Purdue Volleyball Looks to Stay Unbeaten

After successfully defending home court last weekend, Purdue heads south to face Louisville and either Xavier or Lipscomb.

Week 2

The Boilers made quick work of Bradley last Friday morning to start their weekend; 25-13, 25-14, 25-15. In the evening match Purdue was tested and pushed to five sets by Utah; 25-17, 22-25, 25-18, 26-28, 15-9. Purdue closed out the tournament with a four set win over Milwaukee; 25-15, 25-17, 18-25, 25-23.

Purdue dominated the Braves outhitting them .293-(-0.022) and serving up eight aces. Eva Hudson led the offense with 10 kills; Hannah Clayton got eight kills and hit .467. Alli Hornung had half the team’s aces with four. Megan Renner put up 21 assists and Maddie Schermerhorn led the defense with 11 digs.

Friday night was a different story. Purdue looked great in set one; serving and passing were dialed in. With four aces from the service line and great passing, the offense was propelled to a .519 effort as they took the set with relative ease. In set two Utah’s ball handling improved and they were able to close the set out strong. A Purdue service error broke a 19-all tie and started a 5-1 run which gave the Utes separation to finish off the set.

Purdue tightened things up in set three as an early lead carried them through. The Boilers got off to a 4-1 lead and got into a good sideout rhythm as they stayed in front the whole set. Momentum swung back and forth in set four as Utah came out on top. Purdue saved three set points and even got themselves to a match point but the Utes were resilient.

Down 8-7 at the changeover in set five, Raven Colvin and the Boilers answered the bell. A Colvin kill sent her to the service line where she rattled off four more points including two aces. Utah finally sided-out but Purdue kept rolling. Two kills by Emma Ellis and one by Hannah Clayton clinched the match for the Boilers.

Colvin led Purdue with 18 kills, .469 hitting, five aces, six blocks, and five digs. Eva Hudson also put away 18 kills and put up five blocks. Hannah Clayton had 14 kills and only one error on the night as she hit .565. Megan Renner dished out 54 assists. Maddie Schermerhorn tallied three aces and 26 digs.

Against Milwaukee, Purdue looked great in sets one and two hitting .485 and .333 respectively then fell apart in set three. Five Panther blocks and seven other Purdue hitting errors doomed the Boilers. Confident after set three Milwaukee traded blows with the Boilers in set four. Down 21-20, Purdue put together a 5-2 run to close the set and match out.

Eva Hudson carried the offensive load tallying 21 kills and hitting .395 to go with two aces. Raven Colvin racked up seven blocks. Maddie Schermerhorn pulled up 22 digs.

Raven Colvin, Hannah Clayton, and Megan Renner were named to the Reamer Club Xtra Special all-tournament team; Colvin was MVP.

Schermerhorn and Hudson picked up league honors for their efforts. Schermerhorn was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after posting 4.92 digs per set and 0.33 service aces per set. Hudson received her second Freshman of the Week honor. She averaged 4.08 kills per set and hit .291 on the weekend.

Week 3

The Boilers will play in Louisville this weekend. Friday night at 7:00 on ACCNx they’ll take on the host Cardinals (5-1). Depending on Friday’s matches Purdue will face either Lipscomb (2-4) or Xavier (5-1) Saturday at 4:00 on Flo Volleyball.

Coming off the program’s first Final Four appearance last season the Cardinals are looking to make a return trip. Last season they only lost once; they’ve already matched that mark as they fell to No. 8 Ohio State in four sets last weekend. Mid-week they swept No. 22 Western Kentucky. Then Friday they beat No. 12 San Diego. Sunday, against the Buckeyes they couldn’t match their offense. Ohio State hit a blistering .372 meanwhile the Cardinals could not get any production from their middles or right side. Their outsides Anna DeBeer and Claire Chaussee did their part posting 19 kills and .390 hitting, and 13 kills and .414 hitting respectively.

AVCA Poll

Featuring the Top Five and Big Ten teams - Last week's results and upcoming matches

Week 2 Poll

1. Texas (58) - The Longhorns beat Minnesota in four then swept Stanford. This week they’re facing mid-majors.
2. Nebraska (6) - Nebraska got two sweeps last weekend. Wednesday night they bested No. 17 Creighton in five sets as the schools reset the NCAA regular season single-game attendance mark, 15,797. Saturday the Huskers host Long Beach State.
3. Minnesota - The Gophers split four setters falling to Texas and beating Florida. This weekend they host No. 18 Oregon and No. 11 Stanford.
4. Louisville
5. Georgia Tech - The Yellow Jackets picked up three more wins. This weekend they host No. 10 BYU and No. 8 Ohio State.
6. Wisconsin - The Badgers beat No. 24 Marquette in four then swept High Point. Face Kentucky Friday then Campbell.

8. Ohio State - The Buckeyes are 1-3. They fell to San Diego before upsetting Louisville. They face BYU and Georgia Tech this weekend.

9. Purdue

20. Penn State - The Nittany Lions are 6-0 and head to Minnesota to play No. 11 Stanford and No. 18 Oregon.

25. Illinois - Illinois dropped both out west falling to Colorado and No. 14 Washington. They’re playing in Dayton this weekend.

RV. Michigan - Michigan is still undefeated. This weekend they’re down on Tobacco Road facing Duke and North Carolina

Other notable matches: Then No. 10 Pitt beat then No. 7 BYU in Provo ending the nation’s longest home win streak. Then unranked Pepperdine beat then No. 9 Baylor in four sets.