Purdue Sports Update: Dec. 7

VOLLEYBALL SET FOR SWEET 16

Another Purdue record was set as the No. 3 seeded Boilermaker volleyball team gutted out a 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 24-26, 26-24) victory vs. No. 6 seed Marquette to advance to the NCAA Regional Semifinals.

Purdue’s victory was powered by a double-double from freshman Taylor Anderson, with 60 assists and 16 digs. The 60 assists are the most in team history in an NCAA Tournament match, and season-highs by any Big Ten setter and all Division I freshmen. Additionally, Maddie Schermerhorn’s 25 digs broke her own Purdue record for an NCAA tournament match, which she set a year ago at Louisville (12/3/22).

The fourth set saw 12 ties, including stalemates at 24-24, 23-23, 22-22 and 19-19. In her final match in Holloway Gymnasium, fifth year libero Maddie Schermerhorn served up the match-winner with an ace to seal the Second Round victory. 

Meanwhile, sophomore Eva Hudson racked up 27 kills, the second-largest kill production of her career, doing so on a career-high 73 attacks (27-6-73) for a .288 clip. The Boilermaker came two digs shy of a double-double and registered a pair of aces.

It is the third time in the last four years the Boilermakers have advanced to the Sweet 16 and marked the second win vs. Marquette this season.

Purdue (23-8) will continue its NCAA journey in Madison, Wisconsin next week and will take on No. 2 seed Oregon (28-5) in the round of 16. The Regional Semifinals will take place on Thursday, December 7 followed by Regional Finals for the advancing team on Saturday, December 9, where the winner will play either No. 1 seed Wisconsin or No. 5 seed Penn State in Madison. Match times and Television information to come.

Behind Purdue’s most efficient offensive performance in an NCAA match, the No. 3 seeded Boilermaker volleyball team swept Fairfield, 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-12) in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Purdue (22-8, 15-5 Big Ten) advances to the Second Round, where it will face the No. 6 seed Marquette (21-10, 16-2 Big East) at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The teams faced earlier this season in Lawrence, Kansas, in a thrilling five-set victory for Purdue and will meet in Holloway for the NCAA Second Round for the first time since 2019 (W, 3-1).

Not only was the team’s .478 hitting clip vs. Fairfield a program record in an NCAA match, it set a season-high and marked the most efficient match for Purdue since 2019.

After matching a career-high .500 attack % at Michigan State last week, Eva Hudson picked up where she left off, besting her career-high with a .556 attack % with 16 kills and one error on 27 swings. It was the second straight match the unanimous All-Big Ten First Team honoree committed just one error in the match.

WBB DOWNS VALPO, SEMO

The women’s basketball team ran away to an 83-57 win over Southeast Missouri State on Wednesday night in Mackey Arena. Purdue moved to 6-3 and won their fourth straight heading into their Big Ten opener at Minnesota on Sunday.

Already on a list of her own, Jeanae Terry recorded her fourth non-point double-double as a Boilermaker with 11 assists and 10 rebounds. It was the first non-point double-double in the nation this season. Terry owns the most non-point double-doubles in the nation since her arrival in West Lafayette ahead of the 2021-22 season.

Four Boilermakers finished in double figures. A game after not scoring against Valparaiso on Sunday, Caitlyn Harper led the way with 22 points, her highest output at Purdue. The sixth-year senior was 9-of-13 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers and 14 points inside. Madison Layden went for 16 points with four triples.

Abbey Ellis extended her double-digit streak to nine games with a 13-point outing. Mary Ashley Stevenson finished three rebounds shy of her second straight double-double, going for an effective night of 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one block.

Purdue posted a season-high 10 triples on the night with five different players connecting from behind the arc. Shooting 47.7% from the field, the Boilermakers improved to 5-0 this year when making 40% or more of their shots.

On the defensive end, the Boilermakers generated 25 points off 17 SEMO (2-6) giveaways. For the seventh time this season and the fourth straight game, Purdue held an opponent under 60 points. The Redhawks shot 38.3% from the field and went just 2-of-7 from distance.  

Purdue set the tone early in the first quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers from Layden and Ellis to build up a 10-point lead. Ellis and Jayla Smith led the way with six points. Purdue flipped five SEMO turnovers into six points in the opening 10 minutes.

Harper powered the Boilermakers at the start of the second scoring the opening seven points. Purdue hit three more triples in the frame and tallied 14 of 24 points in the paint to hold a 47-24 lead at halftime.

The Boilermakers held SEMO off the board for the first 4:16 of the third. Purdue continued its run at the end of the second to score 18 unanswered points and open a 33-point lead in the third. The Redhawks battled back with their longest run of the game of eight points, as the Boilermakers carried a 61-37 lead into the fourth.

Purdue closed the game with 22 points in the fourth and shooting 9-of-18 from the field.

The women’s basketball team scored 50 points and shot 61.3% from the field in the second half to pull away to an 83-56 win over Valparaiso at Mackey Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Boilermakers extended their winning streak to three in a row and moved to 5-3 on the year.

After leading by eight at halftime, Purdue used two separate 11-point runs in the third and fourth to maintain a perfect 4-0 record at Mackey Arena this season.

The freshman duo of Mary Ashley Stevenson and Rashunda Jones led the Boilermakers in scoring and on the glass. Stevenson posted her first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting in 26 minutes on the floor. Jones topped 20 points for the second time this season, finishing with 22 points on 6-of-9 from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 at the line.

Jones’ teammate from South Bend Mila Reynolds had a career day off the bench. Reynolds tallied a career-high six points and five rebounds in 16 minutes of work.

Abbey Ellis extended her streak of games in double figures to eight with an 11-point outing, while Madison Layden hit a pair of 3-pointers to finish with 10 points.

The Boilermakers shot 8-of-24 from behind the arc with a 6-of-13 mark in the second half. Purdue drew 22 points and was an effective 19-of-24 on free throws. Jeanae Terry and Jones evenly split eight assists, as Purdue recorded 20 helpers on 28 made field goals. Freshman Emily Monson also dished out a career-best four assists. 

BOILERMAKERS EARN 73 ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN HONORS FOR FALL SEASON

Student-athletes from the fall sports season continued Purdue Athletics’ academic success in the classroom, joining forces to produce 73 Academic All-Big Ten honors.

During the 2022-23 school year, the Boilermakers had 240 Academic All-Big Ten honorees and 65 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars.

To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten, student-athletes must be enrolled full-time at their university for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recognition is based on a 3.7-plus yearly or cumulative GPA for sophomores and above.

Football led the way with 33 Academic All-Big Ten honorees this fall. Cross country produced 16 (9 women, 7 men). Soccer (17) and volleyball (7) both had a large majority of their award-eligible student-athletes also recognized.

Among the Boilermakers recognized is an elite group of 18 student-athletes to be honored by the conference for at least the third time. Of those 18, runner Ian Hunter is now a rare five-time honoree (in solely cross country) and All-Big Ten libero Maddie Schermerhorn was recognized for the fourth time. Hunter triple-majored in actuarial science, applied statistics and computer science as an undergraduate is now pursuing a master’s degree in statistics.

RICHARD MOODIE NAMED PURDUE SOCCER HEAD COACH

Richard Moodie has been named head coach of the Purdue soccer team by Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Bobinski on Tuesday.

An innovator in data, sports science and technology, Moodie comes to Purdue from South Alabama and will be the third head coach in the program’s 27-year history. He won seven conference titles at South Alabama – three regular-season and four postseason – and coached his athletes to 19 individual Sun Belt postseason awards and 44 all-conference accolades in addition to being named the conference coach of the year twice, in 2019 and 2023.

“We are thrilled to welcome Richard Moodie as our head coach for Purdue Soccer,” Bobinski said. “Since embarking on his coaching career, Richard has strived for and achieved excellence at every opportunity. His impressive record of success, especially during his time at South Alabama, has been characterized by a consistent ability to play an exciting and strategic brand of soccer. South Alabama regularly ranked among the nation’s elite in goal scoring, including finishing second across all of Division I for the 2021 season. We look forward to Richard’s leadership of our soccer program and welcome him, his wife, Jess, and children, Caragyn and Trystan, to West Lafayette.”

A native of Stenhousemuir, Scotland, Moodie coached his alma mater, Carson-Newman, from 2011-16, leading the men’s team from 2011-16 and the women from 2012-16 before taking the reigns at South Alabama in 2017. He boasts a 198-118-35 (.614) career record, with a 139-74-26 (.636) mark leading the C-N and USA women’s programs and a 91-36-19 (.688) record at the Division I level in seven seasons at USA.

Moodie’s coaching tenure at Carson-Newman included multiple NCAA Division II tournament appearances with both programs and a national runner-up finish in 2013. He coached several conference player of the year and All-America honorees and was recognized with Region Coaching Staff of the Year honors. Moodie, who has coached 12 players that went on to have professional playing careers, played professionally himself, including in the MLS with the Columbus Crew, before he began his coaching career.

“Thank you to Mike Bobinski, Senior Associate Athletics Director Ed Howat and the entire search committee for giving me this opportunity at Purdue,” Moodie said. “I am very excited to start this new adventure with the Boilermakers. I enjoyed my time at South Alabama and am thankful for all of the players who I had the honor of coaching and Athletics Director Joel Erdmann for helping us have so much success. I am now ready to get Purdue Soccer back on the map and give it an identity that it deserves, and can’t wait to get started.”

LOSCHIAVO WINS SILVER, CLINCHES 4TH CAREER BERTH AT WORLDS

Purdue alumnus Brandon Loschiavo secured his fourth career berth at the World Aquatics Championships by winning a silver medal on 10-meter Wednesday to conclude the USA Diving Winter Nationals.

For the second day in a row on the tower, three of the top seven finishers had ties to the Boilermakers. National Letter of Intent signee Tyler Wills finished fourth overall while posting the second-best list score (409) of the day Wednesday. Jordan Rzepka placed seventh. Daryn Wright, Sophie McAfee and Maycey Vieta were all among the top six Tuesday.

Event winner Josh Hedburg and Loschiavo will represent the U.S. on the tower at the 2024 World Championships, set for Feb. 2-18 in Doha, Qatar. They’ll be aiming to clinch Olympic quota berths for USA Diving via top-12 finishes in Qatar.

Purdue claimed medals in five events and nine medals total at Winter Nationals this year. Dating back to 2010, Boilermakers have won 75 medals – 28 individual, 47 synchronized – at USA Diving’s annual winter championships.

PURDUE MEDALISTS AT 2023 USA DIVING WINTER NATIONALS
• Brandon Loschiavo – Silver on 10-Meter, Silver in 10-Meter Synchro (with Rzepka)
• Daryn Wright – Silver on 10-Meter, Silver in Mixed 10-Meter Synchro (with Wills)
• Greg Duncan – Silver in 3-Meter Synchro (with Downs)
• Jordan Rzepka – Silver in 10-Meter Synchro (with Loschiavo)
• Tyler Wills – Gold in Mixed 10-Meter Synchro (with Baleigh Cranford), Silver in Mixed 10-Meter Synchro (with Wright)
• Zach Welsh – Bronze in 3-Meter Synchro (with Jacob Welsh)
Wills & Welsh are National Letter of Intent signees joining the Boilermakers next season

Loschiavo won the 10-meter preliminary Monday with a list score of 399.35 and was even better in the semifinal (443.25). Scores reset after the prelim but were cumulative across the semi and final. The 16-year-old Hedburg claimed his first career senior national title in an individual event with lists of 456.60 in the semi and 441.25 in the final, winning by 53 points.

Since the spring of 2019, Loschiavo has now finished top two on the podium at four of USA Diving’s national championship meets – 2023 Winter Nationals, 2023 National Championships, 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (held in June 2021) and 2019 National Championships. He did not compete at the 2021 and 2022 Winter Nationals and the championship meet was not held in 2020.

Wills improved on his list score by 51 points from the prelim (358) to the final (409). The Carmel, Indiana, native also won gold and silver while competing with Purdue’s Wright and NC State’s Bayleigh Cranford in the mixed 10-meter synchro event last week. Mixed 10-meter synchro will be featured at the World Aquatic Championships in February and USA Diving is permitted to send one additional diver to compete in the event. Wright qualified for Worlds individually on 10-meter Tuesday.

Purdue resumes its NCAA schedule Saturday, Jan. 13 with a home meet vs. Missouri and the Illinois women. The University of Tennessee’s Allan Jones Aquatic Center is also hosting the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, with the dates set for June 16-23. Team USA’s official number of Olympic bids across all diving events will be confirmed after the results at the World Championships in February.