GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game Notes
Purdue vs. Illinois
Wednesday, Sept. 21 / 7 p.m.
Belin Court at Holloway Gymnasium / West Lafayette, Ind.
/ Live Audio / Live Video on BTN
Purdue vs. Indiana
Saturday, Sept. 24 / 7 p.m.
Mackey Arena / West Lafayette, Ind.
Live Audio / Live Video - BTN Plus
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ââ'¬" The No. 10 Boilermakers bring an eight-match win streak into Big Ten play, which begins Wednesday with a BTN-televised match with rival Illinois and continues with the Monon Spike battle with Indiana in Mackey Arena on Saturday.
THE BOOK ON THE BOILERMAKERS
At First Glance: No. 10 Purdue (10-1) brings an eight-match win streak into the Big Ten season. The Boilermakers are coming off their 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 12 seasons after going 23-10 and finishing fifth in the Big Ten in 2015. The Purdue roster features seven returning players, two redshirts, a transfer and three newcomers. Head coach Dave Shondell is in his 14th season with the team.
Last Time Out: The Boilermakers went 3-0 at their own Stacey Clark Classic last weekend, sweeping Southeastern Louisiana and Xavier and knocking off No. 4 Kansas in four sets.
Statistically Speaking: Outside hitters Danielle Cuttino and Azariah Stahl pace the Purdue offense with 4.05 and 3.37 kills per set respectively. Cuttino is hitting at a .296 clip and has added 31 blocks (0.76 per set), while Stahl has also managed 2.61 digs per set, 25 blocks and 10 aces. Middle blocker Faye Adelaja follows with 2.31 kills per set and 0.79 blocks per stanza. Outside hitter Sherridan Atkinson (1.78) and middle blocker Blake Mohler (1.65) also contribute offensively. Mohler paces the Boilermakers at the net with 1.10 blocks per set, while Atkinson has put up 27 blocks (0.66 per set). In the back court, libero Natalie Haben leads the way with 3.63 digs per set and a team-best 12 aces. Stahl (2.61), setter Ashley Evans (2.41), and defensive specialists Carissa Damler (2.10) and Brooke Peters (2.07) follow with more than two digs per set. Evans also adds 11.07 assists per set and 12 aces. As a team, Purdue is hitting at a .280 clip and has served up 51 aces.
Honorable mention All-American middle blockers Faye Adelaja (2.38) and Danielle Cuttino (2.04) and outside hitter Azariah Stahl (1.80) return after contributing nearly two kills per set in 2015. Adelaja hit at a team-best .397 clip and added 0.89 blocks per set, while Cuttino put up a team-leading 1.21 stuffs per stanza. The team must fill the gap left by All-American outside hitter Annie Drews, who tallied 4.25 kills and 1.72 digs per set and 17 aces. Defensively, the Boilermakers must replace libero Amanda Neill, who pulled up 4.02 digs per set and served up 29 aces. Setter Ashley Evans is back after posting 2.39 digs and 11.06 assists per set and 22 aces as is defensive specialist Brooke Peters, who chipped in 1.17 digs per set and served up a team-leading 30 aces. As a team, Purdue hit at a .262 clip and served up 145 aces.
SERIES INFORMATION
Illinois (Illinois leads the series 43-39): Illinois won the first match in the series, which began on Oct. 25, 1975 in Champaign. Purdue countered with four of the next six before kicking off a seven-match win streak dating from Sept. 28, 1979 to Oct. 26, 1981. An Illini win stopped the streak, but Purdue responded with five more victories. Illinois won 29 of the next 38 contests from 1985 to 2003. The Boilermakers won six of the next seven including season sweeps in 2004 and 2006. Illinois took six in a row, but Purdue stopped the streak with four-set win on Nov. 27, 2010. Purdue has taken six of the last nine contests, including all four in West Lafayette. The Boilermakers won the most recent contest in five sets on Oct. 25, 2015, in West Lafayette, the lone meeting last season.
Indiana (Purdue leads the series 62-34): The Boilermakers won the first two meetings in the series with the Hoosiers, which began on Oct. 4, 1975, but Indiana took eight of the next nine. Purdue launched a 24-match win streak on Sept. 20, 1978, which lasted through the end of the 1985 season. The teams split the next 14 matches. The Hoosiers took 16 of the next 21 contests from 1992 to 2002. The Boilermakers swept the 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 seasons. An IU win in Bloomington snapped the streak, but Purdue has won 15 of the last 17, including season sweeps in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014. The Boilermakers have won seven straight, including the season sweep in 2015.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WIN MAKES...
If the Boilermakers top Illinois on Wednesday:
- They will move to 11-1 to start the season, marking the program's best start since 2011 (14-0).
- They will extend their current win streak to nine matches, the longest since Sept. 18-Oct. 10, 2015.
- They will have won their Big Ten opener for the third straight season, for the seventh time in the last eight years and the 10th time in 14 years under Coach Shondell.
- They will improve to 303-151 all-time when playing in the month of September, including a 12-6 mark when playing on Sept. 21. The Boilermakers last played on Sept. 16 in 2013, topping FIU at the Active Ankle Challenge in West Lafayette.
FACTS ABOUT THE FIGHTING ILLINI
At First Glance: The Illinois Fighting Illini (7-4) return 11 letterwinners, including five starters, from the 2015 team which went 21-13, finished seventh in the Big Ten and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. The Illini are coached by Kevin Hambly, who is in his eighth season with the team.
Last Time Out: The Illini extended their current win streak to five matches with a 3-0 mark at the Billiken Invitational in St. Louis last weekend. Illinois swept Nebraska-Omaha, Murray State and Saint Louis at the tournament.
Statistically Speaking: Outside hitter Jacqueline Quad leads a group of four Illini hitters averaging more than two kills per set. Quade has put down 3.10 kills per set, while outside hitter Michelle Strizak (2.53), opposite Naya Crittenden (2.18) and middle blocker Katie Stadick (2.15) follow. Strizak has served up a team-best eight aces, while Stadick adds 1.00 blocks per set. Middle blocker Ali Bastianelli adds 1.40 kills per set, while hitting at a team-best .438 clip and putting up a team-leading 1.80 blocks per set. Setter Jordan Poulter chips in 0.98 stuffs per set in addition to her 10.15 assists per set and six aces. Defensively, libero Brandi Donnelly leads the way with 4.15 digs per set. Strizak adds 1.64 digs per set to rank second on the team. The Illini are hitting .275 as a team and have served up 43 aces.
In 2015, Strizak put down 3.00 kills per set, while Stadick added 2.51 kills per set on a team-best .305 hitting effort as well as 1.20 blocks per set. Outside hitter Katie Roustio (2.36) and Crittenden (1.82) followed. Bastianelli put up a team-best 1.39 blocks per set and 1.08 kills per stanza. Defensively, Donnelly led the way with 4.34 digs per set. Poulter added 2.14 digs per set and 12 aces. As a team, Illinois hit at a .231 clip and served up 93 aces.
HEARING ABOUT THE HOOSIERS
At First Glance: The Indiana Hoosiers (11-2) take a two-match win streak into their Wednesday match with Northwestern. The Hoosiers return eight letterwinners, including four starters, from the 2015 team which went 16-16 and finished 10th in the Big Ten. Indiana is coached by Sherry Dunbar-Kruzan, who is in her 11th season with the team.
Last Time Out: Indiana went 2-1 at its own Hoosier Classic last weekend, sweeping IUPUI and Cleveland State, but falling to Arkansas State in four sets.
Statistically Speaking: Outside hitter Allison Hammon headlines the Hoosiers offense, averaging 4.23 kills per set, while hitting .288 and adding 19 aces. Outside hitter Kendall Beerman (2.92), outside hitter Jessica Leish (2.71), middle blocker Jazzmine McDonald (1.93) and right side hitter Elizabeth Asdell (1.85) follow with nearly two kills per set. McDonald is hitting at a team-best .427 clip and has put up 0.89 blocks per set. Defensively, libero Taylor Lebo paces the team with 3.87 digs per set to go with a team-leading 22 aces. Hammond (1.51), defensive specialist Samantha Fogg (1.46) and setter Megan Tallman (1.33) follow. As a team, Indiana is hitting at a .297 clip and has served up 94 aces.
In 2015, Hammond put down 2.76 kills per set and added 27 aces, while McDonald (1.88) and Asdell (1.33) followed. McDonald hit at a team-best .323 clip and added 0.70 blocks per set. The team must replace Amelia Anderson's 3.50 kills per set and Awele Nwaeze's 2.27 kills and 1.04 blocks per set. Defensively, Lebo managed 2.42 digs per set, while also serving up a team-best 29 aces. As a team, Indiana hit at a .198 clip and served up 153 aces.
POLL POSITION
Purdue climbed four spots to No. 10 in this week's AVCA Coaches' Poll after being ranked at No. 14 in the Sept. 12 poll. The ranking is the team's highest since being ranked No. 8 in the Sept. 8, 2014 poll.
The Boilermakers have been ranked in 20 straight polls since entering the top 25 at No. 24 in the August 31, 2015, poll. They were ranked throughout the rest of the 2015 season, peaking at No. 14 and ending the year at No. 17.
Purdue has been ranked 179 times since the AVCA polls began in 1982, including preseason and postseason listings.
AMONG THE NATION
The Boilermakers rank among the nation's Top 50 in four major statistical categories: kills per set (21st with 14.22), hitting percentage (24th with .280), assists per set (25th with 13.20) and blocks per set (42nd with 2.51).
Individually, middle blocker Faye Adeleja ranks 10th nationally in hitting percentage. Setter Ashley Evans ranks 22nd nationally in assists per set (11.07), while outside hitter Danielle Cuttino ranks 49th in kills per set (4.05).
THE TIES THAT BIND
Illinois outside hitter Beth Prince and Purdue defensive specialist Brooke Peters both attended Avon High School in Avon, Indiana. One other Illini player hails from Indiana: Jacqueline Quade (Fort Wayne). Seven Indiana players are from the state: two from Indianapolis, one from Fishers, one from LaPorte, one from French Link, one from Greenwood and one from South Bend.
THE MONON SPIKE
The rivalry between Purdue and Indiana on the volleyball court began in 1975. In 1981, a little incentive was added to the series with the creation of the Monon Spike travelling trophy, which is presented to the winning team after one of the two annual matches. The Spike match alternates locations each season.
The trophy idea was the brain child of Donna Hardesty and Anne McMenamy, seniors on the 1981 Purdue team. They chose the Spike from the Monon Railroad, which originated in Indiana the late 19th century, to be a reminder of the competition on the court as well as the tradition of the state of Indiana.
As with its sister trophies, the Old Oaken Bucket (football) and the Golden Boot (soccer), a "P" or an "I" link is added to the chain signifying the season's winner. The Spike currently has 30 "P" links and 12 "I" links. Saturday's match in West Lafayette is for the Spike.
THE GOVERNOR'S CUP
The two yearly matches between the Purdue and Indiana volleyball teams are part of a larger all-sports rivalry between the two schools. The Governor's Cup, sponsored by the Indiana National Guard, awards points to the winning team in each of the schools' 20 shared sports. If the two teams do not meet during the regular season, the higher finisher at the Big Ten Championships is the point winner. In the case of ties, both teams get one-half point. In sports like baseball where the teams play a three-game series, the winner of the series receives the point.
The all-sports competition, which began in 2001-02 was previously known as the Titan Series and the Cimson and Gold Cup. It was renamed in the fall of 2013. In 14 years of competition, Indiana has captured the title seven times and Purdue six times. Two years have ended in a tie. Purdue won the 2013-14 Governor's Cup by a 12-8 margin for its first title since 2006-07 and made it back-to-back-to-back titles with a 10-9 verdict in 2014-15 and 12.5-7.5 in 2015-16.