Purdue Sports Update September 2

Volleyball Opens Season With Stacey Clark Classic Title

In its sold-out season-opener, the No. 8 Purdue Boilermakers took down the Kansas State Wildcats, 3-1 (25-21, 18-25, 25-22, 25-23), behind 17 team blocks, the most by the program since 2022.

It was a battle throughout the match, with 41 tied scores over the four-setter, including 15 tied scores in Set 1 alone and six lead changes in Set 4. The Boilermakers rallied for each set win, which included ending Set 1 with a 4-0 run and coming back to take Set 3 with a 4-1 run.

Chloe Chicoine led the attack with 17 kills to go alongside six digs and a block assist. Meanwhile, Eva Hudson notched her first double-double of the year behind 16 kills, 12 digs and a career-high-tying five blocks (1-4), which were the most since her freshman season.

Middle blocker Raven Colvin led the blocking effort with her 10-block performance (1-9).

Kenna Wollard posted a career-high eight kills and a .300 hitting % in the outing, a performance which included remaining errorless through two and a half sets.

Setter Taylor Anderson knocked on the door of a triple double, dishing out 43 assists, a career-high eight blocks and seven digs.

Libero Ali Hornung led the back row with 17 digs and six assists. Meanwhile, in her first collegiate match, defensive specialist Ryan McAleer posted 11 digs.

The volleyball team continued the opening weekend of the season with a 3-0 sweep of UMBC (25-20, 25-20, 25-17) on Saturday night at Holloway Gymnasium. The Boilermakers improved to 2-0 on the year while the Retrievers move to 0-2.

Eva Hudson had a match-high 15 kills with one error and hit .500, while Chicoine posted a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs, second-most on the team. Anderson dished out 34 assists and Hornung had 14 digs to lead the team. Middles Colvin and Lourdes Myers each recorded five block assists.

Lizzie Carr secured a career-high performance behind an errorless six kills on 15 swings (.400%) in addition to a career-high four blocks.

Purdue totaled 46 kills on the day on 105 attempts with six errors for a .381 attacking percentage. The Old Gold and Black picked up 48 digs and 10 team blocks, making it the second consecutive match with double-digit blocks.
UMBC was held to a.165 attacking percentage and just two team blocks.

The three-set match featured three lead changes, two in the second set and one in the third.

Behind one of the most efficient team attacks in the last six years, the No. 8 Purdue Boilermakers swept UC Davis, 25-18, 25-10, 25-18 inside Holloway Gymnasium. With the victory, Purdue (3-0) won the Stacey Clark Classic while UC Davis (2-1) finished second in the tournament.

Hudson was named Stacey Clark Classic MVP after averaging 4.6 kills per set and a .352 attack % over the weekend. Additionally, Colvin was selected to the all-tournament team, totaling 26 kills, a .452 hitting % and 19 blocks over the weekend.

Purdue’s .450 hitting % vs. UC Davis was just the fourth time in the last six season Purdue has ran an offense so efficiently. It was preceded by a nearly-perfect back row that saw 51 receptions and just one error. The solid passing led to 45 assists by Anderson. Meanwhile, Hornung anchored the back row with 18 digs, dishing out three assists along with an ace.

The offensive effort was led by Hudson’s 15 kills on 30 swings (.433). Additionally, Colvin put down 12 kills and paced the team with a .733 attack %. After each Boilermaker recorded an attack error in Set 1, the pair both went errorless for the remainder of the match.

Wollard registered a .471 hitting %, which included a career-high 10 kills.

Purdue will begin its eight-match road streak Thursday in Salt Lake City, Utah, where they are set to take on California and Utah before traveling up the road to play Utah State on Saturday, a team receiving votes in the AVCA preseason poll, in Logan, Utah.

Men Win, Women Second at Valpo Season Opener

The men were victorious and the women were second as the cross country team began the season at the Winrow Valparaiso Open in Valparaiso, Indiana, on Friday morning.

With rain looming at Sunset Hill Farm County Park, both the Boilermaker men’s and women’s teams placed seven individuals in the top 20. The men won the team event for the second consecutive year and the women were runners-up for the second year in a row.

“This was a great start to the season, we competed and fought hard and ran as a team,” Purdue head coach Tony Miller said. “Under the conditions we had, they really did well. To see our top seven runners all finish in the top 20 in both races was awesome. The men all ran extremely well up front and together as a pack to win as a team. Our women were second as a team, and they looked so much better than they did last year, which is really encouraging. I enjoyed watching our freshmen and younger runners go out and compete hard with an idea to win, and it shows how bright our future is. I have high expectations for what this team can do, and we are excited to see them build from today’s start.”

Senior Nathan Walker led the men’s team with a runner-up finish on the 6k course, while graduate student Payne Turney was third to pace the women’s team in the 5k competition.

As the men’s and women’s teams each had seven top-20 finishers, the men placed five in the top 11, and two in the top five, and the women recorded three top-10 finishers.

Following a weekend off, the Boilermakers travel to Savoy, Illinois, for the Fighting Illini Big Ten Preview on September 13. The meet is hosted by Illinois at the site of the 2024 Big Ten Cross Country Championships, and will give Purdue an early look at the postseason course.

Soccer Downs DePaul, Flies Past Dayton

A season-high three goals and a second consecutive clean sheet propelled the soccer team to a 3-0 victory at DePaul in Chicago on Thursday, August 29.

Under a cloudless sky on a hot late afternoon at Wish Field, the Boilermakers (3-1-1) took a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute and never looked back. The visitors added to their advantage in the 37th minute and made it 3-0 in the 58th. Purdue did not allow a shot on goal and picked up its third clean sheet in five games and second consecutive. The Boilermakers beat the Blue Demons (0-3-1) to remain unbeaten in their last three contests.

Senior midfielder Abigail Roy scored the first goal, her second in as many games, and senior midfielder Lauren Meeks made it 2-0 with her first goal as a Boilermaker just five minutes after entering the contest. Senior forward Gracie Dunaway added the second-half insurance goal, her second score of 2024.

Dunaway assisted on Roy’s goal and junior forward Chiarra Singarella had the assist on Meeks’, both of which came off corner kicks.

Purdue had seven shots to DePaul’s six, though the Boilermakers posted a 5-0 advantage in shots on target. The visitors earned 11 corners and limited the Blue Demons to four.

Dunaway and Singarella each had two shots and were two of five Boilermakers with a shot on goal. With the help of her defense, sophomore goalkeeper Emily Edwards did not need to make a save in the contest. DePaul’s starting keeper made two saves in 79 minutes.

With the victory, Purdue improved to 9-0-0 all-time against DePaul and 4-0-0 on the road in the series. This was the first matchup since 2019. Seven of the nine all-time meetings have been shutout victories for the Old Gold and Black.

A hat trick by junior forward Chiara Singarella propelled the Purdue soccer team to a 6-1 victory over Dayton on Sunday afternoon at Folk Field in West Lafayette, Indiana.

The Boilermakers (4-1-1) have won three in a row and are unbeaten in their last four games, with a 12-2 goal differential in that stretch. The Old Gold and Black remain undefeated at Folk Field in 2024, with a 3-0-1 mark. Meanwhile, the Flyers (3-2-0) allowed six goals, two more than they had given up all season entering the contest.

Purdue scored early and often on Sunday, with goals in the second, eighth and 13th minutes. Dayton tried to get back in the game with a 22nd-minute goal, but the home side answered right back with another score in the 25th minute. Tallies in the 48th and 65th minutes sealed the win.

The six goals scored in a game are tied for the sixth-most in team history, and the four goals in the first half are tied for seventh-most all-time in a half. It’s just the second time either feat has been achieved – six or more goals in a game and four or more goals in a half – since 2017.

Singarella recorded the eighth hat trick in program history and the first since 2021, when the team had two. It was her first career hat trick, her second career multi-goal game and also the first three goals of her Purdue career. The first-year Boilermaker now has 13 career goals.

The non-conference portion of Purdue’s schedule concludes with a matchup against Alabama on Thursday, September 5. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. ET at Folk Field, and admission is free. It is Student Appreciation Night and National Cheese Pizza Day.

Painter Receives Purdue University’s Highest Award

Purdue President Mung Chiang presented men’s basketball head coach Matt Painter with “The Order of the Griffin” – the highest honor bestowed upon a university employee.

The Order of the Griffin recognizes outstanding service to Purdue by men and women whose commitment has gone beyond the call of duty and greatly benefited the university.

“I am delighted to recognize Matt Painter with the Order of the Griffin, Purdue’s highest honors for faculty and staff employees. Not only did he do a masterful job this past year coaching our Boilermakers to their winningest season in program history with 34 victories and their first National Championship appearance in 55 years, but he has also built a program consistently reflecting the Boilermaker values and character in integrity, humility, sportsmanship, grit and excellence in both academics and athletics among the student-athletes,” Chiang said. 

Entering his 20^th season as the head coach at Purdue University, Painter has taken the Boilermakers to new heights. Purdue reached the National Championship last season for the first time in 55 years, guiding the Boilermakers to a 34-5 overall record, the Big Ten regular-season title for the second straight year and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.