MADISON, Wis. - The Boilermakers rallied to take No. 3 Wisconsin to five sets Saturday, but they came up a few points short of the upset. The Badgers won the match 25-22, 26-24, 22-25, 16-25, 15-10.
Redshirt senior Faye Adelaja had a career night pounding down a career-best 21 kills, while hitting at a season-high .690 clip and adding six blocks. Junior Danielle Cuttino added 19 kills, four digs and four blocks. Redshirt sophomore Sherridan Atkinson managed nine kills and three blocks, while junior Azariah Stahl chipped in seven kills, eight digs and six blocks. Redshirt freshman Blake Mohler also added six stuffs.
In the backcourt, freshman Natalie Haben managed a career-best 25 digs followed by sophomore Brooke Peters (16), redshirt sophomore Carissa Damler (10) and redshirt junior Ashley Evans (9).
The Boilermakers outhit the Wisconsin .232 to .209, outblocked the Badgers 16 to 10 and outdug them 75 to 69. Wisconsin tallied two aces, while holding Purdue without an ace.
Wisconsin jumped out to a 6-2 lead in Set 5 and led by as many as seven before holding off a late Purdue rally for a 15-10 win and the match. Trailing 8-3, the Boilermakers got kills from Cuttino and Stahl to cut the margin to three. The Badgers pushed ahead 12-5, but Purdue was not going down without a fight, narrowing the gap to four at 13-9 with a 4-1 run. Adelaja, Stahl and Evans had kills in the rally. Facing match point at 14-9, Cuttino kept things going, but a Wisconsin kill ended the night.
Adelaja racked up five kills and Cuttino added four in Set 1, but it was not enough to overcome a .310 hitting effort by Wisconsin in a 25-22 loss. The teams split the first 30 points of the set and Purdue went up 17-15 after a UW service error and a block by Adelaja and Stahl. The Badgers turned the tables with four straight points including three Boilermakers errors. Purdue cut the margin to one five times with kills by five different players, last at 23-22 on a Mohler putaway. A pair of Wisconsin kills ended the set at 25-22.
The Boilermakers led Set 2 from the start, leading by as many as three, last at 23-20, but saw Wisconsin steal it away with six of the final seven points for a 26-24 win. Purdue managed six blocks in the set, including three each by Adelaja and Stahl, and got four kills from Cuttino. The Boilermakers led 3-1 early and were up three again at 12-9 after a kill by Cuttino and a solo block by Evans. Down 14-11, Wisconsin scored four of the next five to tie it up at 15. Purdue scored three straight out of a timeout and the teams split the next 10 points leading to the 23-20 advantage. Wisconsin got three kills and two blocks and help from a Purdue miscue en route to the win.
After a pair of midset rallies, one for each team, Purdue rallied to score nine of the last 13 in a 25-22 win. Adelaja put down seven kills in seven swings to lead the way, while Cuttino added five putaways. Wisconsin led 7-5 early, but the Boilermakers scored seven of the next nine to take a 12-9 lead. The Badgers answered with a 7-3 run to go up 16-15. Trailing 18-16, Purdue took a timeout and put together the final rally for the win. Adelaja had five kills and a block down the stretch, including one putaway to give the Boilermakers their first set point chance at 24-21. A kill by Cuttino sealed the set two serves later.
Purdue piled up four blocks and held Wisconsin to a .057 hitting percentage in a 25-16 Set 4 win. Adelaja added four kills, while Cuttino tallied three kills and two blocks as the Boilermakers hit at a .345 clip. After falling behind 2-1, Purdue rallied to score nine of the next 11 to take a 10-4 lead and never looked back. The Badgers cut the margin to three at 12-9, but that sparked a 8-3 Boilermaker run, putting Purdue up 20-11. Adelaja had three kills in the stretch. Putways by Mohler and Stahl gave Purdue a chance at the set at 24-16 and stuff by Adelaja and Atkinson clinched the stanza at 25-16.
The Boilermakers (15-10, 5-9 B1G) return to action against Michigan State at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday in East Lansing, Michigan.