Purdue Sports Update: Nov. 20

VOLLEYBALL TAKES TWO IN BIG WEEKEND AT HOME

In the final home games of the season, Purdue earned a pair of big conference victories. On Friday night, it survived in a dramatic five-set victory over Wisconsin before sweeping Maryland on Saturday night.

Another thrilling five-setter for the No. 16 Purdue Boilermakers ended with the highest ranked win of the season, upsetting No. 3 Wisconsin 3-2 (22-25, 25-19, 25-20, 12-25, 16-14) in Holloway Gymnasium.

The victory was Purdue’s sixth win vs. a top-25 opponent (6-3 record) and 11th vs. opponents ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA/Taraflex poll this season (11-4 record).

In the fifth set, Purdue erased Wisconsin’s match point on a kill by Raven Colvin, then stormed back to take the final two points to win the match.

The Boilermakers, who had career-best performances across the board, were led by Eva Hudson, who posted a double-double, including a career-high 30 kills and 11 digs to join Purdue’s elite 30-kill club. The sophomore was just the 12th Boilermaker in program history, including the first since 2018 (Sherridan Atkinson, 32 kills vs. Penn State, 10/27/18) to accomplish the feat.

Meanwhile, setter Taylor Anderson dished out a double-double of her own with a career-high 57 assists, the most by a Boilermaker in five years (60 by Hayley Bush as a redshirt freshman at Penn State, 10/27/18). It was the seventh double-double of the season and the third 50-plus assist match in the last four outings for the freshman. Meanwhile, Anderson totaled seven blocks (1-6), to match her career-best, set last Sunday vs. Michigan State.

Fresh off a top-3 victory just 24 hours prior, the No. 16 Purdue Boilermakers swept Maryland on Senior Night, 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 27-25), to close the team’s regular season home slate.

With two of the three sets needing extra points to decide the winner, the Boilermakers prevailed to improve to a 19-8 (13-5 Big Ten) record. It was Purdue’s third series sweep of the season, having taken down Penn State and Minnesota already this year.

Purdue’s serve was one of the strongest of the season, an effort that culminated in seven team aces, tying the second-most in a match this season. Raven Colvin contributed four, a season-high, and one shy of a career-best.

Libero Maddie Schermerhorn led the back row with 16 digs, marking the 26th match this season and the fifth consecutive outing with as many digs.

Guiding the offense was freshman setter Taylor Anderson, who racked up 32 assists, seven digs, a pair of block assists, an ace and a kill. Meanwhile, Eva Hudson secured 18 kills to lead the team and fellow outside hitter Chloe Chicoine registered her 10th double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs.

One week remains in the regular season, which will wrap up after Thanksgiving with another pair of back-to-back matches within 24 hours. First, Purdue will travel to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan on Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network, followed by a drive over to Michigan State for the regular-season finale on Saturday. The Boilermakers are scheduled to take on the Spartans, a team they faced a week ago in Holloway (W, 3-1). The match will be streamed on B1G+ at 6 p.m. ET.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL DROPS 52-49 DECISION TO FLORIDA

Despite holding Florida to 52 points and 31.6% shooting, the women’s basketball team could not find its rhythm offensively in a 52-49 loss at the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship.

Purdue (2-2) had a trop of players finish in double figures, led by Abbey Ellis’ 14 points. Jayla Smith chipped in 13 points off the bench and Caitlyn Harper battled inside for 12 points.

Led by a career-high six rebounds from freshman Mary Ashley Stevenson, the Boilermakers won the rebounding battle 40-37. Purdue scored 15 points off 14 Florida (4-1) giveaways. Purdue was 18-of-57 from the field and went 2-of-22 (9.1) from behind the arc.

Purdue struggled on the offensive end in the first half shooting 26.5% from the field and missing their first 12 3-point attempts. Harper kept the Boilermakers close with six points over the opening 20 minutes. Ellis tallied eight points with six coming in the final two minutes as a part of a personal 6-2.

Despite the efforts on the offensive end, Purdue never trailed by more than seven points and trailed 26-22 at the break.

Purdue started to connect in the third, making six of its 11 shots. Smith and Ellis evenly split 12 points in the frame. Florida extended its advantage to a game-high 12 points midway through the quarter, before the Boilermakers went on a 14-2 run to tie the game.

In the fourth, the Boilermakers kept the momentum going when Stevenson scored Purdue’s first four points. Harper made a contested layup with five minutes to play to give the Boilermakers their first lead of the game at 46-42. Florida closed the game on an 8-3 run with Purdue’s lone basket coming on a Smith 3-pointer with 1:24 to play.

Ellis had a game-tying 3-point effort at the buzzer that caught the back iron.

NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series with Florida 3-1.
• The Boilermakers outscored the Gators 30-24 in the paint.
• Purdue is now 18-3 under head coach Katie Gearlds when holding opponents to 60 points or less.
• The 52 points allowed tied for the third fewest of the Gearlds era.
• Big Ten Freshman of the Week Rashunda Jones finished with four points and a career-high five rebounds.

UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will close out the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship on Wednesday with their third straight game against the SEC with a 4 p.m. tip against Georgia.    

WOMEN GO 1-2-3 IN 200 FLY, TOWER TO PUNCTUATE WIN AT PURDUE INVITE

A pair of 1-2-3 finishes for the women punctuated a team victory at the Purdue Invitational as the Boilermakers’ midseason showcase wrapped up Saturday at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center.

The Purdue women won the meet for the third time and first time since 2015. They’ve won all five meets on their schedule this semester. The Purdue men finished second to Northwestern in their bid to three-peat as the meet champion.

Brady Samuels was victorious in the 100 freestyle to complete his event victory trifecta, sweeping the 50 free and 100 backstroke as well as Saturday’s event. He was also the top qualifier in the prelims of the 100 butterfly before opting to scratch the event.

Cecilie Wiuff, Madeline Greaves and Brinly Hardy teamed up for the 1-2-3 finish in the 200 fly. All three Boilermakers registered lifetime bests that moved them up the program’s all-time leaderboard. Daryn Wright, Maycey Vieta and Sophie McAfee produced Purdue’s 1-2-3 finish in platform diving.

Freshman Caitlin Hurley was victorious in the mile as part of a 1-2 finish with Reagan Mattice. She was also an A finalist in the 100 free, joining Maggie Love as a four-time A finalist this week. Love moved into seventh place in team history in the 200 breaststroke Saturday after also being an A finalist in the 50 free, 100 breast and 200 IM.

Dylan Burau moved up six spots into fourth place on Purdue’s all-time leaderboard while claiming silver in the 200 back. Maxwell Blume (breast) and Charlie King (fly) both posted lifetime bests that moved up the program’s all-time lists in both their 100 and 200 races this week.

A full scoring recap from the Purdue Invitational will be posted Tuesday at PurdueSports.com.

BOILERMAKERS UNVEIL 2023-24 INDOOR TRACK & FIELD SLATE

The 2023-24 Purdue indoor track & field schedule has been announced, which features one home meet at Lambert Fieldhouse.

A nine-meet regular season will begin in West Lafayette on December 9 before the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Championships conclude the indoor campaign in Geneva, Ohio, and Boston, respectively.

The Boilermakers have three meets within the state of Indiana and two in Illinois. Trips to Arkansas, Kentucky, Michigan and South Carolina also compliment the schedule.

“This is a very good schedule that allows our athletes the opportunity to get some really good competition,” Purdue head coach Norbert Elliott said. “We have several weekends where we’re splitting our squad up to give everyone the best opportunity to compete and qualify for the National Championships, so that’s exciting.”

The indoor season commences at home with the Edmonds-Wilt Invitational on Saturday, December 9. The annual event at Lambert Fieldhouse will be free to all fans. The tentative meet schedule has the first event at 10:30 a.m. ET, and the final schedule will be announced closer to December 9.

A trip to Chicago for the Badgers Midwest Invitational opens the new year on January 13. It’s the first of two trips to the Second City for the Boilermakers this season and marks the third consecutive year Purdue has competed at the Midwest Invite since the Track & Field Center at Gately Park opened in 2021.

The following weekend, on January 20, Purdue will compete at the Simmons-Harvey Invitational in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Boilermakers are back at the Michigan-hosted event for the second year in a row.

Up next is the first two-day meet of the season, and the first time the team will split up in 2024. From January 26-27, the Old Gold and Black will head to the Lenny-Lyles Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Purdue returns to Louisville’s indoor meet for the second consecutive year, and the Boilermakers travel to the Razorback Invite for the first time since 2020.

The first of two trips to Notre Dame is for the Meyo Invitational from February 2-3, and the team also will be at ND’s Alex Wilson Invite on February 17. Both events are on the schedule for the third time in as many years.

Another split weekend is scheduled for February 9-10, with the Boilermakers going to the Windy City Invitational in Chicago and the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, South Carolina. Like the Midwest Invite, Purdue also participated in the first two editions of the Windy City Invite in 2022 and 2023. The squad will compete at Clemson’s meet for the first time since 2019.

The Big Ten Championships are back at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio, from February 23-24. Spire will host the annual indoor conference championships for the fifth consecutive year and the 11th time in the last 12 seasons.

Boston will host the 2024 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships from March 8-9. The Track at New Balance hosts the national championship meet for the first time since the venue opened in 2022.