Final Stats / Quotes / Photo Gallery / Highlights
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Boilermakers advanced to the NCAA Second Round for the 11th straight time with a 3-0 sweep of Iowa State on Thursday as junior Danielle Cuttino pounded down 21 kills to lead all hitters. Purdue won the match 26-25, 25-21, 25-13. The Boilermakers (19-13) will face Missouri (26-5) at 7 p.m. ET Friday.
Cuttino's 21 kills, just two off her career best, came on 31 swings, while hitting at a season-best .613 clip. Redshirt sophomore Sherridan Atkinson added 10 kills, while hitting .529. Redshirt senior Faye Adelaja (8), junior Azariah Stahl (6) and redshirt freshman Blake Mohler (5) also contributed offensively.
Mohler and Cuttino paced Purdue at the net with three blocks apiece as the Boilermakers outblocked ISU 5-1. Freshman Natalie Haben pulled up 10 digs to lead the backcourt, while also serving up a season-best five aces. Evans (8), redshirt sophomore Carissa Damler (7) and Stahl (6) followed.
Purdue won all major statistical categories, outhitting Iowa State .454 to .343, outserving the Cyclones 8-2 in aces and outdigging them 43-33. The Boilermakers' .454 hitting percentage is the program's best ever in an NCAA match, topping a .370 mark (54-110-119) vs. Louisville on Dec. 3, 2011.
The Boilermakers rallied from down 23-21 to steal away a 26-24 Set 1 win as Cuttino pounded down nine kills and the team hit at a .405 clip. Purdue trailed by as many as three in the set and staved off a Cyclone set point chance in the stanza. Iowa State led 6-4 early, Kills by Mohler and Atkinson gave Purdue its first lead at 7-6. Down 8-7, the Cyclones used an 8-4 run to turn the tables and go up 15-12. Kills by Cuttino and Mohler and an ace by Damler helped the Boilermakers tie it up at 15 and 16. ISU surged ahead 19-17, but Purdue got back to back kills from Cuttino to knot the score at 19. Down 23-21, Cuttino and Mohler had putaways to tie it up. Facing set point at 24-23, Stahl came through with a kill to tie it, then added a block and a kill to seal the 26-24 win.
Purdue had to stave off a late Cyclone rally and scored five straight to close out a 25-21 Set 2 win. The Boilermakers scored three of the first four points, including an ace by Haben, but ISU scored five of the next seven to take a 6-5 lead. Purdue answered with a 10-6 run of its own to go up 15-12 at the midway point. Five different players posted kills during the rally. Trailing 16-13, Iowa State mounted a comeback, scoring four straight to go up 17-16. Adelaja downed two kills as Purdue climbed back ahead 19-18. ISU used a 3-1 run to take a 21-20 lead. A Cuttino kill tied it up, an error, a kill by Atkinson, and an ace by Evans set up a triple block by Cuttino, Atkinson and Mohler which clinched the 25-21 win. Cuttino had six kills on eight swings in the set, which featured putaways by six different Boilermakers.
The Boilermakers jumped out to a 9-2 lead in Set 2 and never looked back, cruising to a 25-13 win and the sweep. Haben served up four straight aces and Cuttino had four kills in the opening rally. Purdue upped its advance to 20-10 on a kill and block by Atkinson. Kills by Stahl and Adelaja and an ace by Mohler gave Purdue its first chance at the match. An Atkinson putaway two points later ended the night at 25-13. The Boilermakers hit at a .522 clip in the final stanza.
Friday's second-round match will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app.