After a fairly easy start to the season, things toughened up quickly for the Boilermakers during this past week with two matches against top-15 opponents. Purdue split those matches, which means they added one win that will certainly pay dividends later. Also, while I’m here, I’ll post a quick shoutout to the football team: that was a fun win last Saturday, and a significant step to bowl eligibility.
10/15: FINAL—#7 Ohio State 3, #6 Purdue 1
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
#6 Purdue |
23 |
21 |
25 |
21 |
#7 Ohio State |
25 |
25 |
19 |
25 |
Key Leaders:
Caitlyn Newton: 16 kills, 1 solo block, 2 assisted blocks, 11 digs
Raven Colvin: 9 kills, .400 hitting percentage, 7 assisted blocks
Jena Otec: 2 service aces, 25 digs
I knew that it would be very difficult to go into the Covelli Center with fans allowed inside and beat the Buckeyes, so this wasn’t a shameful loss. I would have loved for Purdue to win this match; but was not necessary for most of Purdue’s ambitions. They showed some good fight, but they did not make enough plays to win. In the first set, Purdue was battling throughout the set, but lost three of the last four points after pushing it to 22-22 with a three point run. In both the second and fourth sets, Ohio State jumped out to an early lead, and the Boilermakers were never able to overcome it.
10/17: FINAL—#6 Purdue 3, #15 Penn State 2
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
#15 Penn State |
23 |
25 |
25 |
23 |
11 |
#6 Purdue |
25 |
15 |
20 |
25 |
15 |
Key Leaders:
Hayley Bush: .455 hitting percentage, 48 assists, 2 block assists, 11 digs
Caitlyn Newton: 26 kills, .349 hitting percentage, 1 service ace, 1 solo block, 8 digs
Madeline Koch: 7 kills, .294 hitting percentage, 2 block assists
Jena Otec: 4 assists, 1 service ace, 27 digs
This was a really exciting match that kept you on your toes. After Purdue clawed past Penn State in the first set, the Nittany Lions dominated the second and third sets, and deep into the fourth set, as Penn State scored after a Purdue timeout to make the score 23-22 in their favor, I really thought that Penn State was going to win; and Purdue would have to readjust to prepare for the continuation of the Big Ten play. However, Caitlyn Newton had other ideas. Purdue was able to rally to win the last three points of the fourth set, two of which came directly from Newton, then took an early lead in the fifth set and never looked back. Newton also delivered the last three Purdue kills of the final set. The Nittany Lions did a very good job at taking away Purdue’s middle blockers, but the Boilermakers were able to find other ways to take points.
Ranked Big Ten Teams:
#3 Wisconsin, #6 Ohio State, #7 Purdue, #9 Nebraska, #12 Minnesota, #14 Penn State
Nonconference Report (Last Two Weeks):
Loyola Marymount (CA)—14-4, 5-3
Recent Results: @St. Mary’s (CA) (3-2), @Pacific (3-2), #8 Brigham Young (1-3), #22 San Diego (2-3)
Kansas—11-8, 3-5
Recent Results: #1 Texas (2-3), #1 Texas (0-3), @#11 Baylor (1-3), @#11 Baylor (1-3)
Nevada-Las Vegas—14-5, 5-3
Recent Results: @San Diego State (3-0), Fresno State (3-0), @Utah State (2-3), @Boise State (2-3)
Washington State—12-6, 6-2
Recent Results: @Arizona State (3-0), @Arizona (3-0), @Oregon State (3-0), @#13 Oregon (3-0)
Louisville—18-0, 8-0
Recent Results: Boston College (3-0), Syracuse (3-0), @Virginia Tech (3-0), @Wake Forest (3-1)
Lipscomb—9-9, 6-2
Recent Results: Bellarmine (3-0), Eastern Kentucky (3-1), @North Alabama (3-0), @Jacksonville State (0-3)
Jacksonville State—17-4, 7-1
Recent Results: North Alabama (3-0), Lipscomb (3-0), Central Arkansas (3-0)
Purdue-Fort Wayne—5-18, 3-7
Recent Results: @Northern Kentucky (0-3), @Wright State (0-3), Cleveland State (3-1), @IUPUI (1-3)
Tennessee—15-3, 7-1
Recent Results: @South Carolina (3-1), @South Carolina (3-0), @Georgia (3-1)
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