Down two sets to none and 20-24 in the third versus Purdue, Wisconsin’s freshman setter Sydney Hilley made the obvious choice, setting a slide for 6-foot-8 middle blocker Dana Rettke, who was leading the Badgers with 11 kills in the match and the team’s kills leader on the season.

But the set was too low for the tallest player in Wisconsin volleyball history, and Rettke didn’t get a good touch on it. The Purdue block slowed the ball down even further and libero Brooke Peters easily passed it up to senior setter Ashley Evans, who set up outside hitter Azariah Stahl. Stahl smashed the ball down the line, too hard for Wisconsin defensive specialist M.E. Dodge to control, and Stahl recorded her 13th kill of the night and won the match for her team. 

Watch the full match replay of Purdue vs. Wisconsin.

The 25-19, 25-21, 25-20 upset of No. 10 Wisconsin came only 24 hours after the Boilermakers dismantled No. 5 Minnesota. It marked the first time in Purdue volleyball history that the Boilermakers took down a pair of top-10 opponents in back-to-back matches. It was also Wisconsin’s only straight-set loss of the season to date.

For the second consecutive night, opposite Sherridan Atkinson led the offense, putting away 14 kills with a .480 hitting percentage, in addition to shutting down Wisconsin’s hitters with four block assists and a solo. Danielle Cuttino matched Stahl’s 13 kills, and Evans quarterbacked the team to a .318 clip.

Atkinson had a match-high 17 kills versus Minnesota, leading the Boilermakers to a 25-23, 21-25, 28-26, 25-14 victory. Cuttino put away 15 kills, five block assists, and a solo.

Watch the full match replay of Minnesota vs. Purdue.

The Boilermaker offense, which is second only to Penn State in the Big Ten conference, really hit its stride in the third set, maintaining a .333 clip, and then revving up to a .425 percentage in the fourth.

A strong defensive effort from libero Peters played a big role in the Boilermakers win over the Gophers, as her 24 saves allowed Purdue to out-dig Minnesota 64 to 53.

With the pair of wins, Purdue improves to 10-6 in conference play and holds its fifth-place spot in the standings.