Boilermakers Shock Mizzou,
Advance Again To Sweet 16
BY BRANDAN ALFORD
BrandanAlford@gmail.com
F
or the fourth time in as
many years, Purdue volleyball has advanced to the
Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. And for the second year
in a row, the Boilermakers had
to go through a highly seeded
host team to advance to the
tournament's third round.
Following up a dominant
3-0 sweep of Central Arkansas
(27-4) in Round 1, Purdue took
down No. 4 Missouri (35-1) in
four sets on the Tigers' home
floor last weekend.
Led by Val Nichol's tripledouble, the Boilermakers (2211) were able to hold off a furious Missouri rally in the fourth
set to clinch the match and
keep Purdue's postseason run
alive. Leading 21-18, the Boilermakers surrendered six of
the next seven points to face
set point and the possibility of
a fifth set.
However, Purdue staved
off a pair of set points and rallied back, sealing the match on
a Missouri hitting error to win
the set, 26-24.
"We're really excited to be
one step closer to some of our
goals," Nichol said. "It took a
complete team effort to win
that Missouri match. Playing
as good of a team as Missouri,
we didn't want it to go to a fifth
set; we needed to cap it off and
take that win."
Purdue undoubtedly relied on the postseason experience on its current roster as it
opened tournament play.
"Before the matches, Coach
tallied the experience we had
as a team in terms of age and
NCAA Tournament games,"
Nichol said. "He used that to
motivate us."
As has been apparent all
Purdue
Purdue continues to work its magic in
NCAA Tournament play with another trip
to the Sweet 16.
fall, the Big Ten's strength
and depth was on full display in the tournament's
first weekend. In all, seven
Big Ten teams advanced to
the Sweet 16, far and away
the most of any conference.
The league also boasts a
14-1 record in the tournament through two rounds.
"I think this past week
has really shown how strong
the Big Ten is," junior Kierra
Jones said. "People under-
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