WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ââ'¬" The No. 20 Boilermakers started off the 2016 with a victory, topping Wyoming via sweep Friday morning. Purdue won 29-27, 25-16, 25-17 behind strong hitting efforts by juniors Azariah Stahl and Danielle Cuttino as well as redshirt sophomore Sherridan Atkinson.
Purdue outhit the Cowgirls .277 to .132 in the match, thanks in part to a 10-4 edge in blocks. Stahl led the way offensively with 14 kills on a .333 hitting effort to go with five stuffs and seven digs. Cuttino followed with 13 kills and three blocks, while Atkinson managed eight kills on a team-best .412 hitting effort.
Redshirt freshman Blake Mohler led the Boilermakers at the net with six stuffs to go with five kills and five digs. Stahl (5) and Cuttino (3) followed. In the back court, freshman Natalie Haben led the way with 13 digs in her Purdue debut as the starting libero. Sophomore Brooke Peters added 10 digs, followed by setter Ashley Evans (8) and Stahl (7). Nine of the 10 players who saw action recorded at least one dig.
In addition to Haben's start at libero, redshirt freshmen middle blocker Shavona Cuttino and Mohler made their Boilermaker debuts, while defensive specialist Carissa Damler earned her first career start.
The victory marked Purdue's 14th season-opening win in the last 15 seasons.
Set 1 was a back and forth battle featuring 12 tie scores and three lead changes. Wyoming jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but the Boilermakers clawed their way to a two-point edge at 12-10 thanks in part to two kills and two blocks by Mohler. Purdue upped its advantage to three at 17-14 after a kill and a block by Stahl. Trailing 20-17, Wyoming called timeout and scored three straight out of the break, two on Purdue miscues, to tie the score. The teams traded points over the next six serves. The Cowgirls had the first chance at the set at 24-23, but a service error evened the score. Wyoming had another chance at 25-24, but Purdue countered with back-to-back points to earn its first set point opportunity. The Boilermakers had another shot at 27-26, but it would take one more try at 28-27 and back to back kills by Cuttino to cap the set. Cuttino racked up eight kills and two blocks in the stanza to lead the Purdue effort, while Stahl and Mohler each chipped in four putaways.
Set 2 saw the Boilermaker offense flex its muscles to the tune of a .333 hitting effort, while the defense held the Cowgirls to a .031 effort. Stahl carried the load with seven kills, while Atkinson added four putdowns. Purdue trailed 5-3 early, but scored nine of the next 10 points, including five kills from Stahl, to turn the deficit into a 12-6 advantage. Wyoming cut the margin to two at 15-13, but the Boilermakers scored four straight to push ahead 19-13. A kill by Stahl and an ace by Haben sealed the 25-16 win.
The Boilermaker block recorded four stuffs in Set 3, three from Mohler, and Cuttino racked up five more kills in a 25-17 win. Purdue led nearly wire to wire, save the opening point of the stanza. The Boilermakers led by as many as eight at 15-7, thanks in part to four stuffs in a span of seven points. Wyoming would get no closer than four the rest of the way. Purdue scored six of the last eight points to cruise to the victory. A kill by Mohler was the final nail in the match.
The Boilermakers (1-0) return to action at 7:30 p.m. ET against Washington State (1-0), who defeated No. 24 Kentucky during the morning session.