Stats / Shondell Quotes / Highlights
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The No. 17 Boilermakers extended their current win streak to three matches and recorded their 20th win of the season with a 3-1 win over Northwestern on Sunday. Purdue won the match 25-21, 25-19, 17-25, 25-19 to move to 20-7 on the year, securing the sixth straight 20-win season under head coach Dave Shondell.
Senior Annie Drews led the way with 20 kills, seven digs, four blocks and an ace. Redshirt junior Faye Adelaja added 11 kills, hitting at a team-best .476 clip, while senior Sam Epenesa chipped in nine kills. Sophomore Danielle Cuttino managed six kills and a team-leading four blocks.
Defensively, four Boilermakers posted double-digit dig tallies led by senior Amanda Neill's 15. Freshman Alexa Smith added 14, while redshirt sophomore Ashley Evans posted 12 to round out a double-double with 45 assists, and senior Kate Workman pulled up 10. Evans and freshman Brooke Peters served up three aces apiece in the match.
In a set filled with big scoring runs, the Boilermakers scored seven of the final 10 points in a 25-21 Set 1 win. Drews had eight kills, while Epenesa added four, including the final blow, in the victory. Purdue scored the first three points of the set and broke out to a 12-7 lead with a 6-1 run rally featuring three Drews kills and one each by Stahl, Cuttino and Epenesa. Northwestern used a 5-0 run of its own to knot the score at 12. A kill and an ace by Drews put Purdue up 15-13, but Northwestern tied it up again at 15, 16 and 18, setting the up the Boilermakers' final rally. An ace by Evans and two kills and a block by Drews set the table for Epenesa's set-ending kill.
Purdue overcame an early 8-5 deficit in Set 2 to win 25-19 with help from five blocks, holding the Wildcats to a .081 hitting effort. The Boilermakers began the turnaround with a 5-1 run, including a kill and a solo block by Drews and an ace by Evans. The teams tied at 10, 11 and 12, before Purdue managed a 5-0 run to give them some cushion at 17-12. Northwestern cut the margin to one at 17-16, including a trio of blocks. The Boilermakers pushed the margin back to five at 22-17 after back-to-back aces by Peters and a kill and solo block by Drews. Up 22-19, Purdue closed out the set with a 3-0 run including a pair of blocks by Cuttino.
Northwestern led Set 3 from start to finish save the opening point, which came on a Drews kill. Trailing 5-2, Purdue got kills from Epenesa, Adelaja and Stahl to tie it at 8, but the Wildcats soon raised the advantage to six at 16-10. The Boilermakers rallied to cut the margin to three at 18-15 with a kill by Adelaja and an ace by Peters. The Wildcats, however, closed out the set with a 7-2 run.
The Boilermakers returned the favor in Set 4, leading from wire to wire in a 25-19 victory. Adelaja had five kills in the stanza, while Drews added four as Purdue hit .345 in the set. Purdue raced out to a 7-3 lead as Adelaja pounded down three kills and Drews and Epenesa chipped in a couple. The teams split the next eight points leading to an 11-7 score, before Northwestern managed three in a row to cut the margin to one at 11-10. Purdue answered with an 8-3 run to stretch the lead to seven at 19-13 on an ace by Evans. Four Wildcat errors also aided the effort. After taking timeout, Northwestern scored four of the next six to pull within four at 21-17. A pair of Adelaja kills made it 24-19 and set up a Cuttino putaway for the final point.
The No. 17 Boilermakers (20-7, 11-5 B1G) return to action at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday as they take on Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J.