SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The No. 24 Boilermakers dominated Howard at the net, outhitting the Bison .361 to .147 and out-blocking them 6-2 in a 3-0 sweep to kick off the Shamrock Invitational on Friday afternoon. Purdue won the match 25-14, 25-20, 25-20 to move to 3-1 on the season.
Junior Danielle Cuttino paced the Boilermakers with a match-high 12 kills, while hitting at a .296 clip and adding two blocks. Junior Azariah Stahl and senior Faye Adelaja also reached double digits, tallying 10 kills apiece. Stahl rounded out her night with a match-high 14 digs, while Adelaja hit at a .625 clip and chalked up a team-best three blocks, including one solo effort. Redshirt freshman Blake Mohler added six kills and three blocks, while hitting .462.
Defensively, Stahl and redshirt sophomore Carissa Damler led the way with 14 digs apiece. Freshman Natalie Haben added 11 digs. Damler and sophomore Brooke Peters each served up an ace for the Boilermakers.
The Boilermakers used a 9-0 run to turn an early 6-4 deficit into a 13-6 lead in Set 1 and never looked back in a 25-14 win. Stahl put down four kills to lead the way, while Mohler added three as Purdue outhit Howard .333 to -.029. After falling behind early, the Boilermakers got a kill from Mohler to kick off the midst run, which saw Peters serve eight in a row, including an ace. Purdue pushed the lead to 11 at 20-9 after a 6-1 ally including an ace by Damler and a stuff by Cuttino and Adelaja. A putaway by Mohler put the Boilermakers on the hill at 24-13. Stahl put down the final kill two serves later.
In Set 2, Adelaja turned in five kills to pace the Purdue attack, which hit at a .333 clip. The teams split the first 16 points of the stanza as the lead changed hands six times. Down 8-7, the Boilermakers put together 4-0 run, including a kill and a solo block by Adelaja to go ahead 11-8. Howard narrowed the gap to one at 14-13, but Purdue responded with four of the next five points, including a kill by setter Ashley Evans and a block by Stahl and Adelaja, which forced a Bison timeout at 18-14. Kills by Cuttino, Atkinson and Adelaja set up Purdue's first chance at the set at 24-20 and a Howard hitting error capped the stanza the following play.
The Boilermakers led Set 3 from start to finish, leading by as many as six en route to the 25-20 win. Cuttino pounded down eight kills in 11 errorless swings to pace the team, which hit at a .412 clip. Purdue jumped out to a 7-1 lead as Cuttino piled up five kills in the early going. Howard cut the margin to three at 11-8, but Purdue maintained control, pushing the advantage back to five at 17-12. Trailing 19-14, the Bison scored four of the next five to force a Boilermaker timeout at 20-18. A kill by Cuttino and a Howard error made it 22-18 and prompted a Howard timeout. A stuff by Mohler and Cuttino and a kill by Evans put Purdue up 24-18 and on the hill for the match. After two Bison kills, Cuttino came through for the Boilermakers, closing the door on the match at 25-20.
The No. 24 Boilermakers (3-1) return to action Saturday, when they face Coastal Carolina (3-0) at 10 a.m. and Notre Dame (3-0) at 7 p.m.