UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Boilermakers played with No. 15 Penn State until late in each set, falling 3-0 Saturday. The Nittany Lions won the match 25-17, 25-21, 25-19.
Junior Danielle Cuttino led the way with 13 kills, while redshirt sophomore Sherridan Atkinson celebrated her birthday with 10 kills, while hitting at a .500 clip. Junior Azariah Stahl and redshirt freshman Blake Mohler added six kills apiece.
At the net, Mohler and redshirt senior Faye Adelaja paced the team with three blocks apiece. In the backcourt, Stahl led the way with seven digs, followed by five each by redshirt sophomore Carissa Damler, sophomore Brooke Peters and freshman Natalie Haben.
Penn State outhit the Boilermakers .386 to .230 and outblocked them 7-6.
The Boilermakers scored three of the first four points of Set 1 and Atkinson went 5-for-6 at the net, but Penn State took the stanza 25-17. Stahl, Cuttino and Evans accounted for the first three Purdue points, but PSU scored five straight to go up 6-3 and went ahead 9-4 moments later. Kills by Cuttino and Mohler cut the margin to three, but the Nittany lions extended their lead to eight at 18-10. Purdue was within six at 20-14 after kills by Adelaja, Cuttino and Mohler, but PSU ended the set with a 5-2 run.
Penn State used a midset rally to take a six-point lead and held off a Boilermaker rally for a 25-21 Set 2 win. The teams split the first 22 points as the lead changed hands four times. Purdue went up 9-8 after kills by Stahl and Cuttino and tied the set at 11-all with two more Cuttino putaways. From there, PSU scored six in a row to go up 17-11. Down 19-14, Purdue scored three straight, including a block by Adelaja and Evans, to pull within two at 19-17. A pair of kills by Mohler made it a one-point game at 22-21, but a trio of Nittany Lion kills stole away the set. Cuttino had six kills in the stanza as Purdue hit .297 to Penn State's .375 effort.
The Boilermakers jumped ahead 7-5 early in Set 3, but an 8-0 Penn State run forced an uphill battle the rest of the set in a 25-19 Nittany Lion win. An ace and a kill by Stahl and two putaways by Mohler helped Purdue to the early lead. PSU scored eight straight, including three Boilermaker miscues, to go up 13-7. The Boilermakers cut the margin to three at 15-12 after a kill and a block by Evans and a Cuttino kill. Down 22-15, Purdue rallied again with four of the next five points to pull within four at 23-19. Solo stuffs by Adelaja and Stahl and two Atkinson putaways accounted for the stretch. Penn State ended the match with a kill and a Boilermaker hitting error. Atkinson and Cuttino had four kills each in the set, which also saw Purdue put up four blocks.
The Boilermakers (17-12, 7-11 B1G) return to action at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday when they face Maryland in College Park, Maryland.