Complete Release in PDF Format
The Slate
Active Ankle Challenge
Holloway Gymnasium & Mackey Arena; West Lafayette, Ind.
Tournament central: here
Live Stats - purduesports.com
Radio - purduesports.com; WSHY 1410 AM
Video $ - BTN Plus on BTN2GO.com
Friday, Sept. 19 (Holloway Gymnasium):
10 a.m. Saint Louis vs. Purdue
Noon Morehead State vs. Notre Dame
5 p.m. Notre Dame vs. Saint Louis
7 p.m. Morehead State vs. Purdue
Saturday, Sept. 20 (Mackey Arena):
5 p.m. Saint Louis vs. Morehead State
8 p.m. Notre Dame vs. Purdue
TV: Big Ten Network
PxP: Mike Wolf; Color: Audrey Flaugh
Promotions
Friday - 10 a.m. vs. Saint Louis. Free coffee to those in attendance.
Saturday - 8 p.m. vs. Notre Dame. Pack Mackey. All Purdue students receive free admission. Tickets are $5 for lower bowl seating, $2 for upper bowl seating. Match will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
The Book on the Boilermakers
At First Glance: The No. 11 Boilermakers (8-1) kick off a five-match home stand on Friday, playing host to the Active Ankle Challenge. Purdue returns eight players, including four starters, from its 2013 Elite Eight team, which posted a 23-12 record and finished sixth in the Big Ten, and adds one redshirt freshman and seven true freshmen. Head coach Dave Shondell is in his 12th season with the team.
Last Time Out: The Boilermakers went 2-1 at the Holiday Inn University Plaza Invitational in Bowling Green, Ky., last weekend. Purdue topped Austin Peay and Western Michigan, but fell to host Western Kentucky in five sets.
Statistically Speaking: Junior Annie Drews paces the Boilermaker offense with 4.45 kills per set, while redshirt sophomore Faye Adelaja (2.64), senior KiKi Jones (2.26), junior Sam Epenesa (2.25), freshman Azariah Stahl (1.59), and redshirt freshman Ashley Evans (1.30) follow. Jones leads the Boilers at the net with 1.15 blocks per set, while Adelaja has put up 1.05 stuffs per stanza.
Defensively, libero Amanda Neill has pulled up 3.77 digs per set, while Evans (2.73), senior Val Nichol (2.37) and redshirt sophomore Kate Workman (1.70) follow. As a team, Purdue has hit at a .287 clip and served up 42 aces, including nine by Nichol, eight by Drews and seven each by Evans and freshman Lydia Dimke.
Series Information
Saint Louis (Purdue leads the series 5-0): Purdue has won all five previous meetings with the Billikens in the series which began on Sept. 12, 2000. The teams played in 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006 and, most recently, 2008 at the Utah Classic.
Morehead State (Purdue leads the series 1-0): The Boilermakers won the lone previous meeting with the Eagles, a Dec. 2, 2011 contest in West Lafayette for NCAA first round play.
Notre Dame (Purdue leads the series 12-7): Purdue has won 12 of the 19 meetings with the Fighting Irish in the series which began on Sept. 8, 1983. The Boilermakers won the first nine contests and Notre Dame took six of the next seven, but the Boilers have won two of the last three meetings, including a five-setter in South Bend last year. Purdue is 8-2 at home and 4-5 in South Bend.
What a Difference a Win Makes...
If the Boilermakers top Saint Louis on Friday:
- They will move to 9-1 to start the season, their best start since beginning the 2011 season 10-0 and move their current win streak to two matches.
- They will move to 191-57 all-time in non-conference home matches.
- They will improve to 283-148 all-time when playing in the month of September, including a 12-2 mark when playing on Sept. 19.
Scouting Saint Louis
At First Glance: The Saint Louis Billikens (8-3) have won seven straight matches coming into the Active Ankle Challenge. The Billikens posted a 13-17 record and a fourth place Atlantic 10 Conference finish in 2013. Eleven letterwinners, including five starters, return from that team. SLU is coached by Kent Miller, who is in his fifth year with the team.
Last Time Out: SLU went 3-0 at its own Billiken Invitational last weekend, sweeping Nebraska-Omaha and topping Canisius and Air Force in four sets apiece.
Statistically Speaking: Outside hitter Danielle Rygelski and middle blocker Megan Gilbert lead the Billiken offense with 3.51 and 3.20 kills per set respectively. Rygelski also adds 2.68 digs per set and a team-best 13 aces, while Gilbert is hitting at a .298 clip. Outside hitter Nenye Okoro (2.41), middle blocker Lauren Leverenz (1.94) and middle blocker Taylor Paulson (1.93) round out the offense. Leverenz is hitting at a team-best .313 clip, has served up 12 aces and adds 0.91 blocks per set, while Paulson has put up a team-leading 1.12 blocks per set. Okoro chips in 2.61 digs per set.
Defensively, libero Anna Church leads the way with 4.88 digs per set, followed by Rygelski (2.68), Okoro (2.610) and setter Meredith Boe (1.90). Church also has served up 13 aces. As a team, Saint Louis is hitting .208 and has served up 68 aces.
An Education About the Eagles
At First Glance: The Morehead State Eagles (0-10) played a Tuesday contest at Marshall before travelling to the Active Ankle Challenge this weekend. The Eagles posted a 27-8 record, won the Ohio Valley Conference title and appeared in the NCAA Tournament first round in 2013. MSU returns eight letterwinners, including four starters, from that team. Morehead State is coached by Jamie Gordon, who is in his 12th year with the team.
Last Time Out: The Eagles went 0-3 at their own Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational last weekend, falling to Northern Illinois, Louisville and No. 15 Arizona State all via sweep. On Tuesday, Morehead State fell to Marshall 3-0 in Huntington, West Virginia. Statistically Speaking: Middle blocker Hannah Sigala (2.38) leads a group of four Morehead State players averaging nearly 2.00 kills per set. Middle blocker Laura McDermott (2.15), outside hitter Alex Fitzmorris and outside hitter Alli Evans (1.74) follow. Sigala is hitting at a team-best .250 clip and also has put up a team-leading 0.74 blocks per set. McDermott also adds 0.74 blocks per set, while Evans chips in 1.94 digs per set.
Defensively, outside hitter Hope Rillema (2.59), defensive specialist Stacy Silver (2.00), Evans (1.94) and setter Colbey Cameron (1.62) average nearly two digs per set. As a team, Morehead State is hitting at a .127 clip and has served up 26 aces, seven by Cameron and six by Sigala and setter Bailey Nichol.
News About Notre Dame
At First Glance: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-7) hit the road for the first time since opening weekend, travelling down the road to West Lafayette after playing their last six matches at home. The Irish posted a 13-18 record and finished 11th in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013. Notre Dame returns nine letterwinners, including four starters, from that team. The Irish are coached by Debbie Brown, who is in her 24th year with the team.
Last Time Out: The Fighting Irish went 1-2 at their own Shamrock Invitational last weekend. Notre Dame topped Northeastern, but fell to TCU and Northern Iowa in four sets each.
Statistically Speaking: Middle blocker/outside hitter Jeni Houser paces the Irish offense with 3.11 kills per set and a team-best .294 hitting percentage. Four other players are averaging two or more kills per set. Outside hitter Nicole Smith (2.94), outside hitter Sydney Hukn (2.52), middle blocker Sam Fry (2.04) and outside hitter Meg Vonderhaar (2.00) make up the group. Fry paces the team at the net with 1.33 blocks per set and adds four aces, while Kuhn adds 1.96 digs per set.
Defensively, Natalie Johnson leads the way with 3.22 digs per set. Setter Maddie Dilfer (2.45), libero Kathleen Severyn (2.07) and Kuhn (1.96) follow. As a team, Notre Dame is hitting .190 and has served up 27 aces, including a team-best six by Johnson.
Poll Position
The Boilermakers dropped three spots to No. 11 in this week's AVCA Coaches' Poll. The Boilers were No. 8 in the preseason rankings, marking the highest in program history, ahead of the No. 9 listing to start the 2012 season. The No. 7 ranking on Sept. 1 matched the highest in program lore, duplicating the team's poll position on Nov. 14, 1983, and on Aug. 27, 2012.
Purdue was ranked in the Top 25 throughout the 2013 season, peaking with the No. 8 ranking in the final poll, and has been ranked in 51 consecutive polls dating to Nov. 29, 2010. This week's ranking is Purdue's 148th all-time since the AVCA polls began in 1982, including preseason and postseason listings.
Among The Nation
The Boilermakers rank among the nation's top 30 in three different statistical categories. Purdue ranks 12th in kills per set (14.60), 13th in hitting percentage (.287) and 17th in assists per set (13.37).
Individually, junior outside hitter Annie Drews ranked 16th in kills per set (4.45) and 17th in points per set (5.00). Senior middle blocker KiKi Jones ranks 18th in hitting percentage (.434), while redshirt sophomore middle blocker Faye Adelaja ranks 37th in the category (.408). Senior setter Val Nichol ranks 27th in assists per set (11.03).
Dynamic Drews
Junior outside hitter Annie Drews had a record setting performance against Western Kentucky on Sept. 12, putting down a career-high 33 kills, the most by a Purdue player since Nov. 24, 2000, (Joanna Lowry 32 vs. Indiana) and tied for fourth-most in Purdue history.
Mackey Magic
Purdue will take on Notre Dame in Mackey Arena on Sept. 20 to wrap up the Active Ankle Challenge tournament. The event will air live on the Big Ten Network.
The Boilermakers beat Illinois 3-1 in Mackey Arena on Oct. 11, 2013, in front of a crowd of 5,160, the fifth largest in program history. The match marked Purdue's 16th match in Mackey in program history, including two exhibition contests. The Boilers are now 10-4 in countable matches in the facility and at one time held the NCAA Attendance record, packing in 10,645 fans for the original Pack Mack event on Oct. 29, 1985.
The six largest crowds ever to watch Purdue volleyball at home have seen the Boilers play in Mackey Arena.