Purdue Sports Update: Dec. 8

Volleyball falls in NCAA’s second round

The No. 8 seeded Purdue Boilermakers concluded their season in the NCAA Second Round, falling to host No. 1 seeded Louisville in straight sets (19-25, 21-25, 23-25). The Boilermakers end their season with a 21-11 (11-9 Big Ten) record while the Cardinals advance to Regionals behind a 28-2 (17-1 ACC) record.

Purdue did not go down without a hard-fought battle, coming within reach of taking the third set, leading 22-21 and tying it up 23-23, before Louisville’s challenge halted the Boilermaker momentum.

A total of seven Boilermakers reached double-digits today, with Eva Hudson (12 kills), Madeline Koch (11 kills) and Raven Colvin (10 kills) leading the offensive effort. Meanwhile, Grace Balensiefer dished out 32 assists. The back row was anchored by Maddie Schermerhorn (19 digs), Ali Hornung (11 digs) and Emily Brown (10 digs).

Schermerhorn’s 19 digs bested her own Purdue NCAA tournament record, which she set last night with 18 vs. Tennessee.

Head coach Dave Shondell and his staff conclude their 20th year at Purdue. Together, they led the team to a sixth-place Big Ten finish and three All-Big Ten nods after projecting to finish eighth in the league with no Big Ten preseason honorees. Hudson was dubbed Big Ten Freshman of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten and a unanimous All-Freshman Team honoree while Colvin and Schermerhorn received Second Team All-Big Ten honors.

No. 8 seed Purdue outlasted Tennessee in the NCAA volleyball first round in L&N Federal Credit Union Arena, 3-2 (14-25, 25-14, 22-25, 25-22, 15-11) to continue its tradition of winning in the NCAA first round. With the win, Purdue improves to 21-10 (11-9 Big Ten) on the season while Tennessee ends their season at 17-14, 11-7.

After a slow start in Set One, Purdue responded with a decisive 25-14 victory in game two. The team led the entire set, going nearly errorless with just one error late in the set, a .577 hitting % and an 86% side out, the highest of the night by either team.

The Boilermakers closed the night with the edge in efficiency: .255 vs. .222% and digs: 61 vs. 60. Meanwhile, the Lady Vols had the 12-11 block advantage.

Emma Ellis was a game changer in the match, entering off the bench for the first time in the fourth set and immediately posted 5 kills behind a .444 hititng % in the set to push the match to five. The senior added two more kills and finished the night with a .308 attack %.

Schermerhorn set a Purdue record in the NCAA tournament with her 18 digs, besting the previous record of 17, set by Jena Otec last year.

Hudson powered down 23 kills, coming one shy of her season-best while registering a .400 hitting %. Meanwhile, she posted her seventh double-double of the season, adding 14 digs in the effort, second-most on the team behind Schermerhorn. 

The Boilermakers were guided by Balensiefer, who produced 45 assists, six digs and an ace in her first NCAA tournament appearance.

WBB Pulls Away from Michigan State in OT

The Purdue women’s basketball team went on the road to open Big Ten play and toughed out a 76-71 overtime victory over Michigan State on Monday night. The Boilermakers overcame offensive miscues with stout defense holding the Spartans to 35.2% shooting on the night, while posting a plus-20 margin on the glass.

The Boilermakers (8-1, 1-0) shot 35.2% from the field and made seven 3-pointers in the win. Every player who entered the game for Purdue grabbed a rebound as the Boilermakers won the on the boards 50-30. Rickie Woltman hauled down a season-high 10. Madison Layden matched her career high with eight.

Detroit duo Jeanae Terry and Lasha Petree combined for 24 points, 16 rebounds 10 assists three steals and five blocks. Petree, per usual as of late, led Purdue in scoring with 18 points to go with her eight boards, two assists and three blocks. Terry chipped in six points but dished out eight dimes, grabbed eight rebounds and turned away a pair of shots.

Cassidy Hardin connected from the outside a trio of times to finish with 11 points, while Abbey Ellis added 13 points off the bench.

For the game, Purdue committed 30 turnovers. Despite that high number, Michigan State (6-4, 0-1) managed just 18 points on the giveaways. The Boilermakers flipped 16 Spartan miscues into 21 points.

Caitlyn Harper converted a traditional 3-point play early in the first to give Purdue an 8-4 lead. The Spartans connected a trio of times from the outside to take a 19-15 lead after 10 minutes.

The Boilermakers picked up the pace offensively to shot 70% in the second. Petree took over with 10 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting with a pair of triples. Petree and her fellow fifth-year senior combined for an 11-1 run midway through the frame that gave the Boilermakers the lead Purdue carried a 33-30 advantage at the break.

Purdue rolled out of the break, outscoring the Spartans 22-11 in the frame. Hardin, Harper and Jayla Smith tallied six points each. The defense held Michigan State to just 3-of-15 shooting. Purdue closed the final seven minutes on a 16-6 run to take a 55-41 lead into the fourth.

Turnovers plagued Purdue in the fourth quarter, as Michigan State climbed back into the game. The Spartans went on a 10-point run to tie the game at 61—61 with 2:39 to play. Petree put Purdue back ahead with 1:43 left on a pull-up jumper. Michigan State’s Kamaria McDaniel sent the game to an extra period on a layup with two seconds left.

The Boilermakers sealed the win in overtime with a perfect 9-for-9 mark at the line. Ellis and Layden both went to the line twice and made all four of their attempts. Terry put the game to bed as she converted an and-one off an offensive rebound with a minute to play.

Purdue will play its Big Ten home opener Thursday night against No. 20/21 Maryland. Tipoff from Mackey Arena will be at 6:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

Wrestling Get 2 Finalists, 3 on Podium at CKLV

Matt Ramos and Kendall Coleman took second and Parker Filius took seventh to give Purdue wrestling three on the podium at the 2022 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. 

The Boilermakers (3-1, 0-0 B1G) finished in 12th as a team with 45.5 points amassed over the two-day tournament at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The program has had seven finalists and 19 placewinners in the last four CKLV Invitationals. 

The redshirt sophomore Ramos looked dominant in his run up to the finals, but came up just one point short in the last match losing 3-2 to Arizona State’s Richard Figueroa. The two were in a scoreless stalemate after the first period, but Figueroa broke the deadlock with an escape and a takedown in the second. Ramos held a cradle and was in on a leg a different points in the third, but was unable to finish his moves and couldn’t complete the comeback. It is the third straight tournament the Boilermakers have had a finalist in the 125 division, taking second all three times. 

The Lockport, Ill., native had a similarly close match in the semifinals, coming out on top in this one over No. 10 Brandon Kaylor of Oregon State 3-2 to punch his ticket to the final. An explosive double leg takedown in the second period and an array of good defense was enough to see him to victory in the cagey affair. At the time it was the highest ranked win of the season for a Boilermaker before Coleman trumped him four matches later in the semifinal round. 

In the 157-pound final, Coleman faced a familiar foe in Nebraska’s No. 4 Peyton Robb and lost a 7-3 decision. Robb jumped out to an early lead with a takedown in the first, but Coleman battled back to get two himself in the second. He was unable to get out in the third and Robb took the bout.

Coleman booked his spot in the final with an incredible performance to  knock off No. 3 Will Lewan of Michigan in a 9-5 decision. Lewan got a takedown and looked like he had Coleman on the ropes, but the Boilermaker wrestler flipped the Michigan man completely over, nearly finishing off a pin, and coming away with six points from a reversal and a nearfall. The redshirt senior’s impressive tournament run helped him become the sixth, three-time CKLV medal winner in program history. 

Filius split his two matches in the morning session to make it back-to-back podium finishes at the CKLV Invite for the sixth-year senior. He lost his opening match 5-2 to No. 13 Tom Crook of Virginia Tech, but bounced back in a Big Ten battle in the seventh place match to claim a 14-6 major decision over Ohio State’s Dylan D’Emilio. 

The rest of the Boilermakers’ lineup completed their tournament runs on day one. Highlight wins came from two sophomores in the form of a 9-0 major decision for Dustin Norris over Harvard’s Dante Frinzi and a first career tech fall for Stoney Buell 17-1 (5:49) against Utah Valley’s Cameron Haddock. 

The Boilermakers will next take the mat in the Purdue Duals on Tuesday, December 20. The second quad of the season for head coach Tony Ersland‘s squad will see the team take on Utah Valley, Drexel and Campbell in Holloway Gymnasium. 

Hudson, Colvin Receive AVCA All-Northeast Region Nods

The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) has announced that Purdue freshman Eva Hudson and sophomore Raven Colvin are two of 22 players to receive AVCA All-Northeast Region nods. Hudson earned the All-Region Team and Freshman of the Year accolades while Colvin received honorable mention.

The duo’s awards mark the first time multiple underclassmen have received All-Region honors in program history.

Hudson, who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten last week, continues her awards tear, most recently voted AVCA Northeast Region Freshman of the Year and First Team honoree. Not only is it the first time a Purdue freshman made the All-Region Team since 1986, but she is the only Boilermaker to be named regional newcomer of the year. The Fort Wayne, Indiana native closed out the season leading the league in total points (570) and tying for fifth in Purdue history with 1.430 attempts.

Colvin, a sophomore, joins the ranks of Purdue greats Grace Cleveland, Danielle Cuttino, Kristen Arthurs and Stephanie Lynch as the only Boilermakers this century to receive a regional award as an underclassman. The middle blocker closed out the year with the second-most block assists in a single Purdue season (151) and the Big Ten rally-scoring era record with 16 blocks in a match at Maryland. The Second Team All-Big Ten player ranks sixth in the nation in total blocks (173) – a mark only reached once this century (Stephanie Lynch, 196 in 2008 for second-most all-time) – and No. 14 in blocks per set (1.42).

Together, the duo helped to lead Purdue to a Second Round NCAA tournament appearance this year and a 21-11 (10-5 Big Ten) record.
AVCA All-America teams will be announced Wednesday, December 14.