EAST LANSING, Mich. --The No. 20 Boilermakers are walking away from the state of Michigan with a 2-0 Big Ten record thanks to a solid team effort including a come-from-behind Set 3 win against Michigan State on Saturday night. Purdue won the match 3-1 by scores of 18-25, 25-14, 26-24, 25-23 as senior libero Amanda Neill recorded her 1,000th career dig.
Senior Sam Epenesa led the way with 16 kills on a .394 hitting effort, while sophomore Azariah Stahl added 13 kills and hit .370. Senior Annie Drews put down 12 kills and added six digs, three blocks and an ace. Redshirt junior Faye Adelaja and sophomore Danielle Cuttino chipped in seven kills apiece, while each hitting over .300.
Defensively, Neill paced the team with 16 digs, to give her 1,005 for her Boilermaker career, making her the 17th player and first since Ariel Turner (2009-12) to reach the milestone. Redshirt sophomore setter Ashley Evans added 11 digs to 47 assists to round out a double-double, and also posted a team-leading five blocks. Adelaja put up four blocks and Drews added three.
The Boilermakers outhit MSU .295 to .196 and outblocked the Spartans 11 to 8.
The Spartans led Set 1 from start to finish, save ties at 7, 8 and 9. After falling behind 5-1 early, the Boilermakers scored six of the next eight to work their way into the tie at 7-7. Kills by Drews and Adelaja and four MSU miscues aided the effort. Michigan State scored four straight to turn the 9-9 tie into a 13-9 lead. Purdue cut the margin to two at 17-15 on an ace by Evans and at 18-16 on a Drews putaway. MSU wrapped up the stanza with seven of the final nine points. A Spartan miscue at 24-17 kept the stanza going, but a kill ended it.
The Boilermakers turned the tables with a 25-14 Set 2 win, which they led from end to end. Purdue cruised to a 9-2 lead including an ace by Workman, a trio of kills by Epenesa and three Spartan errors. MSU pulled within five, but Purdue upped the advantage to eight at 15-7 after back-to-back blocks, forcing a Spartan timeout. A stuff block by Cuttino made it 19-11 and two Epenesa putaways upped the edge to nine at 22-13. Drews added a kill and an ace to put Purdue on the hill, while a stuff by Adelaja and Evans ended the set at 25-14. Purdue hit .542 in the stanza, while holding Michigan State to a .100 effort. The Boilermakers also put up four blocks in the set, which featured five kills from Epenesa.
The Boilermakers played from behind for most of the third set, trailing by as many as four at 21-17 before mounting the late comeback. Purdue called timeout and got a kill by Epenesa and a solo block by Adelaja out of the break to force an MSU timeout. The Spartans scored three of the next five points to go up 24-21 and prompt another Boilermaker break. Purdue scored five straight to nab the 26-24 win. Cuttino had two kills and combined with Drews and Stahl on a pair of blocks to thwart three set point chances and give the Boilermakers their first chance at 25-24. Drews capped the comeback with a kill. Epenesa racked up seven kills in the set and Purdue put up four blocks in the win.
The Boilermakers closed out the win with a 25-23 Set 4 win, holding off a late MSU charge. Purdue led it 24-20, but the Spartans scored three straight before a kill by Stahl finished off the match. The Boilermakers scored four of the first five points only to see Michigan State score five straight to go ahead 6-4. Trailing 9-7, Purdue rallied to score five of the next six, turning the deficit into a 12-10 lead and forcing MSU to call timeout. The Boilermakers upped the advantage to four at 18-14 after two Stahl kills and an ace by Evans. The teams split the next six points after a Spartan timeout to make it 21-17. A solo block by Epenesa put Purdue up five at 22-17. Kills by Epenesa and Stahl made it 24-20 Boilermakers. A kill and two blocks kept the set going for MSU, before Stahl recorded her fifth kill of the set to win it.
The Boilermakers (11-2, 2-0 Big Ten) return to action at 7 p.m. Friday, when they welcome Rutgers to Belin Court.