EAST LANSING, Mich. - The No. 19 Boilermaker volleyball team fought hard, but could not overcome a streaking Michigan State team on the road Wednesday night. The Spartans won the match 25-23, 25-19, 25-21.
Junior Annie Drews paced all hitters with 13 kills. Freshman Danielle Cuttino added 10 kills and a team-high four blocks, while hitting at a .562 clip. Junior Sam Epenesa chipped in eight kills and three stuffs. Drews also added three blocks.
Defensively, junior Amanda Neill pulled up nine digs, while redshirt sophomore Kate Workman added eight and redshirt freshman Ashley Evans recorded seven saves.
The Boilermakers led 23-20 late in Set 1, but Michigan Stat called timeout and scored five straight to steal away a 25-23 win. Epenesa and Drews had four kills apiece in the stanza. Purdue jumped out to a 4-1 lead and led it 11-7 midway through as Cuttino managed two kills and two blocks and Drews pounded down three kills. MSU tied it up at 11. The Boilers went up 17-15 after a 4-1 scoring run, including a kill and a stuff by Epenesa. The teams tied at 17 and split the next six points. Putaways by Epenesa and Drews and a block by Epenesa and Jones put Purdue on top 23-20. Four kills and a block capped the set for the Spartans.
Michigan State led Set 2 from start to finish, jumping ahead 6-2 and leading by as many as nine en route to a 25-19 win. Purdue pulled within two at 7-5 after kills by seniors KiKi Jones and Val Nichol and kept the margin at two at 9-7 after Drews and Cuttino putdowns. The Spartans went up four, but a kill and block by Drews narrowed the gap to two at 12-10. From there, however, it was nearly all MSU as the Spartans went on an 11-4 run. Down 24-15, Purdue rallied to score the next four points, but couldn't overcome the deficit. Kills by Epenesa and Jones and a pair of MSU errors accounted for the scores. The Spartans hit. 324 in the set to Purdue's .214, while Drews managed five kills.
The Spartans hit .407 and held off several Purdue rallies in a 25-21 win. Michigan State led 7-2 in the early going, but the Boilers narrowed the gap to two at 9-7 thanks to three MSU errors and a kill by Cuttino. Down six at 17-11, Purdue rallied again scoring four straight, including kills by Cuttino and freshman Azariah Stahl, forcing a Michigan State timeout. The Boilermakers never stopped battling, scoring three straight to draw within two at 21-19. A stuff by Epenesa and Cuttino highlighted the run. The teams split the next four points, including a kill by Drews to make it 23-21. A hitting error and an MSU kill, however, ended the night.
The No. 19 Boilermakers (22-9, 12-7 Big Ten) return to action at 8 p.m. ET Friday against No. 2 Wisconsin in Madison, Wis.