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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Boilermakers won the Mortar Board Premier for the second straight season, fourth time in the last five years and 11th time since 1990 with a 3-0 sweep on Ohio in front of a capacity crowd of 2,415 Saturday night. Purdue took the match 26-24, 25-14, 25-14 as senior Annie Drews recorded her first career double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs and sophomore Azariah Stahl supplied 13 putaways.
Redshirt junior Faye Adelaja and sophomore Danielle Cuttino added five kills apiece. The Boilermakers hit at a .270 clip, while holding the Bobcats to a .050 effort, thanks in part to tough defense care of senior libero Amanda Neill, who led the way with 17 digs. Drews added 10 digs, while senior Kate Workman added six and redshirt sophomore setter Ashley Evans added five. At the net, Adelaja tallied three blocks, while Cuttino chipped in two solo efforts.
Stahl was named tournament MVP, while Drews and Evans received all-tournament team honors alongside Samantha Strother (Austin Peay), Kalah Jones (VCU), Katie Nelson (Ohio) and Shelby Walker (Ohio).
The Boilermakers started the match by scoring five of the first seven points, but quickly found themselves on the short end of a 7-5 score as Ohio rallied with five straight points of its own. The Bobcats upped their advantage to three at 11-8 and 13-10, but the Boilermakers stayed close, closing the gap to one five times, last at 17-16. Ohio went ahead 20-17, but a service error kicked off a 6-0 Purdue run, which turned the tables and put the Boilermakers on top 22-20. Drews had two kills and a block in the rally, which forced Ohio to use both of its timeouts. The Bobcats tied it up at 22 after the breaks. Kills by Drews and Stahl gave Purdue the first chance at the set at 24-23, but a kill by Shelby Walker thwarted the effort. Drews and Stahl came right back with two more kills to close the door at 26-24. Drews piled up seven kills, while Stahl had five in the stanza.
Purdue cruised to a 25-14 win in Set 2, racing out to a 9-3 advantage as Stahl turned in three straight kills and Cuttino added two. Ohio cut the margin to three at 12-9, but the Boilermakers mounted a 6-1 run including a kill and an ace by Drews and a solo stuff and a kill by Cuttino, which made it 18-10. The Bobcats pulled within six at 20-14, but would get no closer as Purdue scored five straight to end the set. Kills by freshman Alexa Smith, Drews and a stuff by Adelaja and Smith set up the final kill by Adelaja. Stahl paced the hitter with five kills, while Adeleja and Drews each put down four. Purdue hit .342 to Ohio's .056 effort.
Six different players had a kill in the final stanza as Purdue finished the sweep with a 25-14 Set 3 win. The Boilermakers served up six aces in the stanza, three by Smith and one each from Evans, Drews and freshman Brooke Peters. Evans' perfect serve started the set. Smith added two more as the Boilermakers went up 8-1. The serves by Drews and Peters helped push Purdue out to an 18-5 lead, while Drews, Evans, Stahl, Adelaja and Smith peppered in putdowns. A solo block by Adelaja claimed the 18-5 edge. Ohio cut the margin to nine at 19-10, but would get no closer. Smith's third ace made it 22-10, but the Bobcats scored three straight points to keep the match going. Stahl ended that rally with a kill, before a Bobcat hitting error and a kill by Cuttino wrapped up the win and the tournament title at 25-14.
The Boilermakers move to 3-0 on the season for the ninth time in the last 13 and for the second straight season. Purdue returns to action at 5:30 p.m. Friday when the team faces off with Arkansas-Pine Bluff at the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic in St. Louis, Mo.