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Purdue Volleyball Recap: Weeks 11 & 12

At the beginning of the season, I predicted that this year would look quite similar to mid-to-late 2010s volleyball teams, with the expectation that they would stick around the middle of the conference, pull off a couple of major upsets, and end the season in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. While things looked better for the team in the beginning of the season, the meatgrinder of a conference schedule is catching up to them. Things don’t get any easier in the final two weeks of the season, so my original prediction may be right after all.

11/4: FINAL—#14 Purdue 3, Michigan State 1

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#14 Purdue

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Michigan State

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17

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Key Leaders:

Megan Renner: 42 assists, 11 digs

Maddy Chinn: 13 kills, .321 hitting percentage, 1 solo block, 3 assisted blocks

Raven Colvin: 16 kills, .696 hitting percentage, 4 assisted blocks, 7 digs

Well, this goes at least part of the way toward making up for last season. Michigan State is struggling in their new coach’s first season, so Purdue was certainly expected to win this match. Still, knocking them down on the road is still a nice step. Things did not start well for the Boilermakers, with Michigan State winning the first three points and taking a 9-3 lead through twelve points. While Purdue did get the set within two points on one occasion, Michigan State’s lead would hold for the remainder of the set. The first part of the second set was rather sloppy, with five service errors and a bad set within the first ten points. Michigan State had been a bit sloppier, so Purdue had a 6-4 lead at that point. However, the Spartans rolled off five straight points and seven out of eight to take an 11-7 lead. For a while, the Boilermakers steadily chipped away at that lead, but when Michigan State rolled off another five point run, they looked to have the set in hand. However, Purdue countered with a five point run to cut the lead to one, and when Michigan State got set point a bit later, Purdue dug in and used a block and a kill to tie the set, then won the next two points to win it. The break in between sets allowed Michigan State to take an early lead in the third set, but Purdue won seven of eight points to take the lead, and they wouldn’t relinquish it. After a couple of small runs and a few individual points started the fourth set, the Boilermakers pulled off a seven point run to take charge of the set, and they just held the Spartans at arm’s length for the remainder.

11/6: FINAL—#14 Purdue 3, Michigan 1

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#14 Purdue

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Michigan

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Key Leaders:

Megan Renner: 5 kills, .625 hitting percentage, 42 assists

Maddie Schermerhorn: 1 service ace, 28 digs

Emma Ellis: 13 kills, .333 hitting percentage, 1 solo block, 2 assisted blocks

With a packed crowd at Cliff Keen Arena, Purdue jumped out to an early lead to take hold of the momentum, and despite losing the third set, rebounded quickly to take the fourth set and the match. Except for blocking, which is one of Michigan’s strongest attributes this season, Purdue won in every statistical category. In the first set, things were very even for the most part. The two teams consistently traded points, and when one pulled off a run, the other team usually countered quickly. One Purdue run that didn’t get countered gave them a slight lead, and they slowly added to that lead until they finished the set win. Despite lacking a run any larger than four at any time, Purdue rolled out to a big win in the second set by holding Michigan to only two instances of winning multiple points in a row while taking multiple instances of two point runs. The third set started fairly evenly, with the teams splitting the first fourteen points evenly. However, Michigan got something they had been missing for the whole match to this point: a big run. They took the next six points to take a sizable lead. Undeterred, Purdue won seven of the next nine points to cut the lead to one, but they couldn’t take the lead or even tie the set again. A four point run at the very end propelled Michigan to a set win and kept the match going. After splitting the first six points of the fourth set, Purdue snagged five points in a row to take a 8-3 lead. Michigan then responded, and they were able to tie the set at thirteen. At this point, Purdue retook the momentum by winning six of the next seven points, and Michigan had no answer. Purdue just had to keep Michigan away for the remainder of the set.

11/10: FINAL—#6 Ohio State 3, #15 Purdue 1

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#6 Ohio State

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#15 Purdue

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Key Leaders:

Raven Colvin: 8 kills, 2 service aces, 4 assisted blocks

Eva Hudson: 13 kills, 1 service ace, 8 digs

While it was not the most surprising loss , it was a bit disappointing how the Boilermakers lost. Other than serving, Purdue was far outclassed in most statistical categories, and they allowed Ohio State to hit .421. This is pretty jarring in general, but for Purdue, one of the best defensive teams in the nation over the past few years, this is especially jarring. All of the sets that Ohio State won were won in dominant fashion, while Purdue needed to scrap out their set, and that was helped by eight service errors by Ohio State and two service aces from Purdue.

11/12: FINAL—#16 Penn State 3, #15 Purdue 1

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#16 Penn State

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#15 Purdue

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Key Leaders:

Megan Renner: 42 assists, 10 digs

Raven Colvin: 10 kills, 1 service ace, 6 assisted blocks

Eva Hudson: 13 kills, 2 service aces, 1 solo block, 2 assisted blocks

Purdue probably needed this win for positioning, and they didn’t get it, which is certainly disappointing. It also would have been nice to snatch a rare win against Penn State while they were somewhat in flux, but you have to hand it to Coach Schumacher-Cawley: she has guided this team to a solid season with a bunch of new parts. The match had a very even start, with neither team able to take control of the first set in the first half. After a Penn State kill tied the set at fifteen, Purdue rolled off the next three points, and they would hold onto that lead for the remainder of the set, using another three point run to bolster that lead. Like the first set, the second set was fairly even for a while. Penn State had a 10-6 lead after a four point run, but Purdue countered with a three point run to make it 10-9, and things stayed pretty even for a little longer. Again, one major run would take charge of the set, but this time it was a four point run from Penn State that pushed the score from 15-14 to 19-14, and Purdue was on the back foot for the rest of the set. The third set started fairly evenly, but a couple of small Purdue runs gave the Boilermakers a slight lead. A three point run from Purdue gave them a 19-15 lead, and they held that for a little while a three point Penn State run cut that lead to one at 22-21. Undeterred, Purdue won two of the next three points to bring it to set point. Unfortunately, they couldn’t win either of the two corresponding set points, nor could they use an Emma Ellis kill that gave them set point again. Instead, Penn State would win the set by winning the last three points. The momentum had now totally flipped, and other than a few Purdue leads early in the set, Penn State totally controlled the fourth set.

Ranked Big Ten Teams:

#3 Wisconsin, #5 Ohio State, #6 Nebraska, #9 Minnesota, #14 Penn State, #19 Purdue

Nonconference Opponent Report:

Bowling Green State—19-9, 14-3

Recent Results: Akron (3-2), Akron (3-0), @Buffalo (3-2), @Buffalo (3-0)

Loyola (IL)—23-8, 17-1

Recent Results: @Dayton (2-3), @Dayton (3-1), Davidson (3-1), Davidson (3-1)

Tennessee—14-11, 8-5

Recent Results: @Mississippi (3-2), Louisiana State (3-0), Louisiana State (3-1), Georgia (3-2)

Bradley—9-20, 5-12

Recent Results: Drake (0-3), Northern Iowa (0-3), @Valparaiso (2-3), @Illinois-Chicago (0-3)

Utah—15-12, 8-8

Recent Results: @#8 Stanford (1-3), @California (3-2), Oregon State (3-2), #14 Oregon (1-3)

Wisconsin-Milwaukee—10-19, 9-9

Recent Results: Purdue Fort Wayne (3-0), @Oakland (3-0), @Cleveland State (1-3), Wisconsin-Green Bay (0-3)

Louisville—24-2, 15-1

Recent Results: North Carolina State (3-0), North Carolina (3-1), @#13 Georgia Tech (3-2), @North Carolina (3-0)

Xavier—18-8, 11-5

Recent Results: Connecticut (1-3), Providence (3-0), Seton Hall (3-0), St. John’s (3-0)

Northern Kentucky—17-12, 15-3

Recent Results: Purdue Fort Wayne (3-1), IUPUI (3-0), @Youngstown State (3-0), @Robert Morris (3-0)

Ball State—22-7, 14-3

Recent Results: Kent State (3-0), Kent State (3-0), @Ohio (1-3), @Ohio (3-1)

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