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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The No. 22 Boilermakers got back on the winning track with a sweep of Rutgers on Saturday. Three players posted double-digit kills in the 25-14, 25-18, 26-24 win.
Junior Danielle Cuttino led the way with 16 kills on a .400 hitting effort, while redshirt sophomore Sherridan Atkinson and junior Azariah Stahl added 10 apiece. Atkinson hit at a .667 clip, while redshirt senior Faye Adelaja chipped in seven kills without an error for a stellar .875 effort.
Defensively, sophomore Brooke Peters led the way with 11 digs, while also serving up two aces. Redshirt sophomore Carissa Damler and redshirt junior Ashley Evans followed with six apiece. At the net, Adelaja, Atkinson and redshirt freshman Blake Mohler each put up two blocks.
The Boilermakers outhit the Scarlet Knights .337 to .141, but Rutgers won the blocking battle 6-4.
Purdue hit at a .292 clip and held Rutgers to a -.120 effort in a 25-14 Set 1 win. The teams split the first 12 points before the Boilermakers put together an 8-3 run to pull ahead 14-9. Cuttino, Stahl and Adelaja registered kills, while Peters served up an ace in the rally. Rutgers scored two in a row, but Purdue cruised from there, ending the set on an 11-3 run. A Scarlet Knight service error ended the set. Atkinson registered four kills and Adelaja and Cuttino each turned in two.
Rutgers scored four of the first five points of Set 2 and the teams tied eight times before capped the set with 11 of the final 15 points to win 25-18. The Boilermakers overcame the early deficit with a 4-0 run, including kills by Atkinson and Cuttino and two Rutgers errors. The teams traded points leading to a 14-14 tie. An ace by Evans in the midst of a 4-0 run gave Purdue the lead at 15-14, one which it would not relinquish. Cuttino put down eight kills in the stanza, including set point, while Stahl added four. The Boilermakers hit .500 as a team, committing just four errors.
The Scarlet Knights outhit the Boilermakers .294 to .263 in Set 3, but Purdue stole away the stanza with seven of the final 10 points of the 26-24 win. Rutgers raced out to an 8-2 lead. The Boilermakers chipped away and finally tied the score at 14-all on a kill by Cuttino. An ace by Stahl knotted the score at 19. A Rutgers ace put the visitors on top 21-19 prompting a Purdue timeout. The Boilermakers scored four of the next five, including three Cuttino kills to go up 23-22. A Rutgers hitting error put Purdue on the hill at 24-23, but an error knotted the score at 24. A kill by Stahl and a stuff by Stahl and Adelaja clinched the win and the sweep.
The No. 22 Boilermakers (12-7, 2-6 B1G) return to action at 8 p.m. Friday when they take on the Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston, Illinois.