VOLLEYBALL EARNS RIGHT TO HOST NCAA

PURDUE TO BEGIN THE BIG DANCE IN WEST LAFAYETTE

For the eighth time under head coach Dave Shondell, the Purdue Boilermakers will begin its NCAA journey hosting the First and Second Rounds inside Holloway Gymnasium. The team was selected as four-seed in the lower-left quadrant and will face Western Michigan on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ in the First Round.

Tickets will go on sale for the general public and students tomorrow (Monday, December 2) at 10 a.m. ET.

The Boilermakers will host Western Michigan, Loyola Chicago and No. 5 seed BYU on Thursday, December 5 in the first round. Then on Friday, the winner of No. 5 BYU and Loyola Chicago will face the winner of No. 4 Purdue and Western Michigan. NCAA Regionals will take place Thursday, Dec. 12 through Sunday, December 15. The final four will be hosted by Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center, with semifinals on Thursday, Dec. 19 on ESPN and the national championship on Sunday, December 22 on ABC.

The Boilermakers solidified their hosting in the final two weeks of play, picking up key wins with a sweep vs. #21 USC, a reverse sweep at #13 Oregon and a sweep at Washington, a team receiving votes in the final poll. It is the fourth time in the last six seasons the team has hosted the first and second rounds.

With a prominent history in the NCAA tournament, Purdue earned its bid for the 10th consecutive year, the 19th time in Shondell’s 22 seasons at Purdue and 36th overall program appearance.

Purdue finished fourth in the Big Ten standings behind a 25-6, 16-4 Big Ten record. Not only did the team finish with the second-most wins since the 1980’s, their 16 Big Ten wins tie as the second-most wins in program history. Throughout the year, the Boilermakers racked up 16 sweeps, the most since 2017, and recorded a 9-1 record in the month of November. 

VOLLEYBALL WINS BOTH IN PNW

The No. 9 Purdue Boilermakers pulled out the reverse-sweep at No. 13 Oregon, 19-25, 22-25, 29-27, 25-23, 15-13. It was Purdue’s first reverse-sweep of the season.

Purdue erased Oregon’s match point in Set 3, storming back with two set points before putting it away on their third attempt. In the extra-point run, Oregon held two match points.

Eva Hudson posted 20 kills over the final three sets, including nine in Set 4, to finish the night with a team-leading 28 kills. Not only was it a season-high, but two kills shy of tying her career-high. Her performance included just one attack error in 30 attempts over the final two sets of action. The Fort Wayne, Indiana, native secured a double-double with 14 digs and two block assists. In total, she notched 77 attacks in the match, a career-high.

Chloe Chicoine closed the night with 16 kills, tying the second-most of the season, and a season-high 20 digs. The sophomore posted key kills throughout the match, including  the go-ahead kill at 14-13 and 12-11 in Set 5, the Set 4-winner, the tying point at 23-23 in Set 3, and the go-ahead at 22-21 when Oregon fought their way back into the set.

Taylor Anderson notched 57 assists, a season-high and just three shy of tying her career-high. It was the fifth 50-plus assist match of the season for the sophomore, as

Libero Ali Hornung saw 39 receptions, making zero errors in the process. She anchored the back row with 22 digs, two shy of a career-high. As a team, Purdue totaled 77 digs.

In fact, Purdue was edged in nearly every statistical category except kills (72 vs. 69) and service errors (10 vs. 11). Additionally, Purdue edged Oregon in sideout for each of the final three sets, ending with a 78% in Set 5, the highest mark of the night for either team.

Purdue (25-6, 16-4 Big Ten) stifled the Washington Huskies (19-11, 9-11 Big Ten), stealing Set 3 in comeback-style to sweep the Huskies, 25-14, 25-23, 29-27 on Senior Night.

Purdue closes the regular season with the most wins since 2011 (27-4 record, including 16-4 Big Ten). It marks the second-most regular-season wins since the 1980’s. Meanwhile, Purdue’s 16 Big Ten wins tie as the second-most wins in program history (most: 17-1in 1985, second-most 16-4 in 2011).

Meanwhile, Purdue’s sweep was the 16th of the season, the most since 2017.

After controlling Set 1, Purdue continued its dominance through the first half of Set 2, holding an 18-10 lead, but let the Huskies back in after six straight points. Washington tied it up 23-all, but back-to-back kills by Hudson and Colvin sealed the 2-0 set lead.

Despite trailing 14-22 in Set 3, Purdue stormed back to win the match, a feat which included a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 19-22, which included a block solo and kill by Raven Colvin and two forced Huskies attack errors. The Boilermakers erased four set points in the stretch before Raven Colvin set up Purdue for its first attempt at match point (27-26). Eva Hudson hammered down the match-winner at 29-27.

Hudson led the team with a double-double 13 kills and 13 digs with two aces, followed by Colvin’s 12 on a .408 efficiency. and a team-leading four blocks and two aces. Lourdes Myers went errorless in the match with eight kills on 16 attacks (.500%).

Taylor Anderson recorded 37 assists, six digs and two blocks in the effort. Freshman Allie Shondell entered in the third set to help turn the tides, totaling three assists one dig.

Ali Hornung totaled 21 digs.

With the result, Purdue closed the book on the toughest end to the regular-season in program history with a 3-1 record over the final two weeks, a which saw all four teams ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA poll, a reverse sweep at No. 13 Oregon and a thrilling sweep vs. No. 21 USC on Purdue’s senior night.

With the regular-season officially wrapped-up for the Boilermakers, Purdue will turn its sights to postseason with the chance to host the NCAA First & Second Rounds. The team will find out its fate on the NCAA selection show, which is set for Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN.

WBB DROPS BOTH IN FORT MYERS

The women’s basketball team dropped a defensive battle on Thursday night on the first day of Elevance Health Fort Myers Tip-Off, falling 54-49 to Middle Tennessee.

The Boilermakers’ defense held Middle Tennessee (6-1) to just 27.6% shooting from the field and allowed just four points off turnovers. The Blue Raiders took advantage of seven made 3-pointers and a 22-2 free throw attempt difference to outlast the Boilermakers.

Purdue (4-2) was led in scoring by Sophie Swanson and Destini Lombard with 11 points each. The Boilermakers finished the night shooting 33% and knocked down five 3-pointers.

TOP STATS
Swanson went 3-of-6 from deep on the night. Her second triple early in the third quarter marked the 50th of her career in 33 games. Lombard reached double figures for the fifth time this season on a 5-of-8 shooting night.

Purdue won the rebounding battle 47-38. Rashunda Jones snagged a career-high eight rebounds to go with six points and three assists, while Lana McCarthy added nine boards.  

KEY MOMENTS
• Purdue opened the game on a 9-3 run with four points from Lombard and a stepback Swanson triple at the 5:37 mark.
• Middle Tennessee rallied with a 9-2 run of its own to take a one-point lead with 1:52 to play in the frame. Kendall Puryear connected on a pair of mid-range jumpers to give Purdue a 15-14 lead after one.  
• The Blue Raiders outscored Purdue 11-6 in the second quarter with neither club shooting over 24% in the period to lead 25-21 at the break.
• Purdue fired out of the halftime break with an eight-point run, including a pair of Swanson 3-pointers to put the Boilermakers ahead 29-25.
• Regan Bass scored Purdue’s final four points of the third, as the Blue Raiders carried a 37-33 lead into the fourth on a 12-4 run.
• Again, Purdue started strong in the fourth. Collier started a seven-point swing with a long ball to help Purdue take a 44-42 lead with 7:02 to play.
• Middle Tennessee closed the game on an 11-2 run with seven points coming at the line.   

NOTES
• Thursday was the first meeting between the two ball clubs.
• Purdue is now 7-4 on Thanksgiving.
• The Boilermakers are 40-9 over the last four seasons when outrebounding an opponent.
• Reagan Bass added to hear team-high blocks total with a pair of rejections. She now has nine on the year.

Purdue dropped its final game of the Elevance Health Fort Myers Tip-Off 99-51 to reigning national champions No. 4 South Carolina on Saturday at Suncoast Arena.

Destini Lombard paced Purdue (4-3) with a career-high 22 points and went 4-of-5 on 3-pointers. The fifth year added one rebound and two blocks. Purdue shot 39.6% from the field and went 7-of-13 from distance. Ella Collier finished with nine points to go with three rebounds. Sophie Swanson and Amiyah Reynolds both had three assists.

The Boilermakers kept pace with the Gamecocks (7-1) early in the first quarter. Purdue went 2-of-3 from distance to start with triples from Collier and Lombard.

South Carolina took the lead at the end of the first with a 13-2 run. The Gamecocks added to the lead with runs of 15 and 11 in the first half and a 12-point swing in the second half.

The Boilermakers continued to battle in the second half shooting 46.4% from the field and 71.4% (5-7) from distance. Purdue committed five turnovers in the final 20 minutes and dished out seven of its 10 assists for the game.

Lombard scored 19 of her points in the second half.

South Carolina put seven players in double figures led by Mila Fulwiley’s 14. The Gamecocks shot 47.1% on the afternoon and went 6-of-24 from distance.

UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will start a three-game homestand on Wednesday night against Maine at Mackey Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on B1G+.