Behind Two 21-Kill Games, #19 Purdue Upends #7 Creighton

  0 Kyp Harasymowycz | September 09th, 2017 | Big Ten, College - Women's Indoor, Division I Mid-Major, News

MATCH STATS

  • No. 19 Purdue def. No. 7 Creighton 3-1 (25-21, 25-15, 22-25, 27-25)
  • Purdue stays undefeated at 7-0; Creighton falls to 5-2
  • Lawrence, Kansas
  • Attendance: 500
  • Box Score

LAWRENCE, Kan. – In their first of two top ten matches on Friday for the Boilermakers, Purdue hit over .400 to defeat Creighton in four sets.

Outside hitter Danielle Cuttino and opposite Sherridan Atkinson combined for 42 of Purdue’s 66 kills against their first ranked opponent of the season. Cuttino had nine kills alone in the fourth set. Atkinson followed up her Wyoming Invitational MVP nod with a 21-2-38 line, hitting .500 in the match. Libero Brooke Peters had her statistically best match of the season with 17 digs and only one reception error in 16 attempts.

Setter Ashley Evans assisted on 57 of the Boilermakers 66 kills, while also contributing 12 digs for a double-double.

The Boilers lost the race to 10 in each of the first three sets, but runs of 22-11 in the first and 14-2 in the second sealed the 2-0 lead. Creighton had an 8-2 run of their own to win set 3. A more tightly contested set four featured fourteen ties before Purdue secured the match, 27-25.

Creighton was led by Marysa Wilkinson with 14 kills and hitting .310, Jaali Winters with 13 kills, 10 digs and 4 aces, and Taryn Kloth with 11 kills. Purdue transfer Lydia Dimke ran the Creighton offense with 39 assists, 7 kills and 7 digs. Libero Brittany Witt had 14 digs to pace the Bluejay defense.

In all, Purdue beat the Bluejays in kills (66-55), digs (54-46), hitting percentage (.411-.234) and blocks (7-3), while Creighton had a 10-0 advantage in aces.

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Courtesy Purdue Athletics:

AWRENCE, Kan. – The No. 17 Boilermakers (7-1) kicked off the Kansas Invitational with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-15, 22-25, 27-25) upset of No. 9 Creighton (6-2) before falling to No. 7 Kansas 3-1 (18-25, 17-25, 25-18, 19-25) in Kansas’ Horejsi Center. Ashley Evans set the offense to a .411 hitting percentage against the Bluejays while three pin hitters accounted for 53 of Purdue’s 66 kills.

Danielle Cuttino and Sherridan Atkinson torched Creighton’s defense for 21 kills each in the contest. Cuttino hit .576 with her 21-2-33 line while Atkinson hit .500 with 21 kills, two errors and 38 attempts. In the final two sets, Cuttino was determined to slam the door on the Bluejays as she registered 15 kills on 22 errorless swings, with nine kills coming in the final set. Azariah Stahl made the most of her opportunities as well, throwing down 11 kills on 28 attempts with just one error to hit .357, complementing her seven digs and two blocks. Of Purdue’s 66 kills in the contest, Evans assisted Boilermakers on 57 of them while throwing down five of her own to go along with her 12 digs.

Danielle and Shavona Cuttino were a force defensively as well, combining for seven block assists. Brooke Peters turned in her best performance of the season with 17 digs and just one reception error in 16 attempts at libero.

Creighton jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first set but somehow the Boilermakers were unfazed and responded with an even bigger statement, outscoring the Bluejays 22-11 to win the first 25-21. The second set started much closer as each team traded blows until the Boilermakers found themselves down 13-11 and busted off a 14-2 run to dominate the set 25-15. Creighton bounced back in the third set with an 8-2 run to take a 15-10 advantage and managed to hold on to force the fourth set with a 25-22 score. The fourth set was a battle throughout as both teams struggled to take control with seven tie scores down the stretch once Purdue evened the score at 18. However, the Boilermakers were able to defeat the Bluejays 27-25 to win the set and avoid a fifth set.

Purdue’s match against Kansas was a different story, as the Jayhawks held Purdue to its lowest hitting percentage of the season. Danielle Cuttino and Atkinson managed to earn 11 and 10 kills respectively but were held to a .161 hitting percentage. Evans earned her second double-double of the season with 37 assists and 11 digs. Peters continues to grow in her role at libero with 14 digs and not a single service reception in 27 attempts against the Jayhawks. Freshman Caitlyn Newton shined in her first contest against a ranked opponent as she started the third set and hit .294 with nine kills and 17 swings in the final two sets of the contest.

The Boilermakers look to bounce back Saturday, Sept. 9 at 1 p.m. ET against Belmont (5-5). The Bruins were swept by Creighton and Kansas in its first two matches of the tournament.

Courtesy Creighton Athletics:

LAWRENCE, Kan. — No. 17 Purdue stayed unbeaten with a 3-1 win over No. 9 Creighton Volleyball on Friday morning at the Kansas Invitational in Lawrence, Kan.

Scores of the match in favor of Purdue were 25-21, 25-15, 22-25, 27-25.

The Boilermakers (7-0) entered the match second in the country with a .385 hitting percentage, then hit .411 in the match while holding the Bluejays (5-2) to .234 hitting.

The Boilermakers set the tone for the match in the first set, overcoming an early 10-3 Bluejay lead with an 11-1 run to take the lead for good. Creighton got as close as three at 19-16 before PU pulled away with the next three points. Purdue hit .433 in the first set while Creighton hit .158 thanks in part to eight attack errors. Sherridan Atkinson had six kills in 10 errorless swings to aid the Boilers early on.

Creighton led 13-11 midway through the second set before another Boilermaker run. This time it was a 14-2 spurt to close the set and take a 2-0 lead in the match. Purdue hit .400 in the frame while CU hit just .037 and did not record a block.

Creighton held off a Purdue charge late in the third set. A 5-0 run on Naomi Hickman’s serve helped CU build an 11-8 lead that later morphed into a 19-14 margin. Purdue answered, drawing within one at 22-21, before Creighton regrouped and closed out the set with a 25-22 win. Jaali Winters had six kills and a pair of aces in the third set to pace CU, which hit .324.

The fourth set was another close one. Creighton led 18-14 before three consecutive Purdue points narrowed the gap. Purdue finally overtook the Jays at 23-22. The teams then traded six straight sideouts before the Boilermakers finally converted its third match point opportunity on a Bluejay attack error. Danielle Cuttino had nine kills in 11 swings in the final set for the Boilermakers, which offset seven kills by Taryn Kloth in the frame.

Atkinson and Cuttino each had 21 kills for Purdue, combining to hit .535 on 71 swings. Ashley Evans directed the Boilermaker offense and finished with 57 assists and 12 digs. Brooke Peters dug a match-best 17 digs.

Marysa Wilkinson led CU with 14 kills, with Winters (13) and Kloth (11) both finishing in double-figures as well. Winters added 10 digs for her first double-double of the fall and Brittany Witt added a Bluejay-best 14 digs. Creighton lost despite a 10-0 lead in aces.

Purdue led in kills 66-55, digs 54-46 and blocks 7-3.

Creighton returns to the court later tonight at 5 p.m. when it faces off against Belmont.

NOTES: Creighton freshman Naomi Hickman had a season-high six kills in the return to her hometown of Lawrence, Kan. … Creighton had won its previous 28 matches when winning at least one set … Through seven matches, Creighton now owns 40 aces against just 37 service errors … This was the first volleyball meeting between Purdue and Creighton … Creighton setter Lydia Dimke had 39 assists, seven digs and seven kills on .500 hitting against her former team … Creighton had not lost when serving 10 or more aces since Oct. 21, 2006, snapping an eight-match win streak … Creighton had been 66-6 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when owning more service aces than service errors … Creighton had been 6-0 all-time when owning 10 or more aces than its opponent, and not had 10 or more aces than its opponent since Sept. 17, 2011 against McNeese State (13-2) … Brittany Witt tied her career-high with three aces, while Jaali Winters tied her career-high with four aces.

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