WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Late rallies by No. 4 Wisconsin helped the Badgers to a 3-0 win over the No. 13 Boilermaker volleyball team Wednesday night. UW won the match 28-26, 25-16, 25-19.
Junior Annie Drews led all hitters with 16 kills, while senior KiKi Jones added nine and freshman Danielle Cuttino chipped in seven. All three hit .300 or better in the match, but the Boilermakers hit at just a .203 clip and found themselves facing 10.5 Wisconsin blocks.
Defensively, junior Amanda Neill pulled up 16 digs, while redshirt sophomore Kate Workman added nine. Purdue was credited with just one block in the match, a solo stuff by freshman Azariah Stahl in Set 1, while the Badgers hit at a .379 efficiency.
The Boilermakers led by seven late in Set 1, but the Badgers charged back and fought of three Purdue set point attempts before stealing away a 28-26 win. The teams split the first 12 points of the set, but kills by Drews and Jones gave Purdue a 9-6 edge. Wisconsin scored three straight to tie the score at 9-9 and the teams traded points until a tie at 11-11. The Boilers pushed ahead 15-11 as Drews added two more putaways and Jones and Cuttino each put down a kill. UW pulled within two at 16-14, but a 5-0 Boilermaker run, capped by a pair of Cuttino kills, made it 21-14. The Badgers cut the margin to one at 21-20, but Purdue had its first set-point chance at 24-22 after a kill by Ashley Evans. Wisconsin tied it up at 24, but a kill from Jones gave the Boilers another shot at 25-24. A Badger hitting error made it 26-25 Boilermakers, but UW put down three straight kills to take the set. Drews had six kills and Cuttino and Jones added five apiece in the stanza.
The Badgers hit at a .458 clip and put up 5.5 blocks, turning aside the Boilers 25-16 in Set 2. The teams were dead even through 14 points, but Wisconsin pulled away with a 5-0 run. Purdue narrowed the gap to two at 13-11 with back-to-back kills by Drews. With a 15-13 lead, the Badgers put together a seven-point rally to go ahead 22-13. The Boilermakers scored three of the next five, but a UW kill wrapped up the set. Drews had five kills to lead the Boilers.
The Boilermakers shook off the first two sets and played the Badgers to an 18-18 score in Set 3, before the Badgers pulled away for the 25-19 win. Wisconsin led 5-3 early, but Purdue rallied to take an 11-8 lead. Three straight kills by Nichol and back-to-back putaways by Cuttino highlighted the 8-3 scoring run. A kill by Epenesa made it 12-9 Boilers, but Wisconsin tied it up at 13 and traded points with Purdue over the next eight points. A Badger miscue put Purdue up 18-17, but Wisconsin scored five straight to take a 22-18 lead. A kill by Drews stopped the run, but a block and two Boilermaker hitting errors ended the night at 25-19.
No. 13 Purdue (18-5, 8-3 Big Ten) returns to action at 8:30 p.m. Saturday when the team faces the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Belin Court. The match will air live on the Big Ten Network.