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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The No. 14 Boilermakers knocked off their second Top 10 foe in a week, taking down No. 4 Kansas to wrap Day 1 of the Stacey Clark Classic on Friday. Purdue won the match 25-21, 24-26, 25-19, 25-14 to move to 9-1 on the year and hand the Jayhawks (10-1) their first loss of the year.
Junior Azariah Stahl paced the Boilermakers on both sides of the ball, posting a team-best 15 kills and a career-high 19 digs. Junior Danielle Cuttino followed with 12 kills and three blocks and redshirt freshman Blake Mohler chipped in 11 kills on a team-best .476 effort and also added a team-leading six blocks. Redshirt sophomore Sherridan Atkinson (9) and redshirt senior Faye Adelaja (7) also contributed to the Boilermakers' balanced attack.
Defensively, Stahl led the way with 19 digs, while freshman Natalie Haben (13), redshirt junior Ashley Evans (13) and redshirt sophomore Carissa Damler (11) also reached double digits. Evans rounded out her double-double with 47 assists, five kills and a match-high four aces.
Purdue outhit Kansas .331 to .177 and served up seven aces to the Jayhawks' four.
The Boilermakers used a 5-0 run, including two kills by Cuttino and an ace by Evans, to snap a 9-9 deadlock in Set 1. Purdue held off several Jayhawk rallies down the stretch, never relinquishing the advantage. Kansas narrowed the gap to one at 19-17 with three straight points, but the Boilermakers answered with a 4-0 run of its own, including an ace by junior Linnea Rohrsen, to go ahead 23-18. A kill by Cuttino set up Purdue's first shot at the set. A kill by Atkinson two points later ended the stanza. Purdue hit .344 to KU's .195 effort in the set.
Facing a 24-21 deficit in Set 2, Kansas rallied to score five in a row to steal away the 26-24 win. Purdue led the stanza from the start, boasting a five point advantage at 15-10. The Jayhawks called timeout and cut the margin to one three times, last at 18-17. A kill by Evans put the Boilermakers on top 21-17. Two KU errors and a kill by Cuttino made it 24-21 Purdue, but the Jayhawks managed three kills and a block in the final stretch.
The Boilermakers got five kills from Stahl and four each from Mohler and Cuttino, while outhitting KU .444 to .190 in a 25-19 Set 3 win. Purdue trailed 10-8 midway through Set 3, but turned things around with a 5-0 run including back-to-back kills by Atkinson and a block and overpass kill by Cuttino, to go ahead 13-10. Up just one at 15-14, the Boilermakers again rallied with four straight points, including a trio of Stahl putaways. Purdue held the Jayhawks at bay the remainder of the set, closing it out with a kill from Adelaja and two more from Mohler.
Six players turned in kills and the Boilermakers had help from four aces in a 25-14 Set 4 win to complete the upset. Purdue led 8-4 early on, but soon found itself on the short send of a 10-9 score. A kill by Atkinson and ace by Damler kicked off a match-ending 16-4 run. Kansas was within two at 15-13, but it was nearly all Boilermakers after that, including two aces by Evans, a solo stuff by Atkinston to set up match point and an ace by Peters to clinch it.
The No. 14 Boilermakers (9-1) wrap up the Stacey Clark Classic at 6 p.m. Saturday vs. Xavier (6-6).