Purdue Sports Update Nov. 25

Volleyball Sweeps No. 25 USC

In a battle of grit, Purdue came out on top versus No. 21 USC, 3-0 (25-22, 29-27, 25-20) on Senior Night. The Boilermakers came from behind in both Sets 1 and 2 before pulling away in the final frame. Purdue improves to 23-6 (14-4 Big Ten) with the result, while USC falls to 19-9 (11-7 Big Ten).

The Boilermakers out-blocked the Trojans, 11.5-8, which saw 8.5 blocks through the first two sets of action. On the night, Purdue hit .265 while holding USC to .227%.

Raven Colvin led the team with a .500 efficiency, which included 14 kills (14-3-22) and seven blocks, three of which came in solo fashion. Her offensive performance marked her eighth .500 attack % (or better) of the season and her first double-digit kill performance in 11 matches. Moreover, it was her most well-rounded (offensive and defensive) performance of Big Ten play this season.

In the battle of Set 2, Purdue came back from a 20-23 deficit to tie the match, 24-24. A battle ensued, which included one USC set point and three for Purdue before the Boilermakers closed the door on a Hudson kill. A well-rounded attack also saw Chloe Chicoine, Lourdes Myers and Colvin all produce key kills during the extra-point hunt.  

Hudson led the team with 18 kills, producing seven digs and four block assists in the match. Eight of her kills came in Set 2, including the set-winning kill at 29-27.

Ali Hornung anchored the back row with a team-leading 15 digs, adding five assists in the match. Meanwhile, fellow defensive specialist Ryan McAleer recorded seven digs while tying a Big Ten match career-high three assists.

Setter Taylor Anderson settled in as the match progressed, registering a double-double 37 assists, 10 digs. She went errorless on the attack, going a perfect 4-for-4 over the first two sets. She rounded out the night with a trio of block assists.

With the result, the Boilermaker seniors of Colvin, Hornung, Myers, Sydney Yim, Emily Rastovski and Raven Gray have amassed 93 wins since 2021, including 17 wins vs. top-25 opponents and eight wins vs. top-10 teams. 

The No. 8 Boilermakers’ six-match winning streak came to an end at No. 4 Penn State in an 0-3 decision (20-25, 23-25, 16-25). The Boilermakers fought hard, holding the lead midway through the first two sets until late pushes by the Nittany Lions shut Purdue out.

In total, there were 32 tied scores and 12 lead changes throughout the match, an improvement from the 2 tied scores and one lead change that opened the Big Ten season in Holloway Gymnasium.

It was Purdue’s seventh top-10 matchup of the season, including the third vs. a top-5 program.

The Boilermakers were led by libero Hornung’s 19 digs, including an impressive 16 during the first two sets alone. The senior reached her 1,000th career kill in Set 1, becoming the 21st Boilermaker in program history, including the second Hornung to reach the milestone at Purdue (Marissa Hornung, 2018-21).

Eva Hudson led the team with 12 kills and nine digs. Meanwhile, Lourdes Myers registered a team-leading .625 attack 5 (6-1-8). Colvin recorded a team-leading four block assists to go alongside six kills.

Purdue was held to a .142% while Penn State recorded .242%. Four of Purdue’s six blocks came in Set 2.

The No. 8 Boilermakers will spend their final week of the regular season on the west coast. First, a 2023 NCAA Regional Semifinal rematch and current top-11 showdown is on the docket in Eugune, Oregon on Wednesday, November 27, as No. 8 Purdue and No. 11 Oregon face off at 10:30 p.m. ET. Then, Purdue will spend Thanksgiving in Seattle before taking on Washington, a team receiving votes in the AVCA poll, on Friday, November 29 at 7 p.m. ET. Both matches will air on Big Ten Network.

The Boilermakers stand in fourth place in the Big Ten standings, one match behind Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Oregon sits below Purdue at fifth, just one match behind the Boilermakers. USC sits in sixth.

Defense and Double-Doubles Lead to Purdue Win Over UT Arlington

The women’s basketball team improved to 4-1 on the year with a 73-55 win over UT Arlington on Sunday afternoon at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers controlled the defensive end, holding the Lady Mavs (2-4) to 31% shooting and turned 16 turnovers into 23 points.

The Boilermakers placed four players in double figures, led by Lana McCarthy matching her career high of 18 points.

For the second straight game, a pair of Boilermakers finished with double-doubles. Reagan Bass recorded her second straight double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Destini Lombard stuffed the stat sheet for her first career double-double going for 13 points and 13 rebounds, to go with four assists, three steals and one block.

Kendall Puryear went 4-of-5 from the field to finish with 10 points.

TOP STATS
Lombard powered the Boilermakers on an early run with seven points and eight rebounds in the first quarter alone. McCarthy bounced back from early foul trouble with 16 points in the second half. The sophomore was 8-of-11 and grabbed four rebounds over the final 20 minutes.

Defensively, the Boilermakers broke any rhythm, as the Lady Mavs shot 31% from the field and went 3-of-16 from distance. Purdue recorded a season-high 10 steals. Sophie Swanson topped the team with a career-high four swipes. Lombard finished with three steals for the fourth time this season.

The Boilermakers blocked nine shots on Sunday, tied for the most in the Katie Gearlds era. Eight different players rejected a shot, led by Bass’ pair.

Purdue dominated on the glass with a plus-15 rebounding margin (48-33). The Lady Mavs grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, but the Boilermakers surrendered just 11 second chance points.

KEY MOMENTS
• The Boilermakers started hot with six straight points with scores from Lombard, Ella Collier and McCarthy.
• Purdue later went on a 12-3 run with five points from Bass to open a 12-point advantage at 20-8 with 1:40 to play in the first.
• After UT Arlington cut the gap to give at the end of the first, Puryear went on her own eight-point run in the first 3:37 of the second to extend the advance back to 32-18.
• The Boilermakers scored one field goal in the final 3:03 of the half and carried a 10-point lead into the break.
• Sophie Swanson opened the second half with a steal and score, before Purdue turned its offense over to McCarthy in the post. The freshman scored 10 straight for the Boilermakers to keep the lead in double digits.
• Purdue opened the fourth on a 14-6 run with 3-pointers from Swanson and Rashunda Jones, the latter’s first of the year.
• The Boilermakers shot 61.5% (8-13), while holding UT Arlington to 36% (5-14), to pull away in the final frame.

NOTES
• Saturday was the first meeting between the two clubs.
• Purdue moved the ball around with a season-high 20 assists on 29 made field goals.
• The Boilermakers are 19-1 when dishing out 20 or more assists under Katie Gearlds.
• The Boilermakers recorded 14 points on fast breaks.
• Bass is the first Boilermaker with consecutive double-doubles since Jeanae Terry during the 2022-23 season.
• Purdue has not had two players with double-doubles in consecutive games in over 23 years.
• Purdue has held an opponent to 60 or fewer points in 32 games under Gearlds, posting a 29-3 record in those contests.
 

UP NEXT
Purdue will head to the Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off this week. The Boilermakers will open the event at 4:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving against Middle Tennessee State, before squaring off with No. 1 South Carolina on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Boilers Sweep Doubleheader Over Princeton, Chattanooga

The wrestling team swept its doubleheader over Princeton and Chattanooga on Saturday, defeating the Tigers 26-15 and the Mocs 41-3 in their home Maclellan Gym.

The Boilermakers improved to 8-0 all-time against Chattanooga and 4-0 versus Princeton, improving the team’s season record to 4-1.

At 4-1, Purdue is officially off to its best start since the 2021-22 season when the team started 6-0.

BOILERS TAKE DOWN TIGERS

With the 157-pounders kicking things off, Purdue got off to a hot 6-0 start thanks to No. 18 Joey Blaze’s first pin of the season. He raced to a 19-5 advantage before scoring the fall on Princeton’s Christopher Martino.

No. 21 Stoney Buell and No. 28 Brody Baumann kept the bonus points rolling, landing technical falls of their own to give Purdue a commanding 16-0 lead after three matches.

Buell picked up a 17-1 tech (4:04) before Baumann tied a team season high with 20 points in a 20-3 tech fall (5:55).

After giving up an early takedown, No. 26 James Rowley scrapped his way to a 9-3 decision for his fourth career ranked win over No. 27 Mikey Squires.

No. 4 Matt Ramos picked up a convincing 16-3 major decision over No. 28 Ethan Rivera to keep his 100% bonus rate alive. The redshirt senior’s next ranked win will be the 40th of his career.

Greyson Clark, at No. 27 in the FloWrestling rankings, maintained his positive momentum with a 7-3 decision over Eligh Rivera.

After the win, the Boilermakers had a two-hour break before turning around to face host Chattanooga at later in the afternoon

PURDUE ROCKS THE MOCS

Purdue came out firing and never relented against Chattanooga, taking nine of the 10 matches with seven bonus wins and a season-best three falls.

The Boilers once again benefitted from a fast start with Blaze notching the eighth ranked win of his career, an 11-3 major over No. 28 Noah Castillo.

Buell logged a major decision of his own, winning 16-5 over Jackson Hurst in the 165-pound class.

Off to an 8-0 start, Purdue continued to rock and roll with three consecutive pins from Baumann (3:57), Rowley (1:47) and Ben Vanadia (2:45). Baumann’s fall came over over No. 30 Sergio Desiante, his team-high third ranked victory of the year.

Ramos, the national leader in technical falls entering the week, added another one to his docket in impressive fashion to move his total to seven. He finished off Ty Tice in just 3:33 with a final score of 19-4.

Hayden Filipovich grappled his way to an 11-0 shutout over Chattanooga’s Ethan Vergara. He posted nearly five minutes of riding time as he wore down his heavyweight opponent.

Dustin Norris overcame a 6-2 deficit entering the third period to storm back and steal a 10-6 decision over a scrappy Bryce Luna. He turned the tides with an escape, a takedown and a four-point nearfall to clinch the win before the final buzzer.

Isaac Ruble closed the day on a strong note, etching a 3-0 shutout into the books. The redshirt-sophomore has six shutouts in just 20 career matches.

UP NEXT

The Boilermakers enter Thanksgiving break coming off four consecutive weeks of road trips. Purdue will next compete Dec. 6-7 at the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, the annual tournament that features many of the top teams in the country.

Buckeridge Finishes 43rd at NCAA Cross Country Championships

Douglas Buckeridge finished in 43rd-place at the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday as Purdue cross country’s lone representative.

Buckeridge finished 43rd in a field of 252 runners that completed the race. He was the third Big Ten runner to cross the finish line behind Wisconsin’s Bob Liking (16th) and Oregon’s Aiden Smith (29th).

Through the first 5K of the race, Buckeridge sat in 84th with a 14:43.7 split before he jumped 20 spots to 64th across the next 1K. Between the 6K and 7K marks on the course he jumped another 14 spots to 50th.

Buckeridge improved another three spots between the 7K and 9K marks and headed into the last 1K in 48th before he jumped another five spots to the finish line.

Since the NCAA Championship moved to a 10K format in 1976, Buckeridge is the first Boilermaker to run sub-30 minutes. William Shuey held the previous top mark in a championship with his 30:03.1 in 1981.

He is the ninth Purdue runner to finish in the top 50 of an NCAA Championship during the 10K format. He is the third in the last five seasons.

Buckeridge now owns the top two times in program history after he went 29:12.9 last Friday at the Great Lakes Regional in his runner-up performance.

The 2024 cross country season concluded on Saturday and the program will now turn its attention to the 2024-25 indoor track & field season that starts on Dec. 13 in Chicago.

Wright Breaks Team & Pool Records, Women win Purdue Invite

Daryn Wright smashed the program record in platform diving by 31 points while also eclipsing pool and meet records in the process, highlighting Saturday’s events as action concluded at Purdue Swimming & Diving’s three-day Purdue Invitational.

The Purdue women repeated as the team champions at the Purdue Invite for the first time since 2012 and 2015. The men opted to not enter many of their top swimmers in individual events as they focus on USA Swimming U.S. Open the first week of December in North Carolina.

With a time of 1:43.12, Blake Rowe eclipsed the Purdue freshman record in the 200 backstroke while winning the A final of the event. It was the last of 11 records (team/freshman/pool/meet) set by the Boilermakers at the midseason showcase.

Wright’s huge list score of 390.45 headlined that group of 11 as a women’s overall program record fell for the third straight day. Sophie McAfee (366.75) also eclipsed Emily Meaney’s previous team record (359.30) in platform diving Saturday. Meaney’s record had stood since the 2017 Big Ten Championships, the same night the pool record was set by Wright’s fellow Team USA Olympian Jessica Parratto (Indiana). McAfee broke the 3-meter team record Thursday and Kathryn Ackerman eclipsed the 400 individual medley record Friday.

Jordan Rzepka’s 106-point dive on a forward 2 ½ three-twist pike (5156B) in the final round powered the senior’s first-career 500-point list (502.50). He improved on his fourth-best score in program history and joined Olympians David Boudia, Steele Johnson & Brandon Loschiavo as the only Boilermakers to post a 500-point list on the tower. Rzepka won a pair of events at the Purdue Invitational for the third year in a row.

Maxwell Blume (200 breast), Hannah Hill (100 free), Campbell Scofield (200 fly) and Reagan Mattice (1650 free) joined Rowe, Wright and Rzepka as Boilermakers to win event Saturday. Blume completed a sweep of the breaststroke events and Hill did likewise in the freestyle sprints. Scofield and Rowe were both event winners as freshmen.

The Boilermakers went 1-2-3 in both men’s and women’s platform diving as the event made its season debut Saturday. In the process, they completed a full sweep of the eight diving events contested over the three days at the Purdue Invitational (including team diving).

Abby Marcukaitis (1:54.86) became just the second Boilermaker in program history to break 1:55 in the 200 back, coming up just .25 hundredths shy of Jackie Smailis’ team record (1:54.61) from 2017. Marckuaitis posted another NCAA provisional qualifying time (B Cut) in the process, her first of the meet coming on the leadoff leg of the 400 medley relay Thursday.

Rowe eclipsed Michael Juengel’s freshman record (1:43.75) in the 200 back that had stood since 2020. He also posted a B Cut and moved into fourth place overall in program history. Scofield’s winning time in the 200 fly (1:58.55) was also a B Cut, elevating the freshman into seventh place in program history. Scofield and Kate Mouser finished 1-2 in the 200 fly with a pair of top-10 times in the team record book. The Boilermakers accounted for five of the eight A finalists in the event.

Mattice led a 1-2-3 finish for the Purdue women in the mile, moving into the all-time top 10 with her lifetime best mark (16:31.13, B Cut). Adele Sands took second and Caitlin Hurley third. Hurley demonstrated her grit and versatility by racing in the A final of the 100 free about 30 minutes later.

Masy Folcik (200 breast), Abbie Kehmeier (200 back), Hill (100 free) and Ackerman (200 back) also moved up Purdue’s all-time leaderboards. Freshmen divers Kaden Springfield and Tyler Willis added their names to the top-15 list in their team debuts in platform diving. Wright and Wills both ripped a 90-point dive as part of their big list scores.

Purdue’s December meets include the men’s swimmers at the U.S. Open (Dec. 4-7 in Greensboro), the divers at the USA Diving Winter Nationals (Dec. 8-15 in Bloomington) and selected women’s swimmers at the CSCAA Open Water Nationals (Dec. 21 in Miami). The Boilermakers resume their dual meet schedule Friday, Jan. 10 with a home triple dual vs. Kentucky and Notre Dame. The Irish will only have women in attendance.