Boilers Sweep Illinois State to Start Tourney Run

Purdue Volleyball got a clean sweep over Illinois State to move on in this year’s NCAA Tournament. They’ll face Dayton in the second round at 5:00 Friday.

Illinois State challenged Purdue in the first set then Boilers got rolling in sets two and three as they won 25-21, 25-17, 25-11.

After trading points back and forth through most of set one, Purdue made plays late in set one to secure the win. The Boilers finished on a 4-1 run capped off by a joust kill by Raven Colvin.

Purdue’s offense went into high gear in set two hitting .538 (15-1-26) as they overpowered Illinois State. The Boilers were really rolling on Caitlyn Newton’s serve. Purdue ran off five points to pull in front 9-5 early. Later she served up two aces on another 5-0 run as Purdue closed in on the set 23-15.

In the final set Purdue poured it on over the back half. Colvin fueled a 5-0 run with three kills and a block as the Boilers broke the set open, 15-7. The errors started to pile up for the Redbirds including two final errors as Purdue got back-to-back blocks to finish the night off.

Everyone for Purdue hit .300 or better led by Caitlyn Newton’s 12 kill, .345 effort in addition to two aces. Raven Colvin hit .700 tallying eight kills. Grace Cleveland hit an even .300 as she put away nine kills. Emma Ellis put away seven kills, hitting .545. Jael Johnson had a match-high five blocks. Hayley Bush put up 36 assists. Jena Otec pulled up 12 digs and Moe Hornung got 11.

Purdue outhit Illinois State .424-.127 and out blocked them 8-3.

Dayton (25-5, 16-0) won over Marquette in four sets. The Flyers are one of the best serving teams in the country which could give Purdue trouble. The Boilers will also have to keep the A-10 Player of the Year, Jamie Peterson, in check.

The match will be available on ESPN+.