Purdue volleyball falls at Minnesota 3-1 as losing skid continues

MINNEAPOLIS, MN. (WLFI) - The No. 17 Boilermakers gave No. 10 Minnesota volleyball all it could handle, outblocking the Gophers 14-8 and getting a 22-kill night from senior Ariel Turner, but found themselves on the short end of a 3-1 score. Minnesota won the match 25-21, 25-18, 16-25, 25-17.

Turner paced the Purdue offense and also added 11 digs, four blocks and an ace. Senior Anna Drewry added eight kills and a team-best seven stuffs. Sophomores Val Nichol and Kiki Jones chipped in five stuffs apiece for the Boilermakers, while also adding four and three kills respectively.

Redshirt junior Carly Cramer led the Boilermakers in the backcourt with 14 digs, while freshman Amanda Neill (11), Turner (11) and redshirt junior Rachel Davis (10) also pulled up double-digit saves. Davis rounded out a double-double with 37 assists.

Purdue also out-dug the Gophers 60 to 54.

The Boilermakers fought back from a seven-point deficit to tie the score late in Set 1, but couldn’t pull off the comeback, falling 25-21. Minnesota jumped out to 9-4 lead, but Purdue chipped away, pulling within three at 12-9 after a kill by Drewry and a stuff by Turner and Jones. The Gophers went up by seven at 17-10, but the Boilermakers charged back with an 8-1 run. Three UM errors and two Purdue blocks aided the cause as the teams tied at 18. Freshman Sam Epenesa tallied a kill and a solo stuff to cap the rally. Minnesota went up by four at 23-19, but a service error and kill by Drewry kept the Boilermakers in the game. A service error and a Gopher kill wrapped up a 25-21 win. Purdue outblocked Minnesota 4-0 in the set.

Purdue scored two of the first three points in Set 2, but played from behind the remainder of the stanza in a 25-18 Set 2 loss. Drewry and Turner managed those first two points on kills, but Minnesota went up 9-5 soon after. The Boilermakers rallied to within two at 10-8 after back-to-back Turner putaways. Kills by freshman Annie Drews, sophomore Val Nichol and Drewry kept Purdue close at 15-12. The Gophers took an eight-point lead at 21-13 thanks in part to four Boilermaker hitting miscues. Down 23-15, the Boilermakers got kills from Turner and Jones and help from a UM error to cut the margin to five at 23-18 and force a Gopher timeout. A kill and a Purdue error after the break ended the set.

The Boilermakers racked up seven blocks and found their offensive stride, hitting .345 to Minnesota’s .023 effort in a 25-16 Set 3 win. The teams split the first 12 points, but Purdue used a block by Drews and Drewry, an ace by Davis and a Gopher error to go up 9-6. An overpass putaway by Drewry made it a four-point game, but Minnesota closed to within one at 12-11. Purdue pushed the margin back to four after back-to-back stuffs by Jones, who combined with Turner and Nichol respectively. The Gophers pulled within two at 18-16, but the Boilermakers scored seven straight to close out the set. Two blocks and a Drewry kill set up a final putaway by Turner, who had seven in the stanza.

The Boilermakers led 15-13 midway through Set 4, but Minnesota flipped a switch following a timeout and outscored Purdue down the stretch 12-2 in a 25-17 win. Purdue led 3-1 after kills by Turner and Jones, but Minnesota tied it up at 4. Putaways by Nichol and Davis put Purdue up 6-4, but the Gophers scored four straight to go ahead 8-6. Down 12-10, the Boilermakers managed five of the next six with two kills and an ace by Turner and a kill by Drews. The Gophers called a timeout and the tides turned, including three aces. Jones had a stuff block and Turner had a kill to break up the Minnesota run, but it was not enough. Turner had seven kills and seven digs in the set to lead Purdue.

The No. 17 Boilermakers (14-7, 5-5 Big Ten) return to action at 8 p.m. Friday, when they take on Michigan on Dig For A Cure Night