>NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- The Boilermakers fought of several Rutgers rallies and posted a come-from-behind win in Set 4 to secure a 3-1 win over the Scarlet Knights, extending their win streak to four matches and recording their 12th Big Ten win. Purdue (21-7, 12-5 B1G) won the match 25-22, 25-12, 25-27, 26-24.
Senior Annie Drews put down 21 kills, while hitting .312 and adding six digs, four blocks and an ace. Redshirt junior Faye Adelaja and sophomore Azariah Stahl chipped in 10 kills apiece, while sophomore Lydia Dimke registered seven. Adelaja also put up a team-best five blocks.
Defensively, senior Amanda Neill managed 18 digs and served up two aces. Freshman Alexa Smith pulled up 12 digs and added an ace. Redshirt sophomore Ashley Evans had nine digs and three blocks, while senior Kate Workman posted seven digs and an ace.
The Boilermakers fought off two Rutgers rallies to post a 25-22 Set 1 win. Purdue led 5-2 early after aces by Drews and Workman and two kills by Stahl. Rutgers evened the score at 7-all, but the Boilermakers pushed ahead by six at 16-10 as Neill added an ace and Smith and Adelaja put down kills. The Scarlet Knights battled back with seven of the next eight points, including a couple of Purdue errors, to tie it up at 17. Kills from Cuttino and Drews made it 19-17, but Rutgers tied it up. Rutgers called timeout down 21-19 and came back with three straight points including two blocks to go up 22-21. The Boilermakers took a break of their own and closed out the set on a 4-0 run, including two Drews putaways and an ace by Neill. Drews put down six kills in the set.
Purdue led 2-0 at intermission after cruising to a 25-12 win in Set 2. Drews pounded down five kills and Adelaja added four as Purdue hit .435 to Rutgers' -.071 effort. The Boilermakers raced out to an 8-2 lead including a pair of blocks by Adelaja. The Scarlet Knights scored two of the next three, but Purdue upped the margin to nine at 15-6 on a stuff by Stahl and Cuttino. A trio of Adelaja kills put the Boilermakers up 11 at 21-10. A kill by Dimke and a pair of Rutgers miscues sealed the win.
The Boilermakers owned a 5-2 lead in Set 3, but Rutgers swooped and scored 18 of next 22 points, including four aces, four blocks and a handful of Purdue miscues to turn the deficit into a 20-9 lead of its own. The Boilermakers stopped the bleeding with a 4-0 run including a pair of Stahl kills to cut the margin to seven at 20-13, but soon trailed 24-17. Purdue came back from the dead, thwarting seven set point attempts to tie it up at 24. Drews tallied three kills and redshirt senior Kaisley Fisher managed a big solo block in the rally. Drews got another kill to tie it at 25, but Rutgers got two kills to steal away the 27-25 win.
Purdue fell behind in 8-3 in Set 4, but rallied to take a 26-24 win and the match. The Boilermakers turned the set around with a 9-3 run including two Drews kills, an ace by Smith and four Rutgers miscues. Another 4-0 run, including a kill and a block by Adelaja made it 16-12 Purdue. The Scarlet Knights countered with six of the next eight to tie it up at 18. Drews and Dimke put down kills to make it 20-18, but Rutgers scored three straight to go up 21-20 prompting a Purdue timeout. Cuttino and Dimke putaways put the Boilermakers up 23-22. A Rutgers service error made it 24-23. Stahl managed her 10th kill to give Purdue their second match point attempt. A stuff by Drews and Adelaja clinched the victory at 26-24. Dimke had four kills in the final set.
The Boilermakers (21-7, 12-5 B1G) return to action at 7 p.m. Friday when they welcome No. 3 Minnesota to Belin Court to kick off a three-match homestand to wrap the regular season.