SU Downed By No. 21 Purdue In Tournament Opener

Friday, September 20

West Lafayette, IN

7 p.m.

Syracuse University

4-6

Purdue

7-2

Syracuse

Purdue

Gosia Wlaszczuk led the Orange on the first day of the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge with seven kills and no errors for a .500 hitting percentage

9/20/2013 9:27:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Box Score | Season Statistics

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Syracuse's three game winning streak came to an end on Friday night when the Orange lost in straight sets to nationally ranked No. 21 Purdue at Holloway Gymnasium in West Lafayette, Ind. on Sept. 20.

Sophomore Gosia Wlaszczuk picked up right where she left off last weekend, posting team bests of seven kills for a .500 hitting percentage. Nicolette Serratore chipped in with six kills, six digs and a pair of two total blocks. Freshman Erica Handley passed out 17 assists and six digs while Candace Timberlake tallied a team-high eight digs. Lindsay McCabe tied for a team high with two blocks and also had four kills in just five attempts.

In the first set, both teams went back and forth early on, with the Boilermakers finally grabbing the lead for good at 7-6, which sparked a four-point run for the home team. After SU closed the gap to 11-9, Purdue responded with five straight to push their lead to 16-9. The Boilermakers closed out the set on a kill from Annie Drews and a block from Kiki Jones and Sam Epenesa.

The Orange jumped out to a 3-0 lead to begin the second set, but three kills by Epenesa helped give Purdue a 4-3 advantage. Another four-point spurt gave the Boilermakers a 9-5 lead they wouldn't relinquish. SU kept the score close, cutting it down to just one point at 14-13 midway through the set. But Purdue reeled off eight consecutive points, including three in a row from Val Nichol to go up 22-13. A block from Nichol and Faye Adelaja gave the Boilermakers the set.

Serratore tallied three kills to open up the final set. However, the lead wouldn't last for long, as the Boilermakers rattled off six of the next seven points and never trailed again. Syracuse was able to tie the set 10-10 following a pair of kills from Wlaszczuk, but wouldn't get any closer after Purdue scored the next four. SU recorded their best hitting percentage (.206) of the match in the third set, but it was no match for Purdue, who hit at a clip of .433.

Overall, the Boilermakers outhit the Orange .391 to .124 and served five aces to just one for Syracuse. Purdue was led by Jones, who finished with 10 kills, a .643 hitting percentage and four blocks. Nichol added nine kills with a .438 hitting percentage and 19 assists, while Carly Cramer had a game-high 15 digs.

SU continues play at the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge at 10 a.m. against FIU followed by a 5 p.m. tilt with Northern Kentucky.