WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Ten Boilermakers were credited with kills as the Boilermakers swept Rutgers 3-0 Friday night. Purdue won the match 25-20, 25-14, 25-23, spoiling the Scarlet Knights' first ever Big Ten home match.
Junior Annie Drews led all hitters with 12 putaways, while hitting at a .429 clip. Junior Sam Epenesa and redshirt freshman Ashley Evans followed with seven kills apiece and freshman Azariah Stahl added six.
Senior setter Val Nichol pulled up 13 digs to lead the Boilers, while adding 38 assists to round out a double-double. Junior Amanda Neill added eight digs and an ace. Freshman Danielle Cuttino managed a team-best three blocks.
After splitting the first 18 points of the night, the teams began a series of back-and-forth rallies, but the Boilers came out on top 25-20. Seven players had kills in the stanza, which saw Purdue outhit the Scarlet Knights .297 to .147. The Boilermakers broke the 9-9 tie with a 7-2 run, including two kills by Drews and a stuff by Epenesa and redshirt sophomore Faye Adelaja. Rutgers cut the margin to two at 17-15. Purdue boosted its lead by to four at 20-16, but saw that margin sliced to just one at 20-19. The Boilers wrapped up the stanza on a 5-1 run, capped by an Evans ace.
Set 2 was nearly all Boilermakers as the team jumped ahead 18-4 before allowing the Scarlet Knights a late run. Purdue spread the ball around, getting kills from seven players in the stanza, and aces from Neill and redshirt sophomore Kate Workman in the first part of the set. Putaways by Stahl, Drews and redshirt junior Kaisley Fisher made it 21-7 Boilers, but Rutgers scored seven of the next nine to prolong the set. A Scarlet Knight hitting error wrapped up the stanza at 25-14. The Boilermakers hit at a .303 clip and held Rutgers to a .042 effort.
The Boilers outlasted a scrappy Rutgers squad 25-23 in Set 3 to escape with the sweep. Drews had six kills in the final stanza and Cuttino put up two solo blocks. Purdue took an early 8-4 lead, forcing a Scarlet Knight timeout. The break prompted an 8-4 rally to tie the score at 12. The Boilermakers pushed ahead by four at 19-15 with three Drews putaways. After another timeout, Rutgers narrowed the gap to one at 20-19 and eventually tied it up at 21-21 after two Purdue miscues. Kills by Nichol, Drews and Evans gave the Boilers set point at 24-22 and a Rutgers service error wrapped the match.
The No. 15 Boilermakers (14-2, 3-0 Big Ten) return to action at 1 p.m. ET Sunday against Maryland.