Match Stats
- Northwestern defeats Purdue 3-1 (25-19, 18-25, 25-19, 28-26)
- Northwestern improves to 8-13
- Purdue drops to 12-8
Press Releases
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern used a dominant defense and a balanced offense to defeat No. 24 Purdue in four sets Friday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena for its first conference win of the season.
“It feels awesome,” head coach Shane Davis said. “It’s a big weight off our shoulders. It was great to see the training block we had this week transition into tonight’s match. I am really proud of the group tonight.”
Junior Symone Abbott led the way for the Wildcats with 18 kills. She was followed by seniors Sofia Lavinwith nine and Maddie Slater with seven. Junior setter Taylor Tashima spread the ball around to seven different attackers, racking up 41 assists on the night. It was her fourth 40-assist game this season.
“It’s great to get a win on our home court after all the hard work we have been putting in at practice,” Tashima said. “The Big Ten is a grind every night, and I am proud of our team for executing when it counted. The win feels great, but we are already looking toward tomorrow’s practiceand getting ready for Indiana.”
The Wildcats were spurred by their service game with eight aces, one short of the team’s season high. Tashima served a career high five of them, with three coming consecutively in the first set.
Slater hit .314 to continue her climb to the top of the all-time charts at Northwestern.
Gabrielle Hazen added six kills, while Kayla Morin notched four.
Chicago’s Big Ten Team was a force at the net, registering 10 blocks en route to holding Purdue to just .167 hitting. Hazen had a team-high four, including three solo. Slater had three, bringing her to 296 for her career.
Northwestern improved to 8-2 when it wins the first set and 7-3 when it wins the hitting percentage battle.
The ‘Cats started the match off on fire due in large part to a seven-point run to break the first set open at 20-13. They served six aces en route to winning the first frame 25-19.
Purdue battled back to win the second set 25-18 and tie the match at one set apiece.
Northwestern came out of the break hitting on all cylinders in the third set and ran out to a 14-8 lead on the way to a 25-19 set win and a 2-1 lead. NU then won a wild fourth set to seal the match. After going down 4-0, they rallied to tie the set at 9-9 and continued to take a 24-20 lead. Purdue fought off four match points and earned a set point of their own, before the Wildcats clamped down and finished the set 28-26 to earn the win.
A quick turnaround awaits Northwestern as Indiana comes to town on Sunday for a 3 p.m. match that will be televised live on Big Ten Network.
Purdue:
EVANSTON, Ill. — The No. 24 Boilermakers fought to the end, but ended up on the short end of a 3-1 score against Northwestern on Friday night. The Wildcats won the match 25-19, 18-25, 25-19, 28-26.
Junior Danielle Cuttino pounded down a career and match-high 23 kills on a .367 hitting percentage, while redshirt sophomore Sherridan Atkinson added 12 kills and .350. Redshirt senior Faye Adelaja put down six kills, while junior Azariah Stahl added five.
Defensively, freshman Natalie Haben managed a match-high 16 digs followed by Stahl (13) and redshirt sophomore Carissa Damler (10). Redshirt junior Ashley Evans added nine and sophomore Brooke Peterschipped in eight. At the net, redshirt freshman Blake Mohler put up five blocks, including three solo efforts, while Atkinson added three.
Purdue posted 48 kills to Northwestern’s 46 and outdug the Wildcats 59 to 45, but were outhit .185 to .167 and outblocked 10-8.
Northwestern outhit Purdue .381 to .214 in a 25-19 Set 1 win. The Boilermakers scored three of the first four points in the set, including an ace by Peters, and later led 5-4, but soon found themselves facing a 12-7 deficit. After a timeout, Purdue cut the margin to one at 13-12 on another Peters ace and two kills by Cuttino. A 7-0 Northwestern run made it 20-12. The Boilermakers narrowed the gap to five at 23-18 on an overpass kill by Adelaja, but could not finish the comeback. Cuttino and Atkinson had four kills apiece in the set.
The Boilermakers led Set 2 from start to finish en route to a 25-18 win. Purdue jumped out to an early 4-1 lead with two kills by Cuttino and an ace by Stahl. After a tie at 5-5, the Boilermakers scored six of the next eight, including two kills by Cuttino, an ace by Mohler and a block by Adelaja. Northwestern was within three at 18-15, but a kill from Adelaja and Wildcat net violation put Purdue on top 20-15. The Boilermakers closed out the set at 25-18 with a 4-0 run, including a stuff and a kill by Atkinson. Purdue outhit Northwestern .474 to .176.
The teams split the first 14 points of Set 3, but Northwestern pushed ahead to a 19-12 lead and never looked back in a 25-19 win. Back to back kills by Stahl and two blocks by Mohler cut the margin to four at 21-17, but it was not enough as the Wildcats scored four of the final six points. Cuttino put down five kills in the set and the Boilermakers posted four blocks.
Purdue trailed 23-17 in Set 4 and fought all the way back to have a set point chance of their own at 25-24, but fell 28-26 in the final stanza. The Boilermakers started the set with six of the first eight points, including three kills by Cuttino and an ace by Haben. Northwestern used a 9-2 run to go ahead 11-9 and eventually went on to an 18-13 lead before going up 23-17. Down 24-20, the Boilermakers got two kills from Cuttino, a stuff by Mohler and help from two Wildcat miscues to have a shot at the set at 25-24. A pair of NU kills made it 26-25 and gave the Wildcats another match point chance. A block by Mohler and Evans knotted it at 26, but a service error and a Northwestern kill ended the night. Cuttino pounded down eight kills in the stanza, but it was not enough.
The Boilermakers (12-8, 2-7 B1G) return to action at 8 p.m. ET Saturday when they take on No. 22 Illinois in Champaign.
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