LINCOLN, Neb. -- Junior Danielle Cuttino posted a match-high 12 kills, but No. 3 Nebraska was just too much for the No. 17 Boilermakers on Sunday, topping Purdue 3-0. The Huskers won the match 25-17, 25-13 and 25-17.
Cuttino (12) was followed offensively by junior Azariah Stahl's six kills and redshirt freshman Blake Mohler's five. Mohler also added three blocks to lead the Purdue net defense alongside redshirt sophomore Sherridan Atkinson (3). In the back court, sophomore Brooke Peters managed a match-high 13 digs, followed by redshirt junior Ashley Evans (7). Peters also served up Purdue's lone ace of the match.
Nebraska hit at a .273 clip and held the Boilermakers to a .031 effort, while outblocking Purdue 11-6.5.
The teams split the first 20 points of Set 1, but Nebraska came out on top 25-17. The Huskers broke the 10-10 tie with a 4-1 run, but a kill by Stahl and a Husker error cut the margin to one at 14-13. From that point, Nebraska put up 11 of the final 15 to close out the win. Cuttino led the Boilermakers with six kills in the set, which saw Purdue register four blocks.
Nebraska held the Boilermakers to a negative .108 hitting percentage in Set 2 in a 25-13 win. The Boilermakers scored first on a kill by Cuttino, but the teams traded points after that leading to a 4-4 tie. The Huskers managed nine of the next 11, including three blocks to pull away to a 13-6 advantage. Purdue narrowed the gap to three at 14-11 with help from two Cuttino kills and a triple block by Cuttino Evans and Mohler. Nebraska held the Boilermakers at bay from there with 11 of the final 13 points. Cuttino had four kills and Stahl added three in the set, but the Huskers put up five blocks in the stanza.
Purdue rallied from a 3-0 deficit and eventually tied things up at 6-all as Mohler put down two kills and Nebraska gave the Boilermakers four points on errors. The Huskers scored six of the next eight to go up 12-8 and force a Purdue timeout. The Boilermakers put together a 4-1 run out of the break, with two kills from Cuttino and an ace by Peters. Nebraska pushed ahead by four at 18-14, but kills by Mohler and Stahl put the Boilermakers within three at 19-16. The Huskers finished out the set and match with a 6-1 run. Mohler put down four kills in the final stanza.
The No. 17 Boilermakers (11-6, 1-5 B1G) return to action at 8 p.m. Friday, when they take on Penn State in Holloway Gymnasium.