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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- No. 15 Purdue volleyball put together a complete team effort to knock off No. 3 Minnesota 3-2 in front of a sell-out crowd Saturday night. The Boilermakers won 25-22, 25-19, 32-34, 19-25, 15-9 to post their fifth-straight win and their first over a top five foe since December of 2013.
Redshirt junior Faye Adelaja tallied a career-high 16 kills, while senior Annie Drews also added 16. Senior Sam Epenesa and sophomore Danielle Cuttino chipped in 12 kills apiece while sophomore Azariah Stahl managed nine.
Defensively, Adelaja put up a team-best eight blocks, while Drews added a career-high seven and Cuttino was credited with six. In the backcourt, senior Amanda Neill pulled up 18 digs, while Drews rounded out a double-double with a career-best 13 and redshirt sophomore Ashley Evans added 11.
The Boilermakers outblocked the Gophers 16-10 and served up eight aces, including three by Neill and two by sophomore Alexa Smith, who also added nine digs.
Purdue had nine match point chances in Set 3, but Minnesota answered each and got two kills and help from a controversial over the net call to steal away the 34-32 win. The Gophers took Set 4 25-19 to even the match and force a decisive fifth set.
The Block Party student section rallied the crowd in a rendition of the I Believe That We Will Win chant and the Boilermakers followed with four straight points to open the fifth and final stanza. Neill had an ace and Cuttino and Drews teamed on a block in the run, which forced a Minnesota timeout. The Gophers cut the margin to one at 5-4, but Purdue scored five of the next six to go up 10-5. Adelaja had two blocks and a kill in the run, which prompted the Gophers to use their final timeout. Kills by Adelaja and Drews and a stuff by Drews and Cuttino made it 13-7. A big solo block by Drews put the Boilermakers on the hill at 14-8. Cuttino capped the upset two points later with her 12th kill of the night, which made it 15-9.
The Boilermakers got behind early in Set 1, trailing 11-8, before rallying with an 11-3 run to take a lead which they would not relinquish in a 25-22 win. Epenesa had three kills in the rally, while Stahl added two, Neill served up an ace and Adelaja chipped in two blocks as Minnesota used up both of its timeouts trying to slow the Boilermaker attack. The Gophers scored six of the next seven points after their final timeout tying it up at 20-all, after trailing 19-14. Two kills from Drews and a third by Cuttino made it 23-21 Purdue. Adelaja sewed up the win with back-to-back kills. Drews had five putaways, while Adelaja added four and Epenesa, Cutitno and Stahl each chipped in three in the win.
Purdue hit at a .300 clip while holding the Gophers to a .051 effort in a 25-19 Set 2 win. The teams split the first 20 points of the stanza, within neither owning more than a two point edge. The Boilermakers surged with four of the next five to lead 14-11 and force a Minnesota timeout after a kill and a stuff by Drews. The Gophers responded with four straight to take a 15-14 lead. Purdue countered with a 4-0 run, including two kills and a block by Adelaja to go up 18-15. Minnesota took another timeout, but this time could not break through after cutting the margin to two at 120-18. Purdue ended the set on a 5-1 run, including kills by four different players.
An epic third set saw the Gophers lead 10-7 early before Purdue used a 12-4 mid-set surge to pull away at 19-14. Cuttino had a kill and two blocks to help the Boilermakers take the lead at 11-10. Three kills by Drews helped Purdue to the five-point edge at 19-14. The Boilermakers held the advantage, but Minnesota edged to within one three times, last at 23-22, before tying the score at 23 all on a Boilermaker miscue. A kill by Drews gave Purdue its first shot at the set and match at 24-23, but Minnesota answered with a kill. An Adelaja putaway, a Gopher service error, a Cuttino kill were all answered by Gopher points. Another Drews kill, then one by Epenesa, then a Gopher hitting error and another Drews kill, all were countered by Minnesota kills. Smith got a huge solo block to put Purdue up 32-31, giving the Boilermakers their ninth match-point attempt, but a Daly Santana kill, a controversial over the net call and another Gopher putaway stole away the set at 34-32 for Minnesota. The Gophers hit .396 in the set despite five Purdue blocks, while Purdue hit .265 led by Drews' six kills.
The Gophers led Set 4 from start to finish, save four Purdue ties, last at 7-all. The Boilermakers were within one at 10-9, but Minnesota rattled off seven of the next nine points to go up 17-11 and forced Purdue to use both of its timeouts. The Boilermakers scored three straight out of the second break with kills by Adelaja and Cuttino and an ace by sophomore Lydia Dimke, which made it 17-14 Gophers. Minnesota scored six of the next seven to vault ahead 23-16 and Purdue could not catch up. The Boilermakers did thwarted three Gopher set point attempts, including an ace by Neill and block by Drews and Adelaja, before succumbing 25-19 which sent the match to a decisive fifth set.
The No. 15 Boilermakers (22-7, 13-5) have now recorded 22 or more wins each of the last six seasons and nine times under Dave Shondell. Their 13 conference wins give them the most under Shondell since going 16-4 in 2011.
Purdue returns to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Michigan State and wraps the regular season at 4 p.m. Saturday vs. Wisconsin. Both matches will be played in the friendly confines of Holloway Gymnasium. Tickets are still available.