indiana charged back to earn its first set point attempt at 24-22. A service error and a stuff by Nichol and Jones knotted the score at 24. IU scored three of the next four, including a pair of Purdue miscues, to take the set 27-25.
Purdue dominated Indiana 25-8 in Set 3, thanks in part to seven stuffs. The Boilers started the stanza on a 4-0 run, including a block by Cuttino and Epenesa. Indiana pulled to within one at 5-4, but from there it was nearly all Boilermakers as Purdue turned in 20 of the next 24 points including six blocks. Purdue hit .435 in the set and held Indiana to a -.308 effort.
The Boilermakers had to hold off a late Indiana surge in a 25-23 Set 4 win to take the match. The set featured 10 ties and five lead changes and include four kills and three blocks by Jones. Indiana scored the first three points, but Purdue answered to go up 4-3 with kills by Drews, Cuttino and Epenesa. After a tie at 6-6, Indiana jumped ahead 13-8 care of three Purdue miscues. The Boilers chipped away eventually tying the score at 17 and 18 on kills by Jones before taking a 19-18 lead on an overpass kill by Nichol. Trailing 20-19, the Hoosiers scored four of the next five to go ahead 23-20 and prompt a Purdue timeout. The Boilers scored four straight out of the break to end the night. A stuff by Drews and Cuttino followed by an ace and a kill by Evans sealed the win.
The No. 14 Boilers (15-2, 6-0 Big Ten) return to action at 8 p.m. Friday vs. Penn State on Belin Court. The match will air live on the Big Ten Network.