Purdue sweeps Northwestern & improves to 18-7 on the year

EVANSTON, Ill. (WLFI) - The No. 22 Boilermaker volleyball team swept the season series with Northwestern, extended their current win streak to four matches and moved to 18-7 on the season with a 3-0 sweep of the Wildcats Saturday night. Purdue won the match 25-17, 25-17, 25-17.  

Senior Ariel Turner overcame a slow start to post a match-high 16 kills, while also tallying a team-best 17 digs. Redshirt junior Catherine Rebarchak downed 11 kills and put up six blocks. Sophomores Kiki Jones and Catherine Rebarchak chipped in kill tallies of seven and six. The Boilermakers outhit Northwestern .295 to .098 and outblocked the Wildcats 13-4.

Senior Anna Drewry led the Boilermakers at the net with seven stuffs, followed by Rebarchak’s six. Turner chipped in three blocks, all solo efforts. Turner and redshirt junior Carly Cramer pulled up 17 digs apiece to lead the backcourt defense. Freshman Amanda Neill added nine digs, while redshirt junior Rachel Davis and junior Hilliary Fox managed seven digs apiece.

The Boilermakers piled up seven blocks and saw six different players post kills in a 25-17 Set 1 win. Purdue scored three of the first four points of the night, including two on stuffs by Rebarchak. Northwestern tied the score at six and seven, but the Boilermakers distanced themselves with a 5-0 run, including an ace by Nichol and two blocks, one of which was a solo effort by Turner. The Wildcats scored three of the next five to make it 14-10, but Purdue rallied to boost the margin to eight at 20-12. Four different players chipped in kills during the run, including back-to-back points by Davis. Back-to-back blocks, including a solo stuff by Turner, and an NU hitting error countered a 3-0 Wildcat rally. Northwestern cut the margin to five at 23-17, but kills by Rebarchak and Turner sealed the win.

Turner racked up nine kills and the Boilermakers outhit Norhtwestern .333 to .179 en route to a 25-17 win. posted a Northwestern went up 7-3 early in Set 2 and led by five at 12-7, before Purdue turned it around and went on to a 25-17 win. Trailing 15-12, the Boilermakers put together a 9-0 run to vault into a 21-15 lead and force the Wildcats to burn both of their timeouts. Turner pounded down four kills in the rally, while Cramer led the team from the service line, serving up eight straight points, including an ace. A Wildcat kill stopped the Boilermakers temporarily, but kills by Rebarchak and Turner and an NU miscue made it 24-16. A Northwestern service error ended the set at 25-17 two plays later.

Purdue led early in Set 3, but had to overcome a midset rally by Northwestern to pull off the 25-17 win and the sweep. The Boilermakers were up 7-5, but the Wildcats scored six of the next eight to turn the two-point deficit into a two-point advantage. Down by two at 12-10, a Rebarchak kill sparked a 7-1 run and put Purdue on top 17-13. Northwestern nudged back to within two at 18-16, but a kill by Turner and a pair of blocks by Drewry, who combined with Nichol and Rebarchak, made it 21-16 Boilers. A service error gave the Wildcats a break, but Purdue wrapped up the sweep with a 4-0 run including kills by Nichol and Rebarchak and a stuff by Drewry and Rebarchak. A Northwestern hitting error ended the match.

The Boilermakers (18-7, 9-5 Big Ten) return to action at 8 p.m. ET Thursday when they take on the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City.