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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The sold-out crowd in attendance and the national television audience at home were treated to a thrilling five-set comeback win by the No. 19 Boilermakers over No. 18 Illinois Sunday afternoon. Purdue won the match 24-26, 22-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-11 marking their first comeback from a 0-2 deficit in a match since defeating Northwestern on Oct. 24, 2014.
Five Boilermakers posted nine of more kills and five tallied nine or more digs in the victory. Senior Annie Drews had 15 kills and 11 digs, while also adding four blocks. Senior Sam Epenesa added 14 kills and nine digs. Redshirt junior Faye Adelaja managed 12 kills and a team-leading six blocks. Sophomore Danielle Cuttino also chipped in 12 putaways and six stuffs. Sophomore Azariah Stahl rounded out the offense with nine kills to go with three blocks.
Defensively, senior Amanda Neill posted 14 digs to go with an ace. Freshman Alexa Smith recorded 13 digs, while Drews added 11. Redshirt sophomore Ashley Evans completed a double-double by adding 10 digs to her 54 assists, two blocks and an ace.
The Boilermakers out-hit the Illini .289 to .127 and put down 67 kills to Illinois' 57. Purdue also won the backcourt defensive battle with 62 digs to 49. Purdue put up 13 blocks, while Illinois managed 15.
After posting come-from-behind wins in Sets 3 and 4 to extend the match, the Boilermakers raced out to an 8-3 lead in the decisive fifth set. Epenesa tallied three kills and a block in the run. Two Illini miscues and kills by Stahl and Drews made it 12-7 Purdue. Illinois called timeout and got three straight points out of the break to narrow the gap to two at 12-10. After a timeout of their own, the Boilemrkaers got a kill from Drews and help from an Illini service error to set up match point at 14-11. Epenesa bounced the ball off the block and a backcourt defender for the win.
Purdue built a nine-point lead in Set 1 before the Illini charged back to steal away the set at 26-24. The Boilermakers used a 6-1 run, including three UI miscues and kills by three different players, to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 9-5 advantage. Purdue continued to build its advantage, going up 17-8 after two kills and a block by Stahl. Illinois started its comeback by scoring eight of the next 11 points to narrow the gap to 20-16. Purdue called timeout, but Illinois managed four of the next six out of the break to pull within two at 22-20. Five Boilermaker miscues and a blocked aided the Illini. Purdue got kills from Cuttino and Epenesa to earn its first set-point attempt at 24-22, but Illinois scored the next four points with two kills, a block and an error to take the set. Cuttino had seven kills in eight swings in the set, but it was not enough.
Adelaja and Drews turned in five kills apiece in Set 2, but Illinois again used a late comeback to take 25-22 win. Purdue lead it 6-3 after a trio of Adelaja kills and a solo block by Epenesa. UI managed four of the next five points to go ahead 8-7, but the Boilermakers countered with four straight, including three Illini errors to go ahead 12-8. Illinois called timeout and managed to tie the score at 13 after the break. A kill by Drews and a block by Drews and Adelaja gave Purdue some breathing room at 16-13. A stuff by Evans anad Adelaja later made it 19-16, but Illinois posted nine of the last 12 points to nab the win.
Illinois took the early lead in Set 3, leading by as many as three at 9-6, but Purdue turned the tables with a 7-1 run and held off a late Illini charge to extend the match. Down 9-6, the Boilermakers took advantage of three Illinois miscues and got two stuffs and a kill from Cuttino and an ace by Evans to go up 13-10. A trio of kills from Drews boosted the Purdue edge to five at 18-13. Trailing 19-14, Illinois scored five straight, including three blocks and an ace, to tie it up . A kill by Adelaja and a huge solo block by Cuttino coupled with two UI errors helped Purdue to a 24-20 edge. Three points later, a kill by Cuttino sealed the 25-22 win.
Epenesa downed six kills and Drews added four in a 25-22 Set 4 win, which saw the Boilermakers outhit Illinois .378 to .211. The teams split the first 36 points of the set, with neither gaining more than a two-point advantage. A block and an ace put the Illini up 18-16 and prompted a Purdue timeout. The Boilermaker scored five of the next six out of the break, including an ace by Neill, to go ahead 21-19. The Illini tied it up at 22 with a kill and a block, but Purdue held on, closing out the set with putaways by Adelaja and Cuttino.
The No. 19 Boilermakers (17-4, 8-2 Big Ten) return to action at 8 p.m. ET Friday against Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. The match will air live on the Big Ten Network.