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The Slate
Big Ten Week 7
Devaney Center - Lincoln, Neb. ~ Carver-Hawkeye Arena - Iowa City, Iowa
Wednesday, Nov. 5: 7:30 p.m. at Nebraska
TV: Big Ten Network
PxP - Kevin Kuglar; Color - Kathi Weiskamp
Radio - purduesports.com
Live Stats - purduesports.com
Saturday, Nov. 8: 8 p.m. at Iowa
Video: BTN Plus on BTN2Go
Radio - purduesports.com
Live Stats - purduesports.com
The Book on the Boilermakers
At First Glance: The No. 12 Boilermakers (19-5, 9-3 Big Ten) play their fourth-straight BTN televised match on Wednesday at Nebraska. 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 are in fourth place in the Big Ten after splitting matches against No. 4 Wisconsin and Minnesota last week. Purdue fell to the Badgers on Wednesday, but rebounded with a sweep of the Gophers on Saturday..
Statistically Speaking: Junior Annie Drews paces the Boilermaker offense with 4.07 kills per set, while junior Sam Epenesa (2.39), redshirt sophomore Faye Adelaja (2.04), senior KiKi Jones (2.03), and freshman Azariah Stahl (1.74) follow. Jones leads the Boilers at the net with 1.06 blocks per set, while freshman Danielle Cuttino has put up 0.94 stuffs per stanza.
Defensively, libero Amanda Neill has pulled up 3.76 digs per set, while redshirt freshman Ashley Evans (2.42), Nichol (2.35) and redshirt sophomore Kate Workman (1.91) follow. As a team, Purdue has hit at a .270 clip and served up 101 aces, including 23 by Nichol, 19 by freshman Lydia Dimke, 16 by Evans, 14 by Neill, 11 by Drews and 11 by Workman.
Series Information
Nebraska (Nebraska leads the series 12-7): Purdue won the first four meetings in the series with the Cornhuskers, which began on Oct. 17, 1980. Nebraska took the next 10 meetings from Oct. 14, 1984 to the Oct. 7, 2011, match in Lincoln. The Boilermakers swept the No. 2 Huskers on Nov. 12, 2011. Nebraska won both contests in 2012, but Purdue swept the 2013 series, winning in four sets in Lincoln and three in West Lafayette.
Iowa (Purdue leads the series 50-20): The Boilermakers won the first 10 meetings in the series with the Hawkeyes, which began on Oct. 28, 1977. Iowa took seven of the next 12 contests, before Purdue launched an eight-match win streak, sweeping each season 1990 to 1993. The Hawkeyes won 11 of the next 20 from 1994 to 2003, but the Boilermakers took each of the next 11. Iowa snapped the streak with a five-set win in Iowa City on Nov. 27, 2009, but Purdue has won seven of the last eight, including season sweeps in 2010, 2011 and 2013.
What a Difference a Win Makes...
If the Boilermakers top No. 13 Nebraska on Wednesday:
- They will move to 20-5 on the season, securing the program's eighth 20-win season under Dave Shondell and the fourth straight.
- They will move to 10-3 in Big Ten play, matching the team's best conference start under Shondell (also 2011).
- They will win their third match against a Top 25 ranked foe in 2014 (also #14 San Diego, #22 Ohio State).
- They will have won three straight in the series with the Huskers and move to 4-3 in the series under Shondell.
- They will improve to 195-162 all-time when playing in the month of November, including a 13-4 mark when playing on Nov. 5.
News About Nebraska
At First Glance: The No. 13 Nebraska Cornhuskers (14-7, 8-4 Big Ten) return home to play host to the Boilermakers aftrer a four-match road swing. The Huskers return 11 letterwinners, including six starters from the 2014 team, which posted a 26-7 overall record, a second place Big Ten finish and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight. Nebraska is coached by John Cook, who is in his 15th year with the team.
Last Time Out: The Huskers swept road matches at Rutgers and Maryland last weekend.
Statistically Speaking: Outside hitter Katie Rolfzen paces the Husker offense with 3.60 kills per set, while hitting at a .256 clip and chipping in 2.64 digs per set. Outside hitters Alicia Ostrander (2.92) and Kelsey Fien (2.89) and Amber Rolfzen (2.18) also add more than two kills per set. Middle blocker Meghan Haggerty puts up a team-best 1.26 blocks per set and records 1.33 kills per set, while middle blocker Cecilia Hall also adds 1.33 kills per set to go with 1.08 stuffs per set. As a team, Nebraska is hitting at a .239 clip and has served up 78 aces.
Defensively, libero Justine Wong-Orantes leads the team with 3.99 digs per set. Kadie Rolfzen (2.64) and outside hitter Annika Albrecht (2.41) also pull up more than two digs per set. Amber Rolfzen (1.86) and setter Mary Pollmiller (1.84) follow. Albrecht has served up a team-best 22 aces, while Pollmiller and Wong-Orantes add 14 and 10 respectively.
Insight Into Iowa
At First Glance: The Iowa Hawkeyes (11-12, 3-9 Big Ten) take a two-match win streak into Wednesday's match with Indiana, their first home match since Oct. 18. The Hawkeyes return 10 letterwinners, including six starters from the 2013 team, which posted an 11-21 record and finished 11th in Big Ten play. Iowa is coached by Bond Shymansky, who is in his first year with the team.
Last Time Out: Iowa won a pair of road matches last weekend, sweeping Maryland on Friday and topping Rutgers in four sets on Saturday.
Statistically Speaking: Four hitters are averaging more than two kills per set to lead the Hawkeye offense. Outside hitter Alex Lovell (2.86), middle blocker Lauren Brobst (2.71), middle blocker Jess Janota (2.35) and middle blocker Alessandra Dietz (2.01) make up the group. Dietz is hitting at a team-best .346 clip and adds a team-best 24 aces. Middle blocker Mikaela Gunderson leads Iowa at the net with 1.07 blocks per set. As a team, Iowa is hitting at a .211 clip and has served up 94 aces.
Defensively, libero Michelle Fugarino leads the team wtih 4.06 digs per set. Outside hitter Julianne Blomberg follows with 2.03 digs per set, while Lovell chips in 1.60 and setter Alyssa Klostermann pulls up 1.53 saves per set to go with 19 aces and 5.63 assists per set.
Among The Nation
The Boilermakers rank among the nation's top 25 in three different statistical categories. Purdue ranks 10th in kills per set (14.42), 16th in hitting percentage (.270) and 18th in assists per set (13.20). The Boilers also rank 43rd in blocks per set (2.51) and 57th in opponent hitting percentage at .173.
Individually, junior outside hitter Annie Drews ranks 46th in kills per set (4.07) and 61st in points per set (4.49). Senior middle blocker KiKi Jones ranks 54th in hitting percentage (.365) and senior setter Val Nichol ranks 66th in assists per set (10.64).