EVANSTON, Ill. — In front of a loud crowd inside Welsh-Ryan Arena and national TV audience on BTN, the Northwestern volleyball team won a five-set thriller, 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 25-18, 17-25, 15-11), over No. 12 Purdue on Friday night.
The Wildcats (16-7, 5-6 B1G) won their third match of the year against a ranked opponent after beating No. 24 Pepperdine and No. 7 Minnesota. The Boilermakers dropped their fourth straight and fell to 15-6 overall and 6-5 in the Big Ten.
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Our third win over a ranked opponent this year ?? pic.twitter.com/EdQMn4BEe6
— Northwestern Volleyball (@NUVball) October 29, 2022
Temi Thomas-Ailara put together her best performance of the year, leading the way with 25 kills on 52 swings for a .327 hitting percentage. She logged her third double-double of the year recording 10 digs. Kathryn Randorf and Hanna Lesiak each chipped in with 13 kills. Sienna Noordermeer distributed a career-high 57 assists.
Defensively, Megan Miller tied her career-high with 30 digs, while Kathryn Randorf added six blocks.
Friday night FRIGHT ??
Northwestern pulls off the upset of No. 12 Purdue, 3-2 (25-23, 23-25. 25-18, 17-25, 15-11). #NCAAWVB x ?? @NUVball pic.twitter.com/gZX9jyrqSt
— NCAA Women’s Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) October 29, 2022
Game Notes
» Averie Hernandez had a team-high three aces in the win.
» NU defeated Purdue for the first time since 2016, and snapped a seven-match losing skid against the Boilermakers.
» The Wildcats 16 wins this season are the most in a year since 2018 (16-16).
» Northwestern improved to 3-0 in five set matches.
» Northwestern is 3-0 this year on BTN.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Wildcats opened up an early one set to none lead, winning a nail-biter first set 25-23. Northwestern grabbed the advantage for good at 24-23 in a set that had just one lead change before the Wildcats took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 2 | Northwestern fell in set two 25-23 to even the match 1-1. Northwestern trailed by as many as six points as Purdue grabbed the advantage for good at 8-7 in a set that was knotted up nine times before the Boilermakers took over the lead.
SET 3 | Northwestern fought back following…
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