Boilers Block Baylor to Advance to Regional Semifinal Round for Third Straight Year
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The "Block Party" is the name of the student section inside Holloway Gymnasium, but on Friday night, the Purdue volleyball team turned the second round of the NCAA Tournament into its own block party.
Purdue used a big night at the net to power past Baylor in four sets, advancing to the Regional Semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive season. Defense was the catalyst behind the Boilermakers' success, as they recorded 20 blocks to take down the Bears.
Dave Shondell's team got after things early on Friday night, posting nine blocks on the way to a convincing 25-16 win in the first set. Baylor put up a better fight in the second set, but Purdue still cruised to a 25-19 victory.
Things got a little shaky in the third set. Purdue owned a 20-17 lead, but a 5-0 run by Baylor propelled the Bears to a 25-23 victory and extended the match into a fourth set. The two teams traded blows, but the Boilers eventually pulled away and earned a 25-20 win to advance to the next round of the NCAA Tournament.
"I'm just so proud of the team, so happy for them," Shondell said. "They've had high aspirations from the beginning of this season, and have just done some amazing things, but I don't think anything more amazing than what they did today by advancing to the Regional round and getting the opportunity to continue to play."
Kenna Wollard and Akasha Anderson were the stars on the offensive end for the Boilermakers. Wollard finished the night with 18 kills on 34 swings, while Anderson totaled 17 kills on 36 attacks. Lindsey Miller also had 10 kills, and Dior Charles had seven kills and five blocks.
Setter Taylor Anderson ended the night with 45 assists and seven digs. Libero Ryan McAleer was responsible for 15 digs and four assists.
It was a complete team effort for the Boilermakers.
"At times today, I thought it looked like we had some superstars," Shondell said. "I thought Kenna and Kash, the way they started off, were unstoppable. Dior Charles has made a huge difference with our team. Lindsey Miller, three weeks ago, we didn't have any middle offense. We were leaning heavy on three people to score points for us.
"[Taylor Anderson] has just been phenomenal, absolutely great. And the girl to my right, [Ryan McAleer] has blown up as one of the best liberos in the entire country. If you don't know, then you're not paying attention. She has been a big difference-maker for us."
Boilers continue to prove people wrong
Before the season started, there were a lot of questions surrounding Purdue's program. The Boilermakers were picked to finish seventh in the Big Ten after losing so much production from last year's squad.
The Boilers ended the year with a 24-6 record and a 15-5 mark in the conference, finishing third in the league standings. Now, they're headed to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year.
"It means a lot. Getting overlooked at the beginning of the season was something that doesn't feel good," McAleer said after the match. "We took it as a challenge to prove everyone wrong. I think we came together beautifully to do that."
"It's pretty awesome. It's such a special group of girls, group of people that we have on our volleyball team," Wollard added. "I think it means a lot to all of us. The outside noise in the beginning, it wasn't fun, wasn't enjoyable to hear, but I think we've shown what we're capable of. It's been so much fun."
Purdue is in the Pitt Regional and will play either Florida or No. 2 seed SMU next weekend.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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