Purdue rallies to beat Dayton in NCAA volleyball tournament

The Dayton Flyers put themselves position to advance to the third round of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament for the first time in school history.

But the Flyers let a two-set lead slip away Friday as host Purdue, the tournament’s No. 6 seed and the eighth-ranked team in the country, stormed back to score a 25-27, 19-25, 25-15, 25-6, 15-5 victory at Holloway Gymnasium in West Lafayette, Ind.

The Boilermakers (25-6) advance to the Sweet 16. Dayton, which had its 20-match winning streak snapped, finishes 26-6.

Jamie Peterson had 14 kills, Mahalia Swink 12 and Lexie Almodovar 10 for the Flyers. Livie Sandt had 42 assists, Maura Collins had 21 digs and Almodovar had 13.

Dayton advanced to Round 2 by beating Marquette in four sets on Thursday. It was the ninth time in 16 appearances Dayton has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Flyers lost to Nebraska in the second round in 2003, Michigan State in 2007, Illinois in 2009, Ohio State in 2010, Oregon in 2012, Penn State in 2014 and 2015 and Washington in the 2021 spring season.

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About the Author

John Boyle