Match Stats
- #2 Minnesota def. #14 Purdue 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-23)
- Minnesota moves to 12-1, 4-0 Big Ten; Purdue falls to 11-4, 1-3 Big Ten
- West Lafayette, Indiana (Purdue)
The 2nd-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers remained atop the Big Ten table at 4-0 on Sunday when they swept #14 Minnesota 3-0. After Nebraska’s big loss on Saturday to Ohio State, three teams remain perfect at 4-0 in the conference: Minnesota, #3 Wisconsin, and Penn State.
Sunday’s matchup was an offensive slug-fest, with Minnesota hitting .457 and Purdue swinging at a .323 clip even in a losing effort.
Minnesota sprinted out to a 6-2 lead in the first set, including 4-straight points on serves from Sarah Wilhite. Wilhite led the Gophers with 19 kills on 29 swings and a massive .621 hitting percentage on the day, and led Minnesota to .531 hitting in the opening frame.
In set 2, Minnesota hit .500, and after the teams traded points through 10-10, Wilhite again broke things open with an ace and a kill.
Purdue pushed Minnesota to the bring in the 3rd set, leading 23-22, but a well-placed timeout by head coach Hugh McCutcheon allowed the Gophers to regroup, and two-straight ball-handling errors by Purdue, followed by one finishing kill from Wilhite to seal a victory.
The win for Minnesota almost seals their fate to become the new #1 team in the country when Monday’s AVCA polls are released. Minnesota has played now 8 matches this season against teams that have been ranked in the top 25 this season, and they’ve won all but 1 of them.
Purdue had a big day offensively as well, with 17 kills each from Azariah Stahl (hitting .517) and Danielle Cuttino (hitting .382).
Faye Adelaja hit just .250 for Purdue; she entered the match ranked 2nd in the country in hitting percentage, and slides behind Illinois State’s Jaelyn Keene in the national rankings.
Videos
Courtesy Purdue Athletics, head coach Dave Shondell:
A few words from @DaveShondell. Great effort by Minnesota, tough to beat. Still making progress though. #boilerup pic.twitter.com/23JDHUMGTM
— Purdue Volleyball (@PurdueVB) October 2, 2016
On to the next one. #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/Cqs4OiFbhG
— Purdue Volleyball (@PurdueVB) October 2, 2016
Press Releases
Courtesy Minnesota Athletics:
The No. 2 University of Minnesota earned a three-set win over No. 14 Purdue, today, in West Lafayette, Ind. With the win, the Golden Gophers improve to 12-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten.
As a team, the Gophers hit .457 to Purdue’s .323. Minnesota had just six attack errors to Purdue’s 15. The Gophers also added four aces. Minnesota was led by Sarah Wilhite with 19 kills (hit .621) and Hannah Tapp with 10 (hit .444), while Hart had nine (.562). Dalianliz Roado added a match-best 13 digs, while Samantha Seliger-Swenson had 39 assists.
Set 1: Although Purdue hit .406 on the set, the Gophers bettered that number with a .531 hitting clip for a 25-18 win. Minnesota opened the match with a 6-2 advantage, including four points off Wilhite’s serve rotation, which forced Purdue to take an early timeout. Lohman put the Gophers up 9-4 with a kill for the eighth point and an ace. Wilhite made it 11-5 with a kill off the block attempt, and a 16-10 lead off a Hart kill. H Tapp saved a play when she got a free ball over for a kill and a 21-15 lead. The point forced Purdue to call its second timeout of the set. Minnesota came out of the break with an ace by Seliger-Swenson for a 22-15 lead, while H Tapp had a kill for set point. After two points by Purdue, Lohman finished off the set for a 1-0 lead.
Set 2: The Gophers continued its hot hitting at .500 to win the second set, 25-18. After trading points through 10-10, Minnesota went up 12-10 after an ace and a kill by Wilhite. Minnesota cushioned its lead off a Purdue attack error and a block by Hart for a 15-11 Gopher lead. P Tapp and Wilhite pushed the Gopher lead to 17-12 off back-to-back kills, which forced Purdue to call its first timeout of the set. After Purdue cut the Gopher lead to four, Minnesota added to their lead at 22-16 off a H Tapp kill. A Wilhite ace put it at set point, while H Tapp finished off the set with a kill to go up, 2-0.
Set 3: Minnesota opened the set with a 5-2 lead, but Purdue came back and tied the set at 5-5. After trading points, a H Tapp kill put the Gophers up, 10-8. A Wilhite kill off the Purdue block attempt put the lead to 15-12. After a television timeout, the Boilermakers cut Minnesota’s lead to one, 15-14. The Gophers, however, got a block from Wilhite/P Tapp and a Purdue attack error for a 17-14 lead. It forced Purdue to call a timeout and the Boilermakers tied up the set at 17-17. Purdue took a 20-19 lead on a block, as Minnesota called a timeout. Minnesota tied the set off a Hart kill. After an attack error by Purdue and a 22-21 lead, the Boilermakers called a timeout. They went up 23-22 off a kill as Minnesota called a timeout. After a ball-handling error by Purdue to tie the set, Minnesota finished off the match with another Purdue ball handling error and a kill by Wilhite to sweep the Boilermakers.
Courtesy Purdue Athletics:
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Juniors Azariah Stahl and Danielle Cuttino had standout performances but it was not enough to lift the No. 14 Boilermakers over No. 2 Minnesota on Sunday. The duo added 17 kills apiece and Purdue hit .323 in the match, but the Gophers won 25-18, 25-18, 25-23.
The Boilermakers outblocked Minnesota 5-2 and outdug the Gophers 34-31, but UM hit at a .457 clip to claim the victory.
Stahl put down 17 kills on a season-best .517 hitting effort (with just two errors in 29 swings), while also adding five digs, two blocks and an ace. For her part, Cuttino put down 17 kills while hitting at a .382 clip and adding two blocks. Middle blockers Blake Mohler and Faye Adelaja added six and five kills respectively.
Defensively, libero Natalie Haben pulled up nine digs, followed by setter Ashley Evans’ eight. Sophomore Brooke Peters and Stahl added five digs apiece. Stahl and Peters each served up an ace.
The Boilermakers scored two of the first three points in Set 1 on kills by Mohler and Cuttino, but Minnesota managed five straight to go up 6-2 and force a Purdue timeout. Down 16-10, the Boilermakers scored five of the next eight, including two Stahl kills and a Peters ace, to narrow the gap to four at 19-15. Minnesota used a 5-1 run to go up 24-16. A kill by Mohler and a Gopher error kept the stanza going, before a kill ended it at 25-18. Stahl put down six kills and Cuttino added five as the Boilermakers hit .406 in the set, but were outdone by a .531 Minnesota effort.
After falling behind 5-3 early in Set 2, the Boilermakers rallied to take a 7-6 lead, but could not hold on, falling 25-18. Stahl put down two kills and Cuttino added one in the 4-1 rally which put Purdue on top. A stuff by Cuttino and Adelaja made it 10-9 Boilermakers, but the Gophers turned the tables with a 9-2 run to take an 18-12 lead. Kills by four different players narrowed the gap to four at 20-16, but Minnesota closed out the set with five of the final seven points. Stahl downed seven kills and Cuttino chipped in five as Purdue hit .303, only to be usurped by Minnesota’s .500 hitting percentage.
Set 3, which featured 10 tie scores and four lead changes, saw the Boilermakers lead as late at 23-22, but fall 25-23. Down 5-2 early, Purdue got a kill and a block each from Mohler and Stahl to knot the score at 5. The score stayed close until Minnesota went ahead 17-14, forcing a Boilermaker timeout. Purdue scored six of the next eight points out of the break to push ahead 20-19. Cuttino managed three kills and a solo stuff, while Mohler also was credited with a solo block in the rally. Down 21-20, Minnesota got help from two Boilermaker miscues to go up 22-21. A Gopher service error and kill by Stahl put Purdue back up 23-22 and forced a UM timeout. Two ball handling errors and a kill gave Minnesota the win.
The No. 14 Boilermakers (11-4, 1-3 B1G) return to action at 8 p.m. ET Friday when they take on Iowa in Iowa City.
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