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AUSTIN, Texas -- The No. 17 Boilermakers overcame a slow start and used a complete team effort to rally to defeat a feisty SMU squad 3-1 in the NCAA First Round on Thursday. Purdue won the match 25-27, 25-17, 28-26, 25-16 to advance to the NCAA Second Round for the 10th straight time since 2004 (in 10 appearances).
Redshirt junior Faye Adelaja paced the Boilermakers with 14 kills, while hitting at a .440 clip and serving the final eight points of the match. Seniors Annie Drews and Sam Epenesa and sophomore Danielle Cuttino also reached double digits, posting 13, 11 and 11 respectively. Sophomore Azariah Stahl put down seven kills. Cuttino also added a team-best seven blocks and hit at a match-high .474 clip, while Drews chipped in six digs.
Senior libero Amanda Neill pulled up 21 digs to lead the defense and move into sixth place on the Purdue career digs list with 1,297. Senior Kate Workman added 12 digs, while redshirt sophomore setter Ashley Evans managed eight to go with four blocks, four kills and 51 assists. Freshman Alexa Smith served up two aces in the match.
The Boilermakers won every major statistical category, including hitting percentage (.280 to .179) and blocks (11-5).
Purdue rallied from a five point deficit at 16-11 to take a 23-21 lead and earn the first set-point chance at 24-23 in Set 1, but SMU scored four of the final five to steal away the 27-25 win. SMU jumped out to a 4-0 lead and went on to the 16-11, but the Boilermakers roared back to tie it up at 20, forcing an SMU timeout. The Mustangs scored first out of the break, but Purdue responded with three straight -- a kill by Cuttino followed by two more by Epenesa to make it 23-21 and prompt another SMU timeout. The Mustangs tied it at 23, but a hitting error gave the Boilermakers set point at 24-23. Back to back Boiler miscues gave SMU a shot at 25-24. A service error kept the set going, but a pair of kills gave the Mustangs the win. Drews had six kills in the set, followed by Epenesa with five. SMU hit .300 to Purdue's .156 effort.
The Boilermakers bounced back in Set 2, racing out to a 13-3 lead and never relinquishing it in a 25-17 win. Cuttino and Evans each put down two kills and the Boilers recorded a pair of blocks and Smith added an ace in the early rally. Five SMU errors also helped the Purdue cause. Down 14-4, SMU rallied with eight of the next 12 point to cut the margin to four at 16-12. Adelaja added three kills and Cuttino chipped in one as Purdue maintained the edge at 20-15. The Mustangs called timeout, but it slowed the Boilermakers only momentarily as they closed out the set on a 5-2 run. A pair of Cuttino kills and an ace by Smith accounted for the final three points. Cuttino put down five kills and added three blocks in the stanza as Purdue hit .321 to SMU's .067 effort.
Set 3 featured 13 ties and eight lead changes, but ended in a 28-26 Boilermaker win. Purdue went up 6-4 after back to back kills by Stahl. SMU turned the tables with a 4-1 run to go ahead 8-7. The Boilermakers answered with a 5-1 run including two kills each by Cuttino and sophomore Lydia Dimke to retake the lead at 12-9. Down 14-11, the Mustangs scored six of the next seven, vaulting ahead 17-15. Four different players put down kills and Epenesa added a huge solo block to put Purdue on top 20-19. SMU called timeout and managed a 4-1 run out of the break forcing the Boilermakers to use both of their timeouts. Purdue turned the 23-21 deficit into a 24-23 lead with kills by Adelaja and Epenesa and an ace by Dimke. Facing set point, SMU scored three of the next four to go up 26-25 and earn two set point opportunities of their own. Kills by Adelaja and Drews and a Mustang hitting error gave Purdue the 28-26 win. Adelaja had six kills and Epenesa added five as Purdue hit at a .459 clip in the stanza.
The Boilermakers closed out the match with a 25-16 Set 4 win, but had to rally from a mid-set deficit to do so. Purdue led 4-2 in the early goings, but SMU rallied with six of the next eight to take an 8-6 lead of its own. The Mustangs held Purdue at bay, pushing their advantage to four at 15-11. The media timeout was again good to the Boilermakers as the team rattled off 14 of the next 15 points after the break to end the match. Kills by Epenesa, Stahl and Adelaja and a SMU error gave Purdue the lead at 16-15. An SMU kill paused the Boilermakers momentarily, but a stuff by Evans gave them the serve. Adelaja served eight straight points and Purdue got kills from Drews and Stahl and four blocks down the stretch to set up the final point, a kill by Cuttino. Adelaja and Drews each had four kills in the final stanza.
The No. 17 Boilermakers (23-9) will face the winner of No. 3 Texas and Fairfield at 7 p.m. ET Friday in the NCAA Second Round.