WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Late rallies lifted No. 15 Michigan State over Purdue on Wednesday in a three-set loss. The Spartans won the match 30-28, 25-22, 25-19.
Junior Danielle Cuttino put down 13 kills to lead the Boilermakers. Redshirt senior Faye Adelaja followed with 12 kills while hitting at a .471 clip and putting up a team-best five blocks. Junior Azariah Stahl added five kills, while redshirt sophomore Sherridan Atkinson and redshirt freshman Blake Mohler chipped in four apiece.
Defensively, Purdue managed seven blocks, including Adelaja's five and three each by Cuttino and Atkinson. In the back court, sophomore Brooke Peters and redshirt sophomore Carissa Damler pulled up nine digs apiece. Stahl and freshman Natalie Haben added seven apiece as the Boilermakers outdug MSU 46 to 44. Peters served up two aces, while Damler added one.
The Spartans held Purdue to a .132 hitting percentage with 11 blocks.
The Boilermakers had two set point chances, but couldn't cash in, falling 30-28 in Set 1. Purdue rallied from down 10-5 to take a 14-11 lead as Peters served up two aces and the Spartans held the cause with six errors. Purdue went up 20-15 after an ace by Damler and more MSU miscues. Michigan State tied it up at 22 and 23 before earning a shot at the set at 24-23. Kills by Adelaja and Cuttino thwarted that and gave the Boilermakers a set-point chance of its own at 25-24. Back to back kills made it 26-25 Spartans, but a pair of hitting errors put Purdue up 27-26. MSU took timeout and scored four of the next five to steal away the 30-28 win. Adelaja had five kills and hit .429 in the set, but Michigan State managed six blocks.
Michigan State snapped a 17-17 tie in Set 2 by outscoring the Boilermakers 8-4 down the stretch in a 25-22 Set 2 win. Purdue outhit MSU .263 to .250 and Cuttino put down six kills, but it was not enough. Purdue raced out to an 8-4 advantage, but Michigan State countered with a 7-2 run to take the lead at 11-10. A pair of kills by Adelaja made it 13-11 Purdue. MSU tied at up 13, sparking a series of five ties, last at 17. Down 20-18, Purdue got kills from Atkinson and Adelaja to tie it up at 20 and putaways from Adelaja and Cuttino to tie at 22. A Spartan kill and two errors gave MSU the 25-22 win.
MSU led Set 3 from start to finish and held off a late Boilermaker rally for a 25-19 win and the match. The Spartans led 8-5 early and went on to a 15-11 lead, before Purdue put together a 5-1 run to tie it up at 16. Atkinson had two kills and a block in the run. Michigan State pushed the lead to four at 22-18 forcing a timeout. Adelaja got a kill out of the break, but two kills and a block capped the MSU win. Cuttino had four kills in the final set.
The Boilermakers (15-11, 5-10 B1G) return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday in their home finale against Iowa. A senior night ceremony for Faye Adelaja will take place before the match.