GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game Notes
Purdue at Iowa
Friday, Oct. 7 / 8 p.m. / Carver Hawkeye Arena / Iowa City, Iowa / BTN Plus
Live Stats / Live Audio / Live Video
Purdue at No. 3 Nebraska
Sunday, Oct. 9 / 3 p.m. / Devaney Center / Lincoln, Neb. / ESPN2 / Paul Sunderland, Karch Kiraly
Live Stats / Live Audio / Live Video
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The No. 17 Boilermakers hit the road for the first time since Sept. 10, when they travel to Iowa City, Iowa, and Lincoln, Nebraska, for matches this weekend. Purdue will face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday and the No. 3 Nebraska Cornhuskers on Sunday. Sunday's match will air live on ESPN2.
THE BOOK ON THE BOILERMAKERS
At First Glance: No. 17 Purdue (11-4, 1-3 B1G) hits the road for the first time in nearly a month, as it faces Iowa and No. 3 Nebraska on the road this weekend. 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 wrapped a seven-match homestand with a pair of matches against Top 5 opponents, falling to No. 3 Wisconsin in five sets Friday and to No. 2 Minnesota in three sets Sunday.
Statistically Speaking: Outside hitters Danielle Cuttino and Azariah Stahl pace the Purdue offense with 3.93 and 3.19 kills per set respectively. Cuttino is hitting at a .289 clip and has added 37 blocks (0.65 per set), while Stahl has also managed 2.32 digs per set, 34 blocks and 13 aces. Middle blocker Faye Adelaja follows with 2.31 kills per set and 0.73 blocks per stanza, while hitting at a team-best .436 clip. Outside hitter Sherridan Atkinson (1.79) and middle blocker Blake Mohler (1.66) also contribute offensively. Mohler paces the Boilermakers at the net with 1.07 blocks per set, while Atkinson has put up 36 blocks (0.63 per set). In the back court, libero Natalie Haben leads the way with 3.40 digs per set to go with 14 aces. Stahl (2.32), setter Ashley Evans (2.18), and defensive specialists Brooke Peters (2.02) and Carissa Damler (1.89) follow with more than two digs per set. Evans also adds 11.09 assists per set and a team-best 16 aces. As a team, Purdue is hitting at a .277 clip and has served up 64 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
Iowa (Purdue leads the series 51-21): 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 eight of the last 10, including the lone meeting last year, a five-set win on Nov. 7.
Nebraska (Nebraska leads the series 14-7): 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 took both 2012 meetings. Purdue swept the 2013 series. The Huskers won the lone meeting in 2014 in Lincoln and in West Lafayette in 2015.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WIN MAKES...
If the Boilermakers top Iowa on Friday:
- They will move to 12-4 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten.
- They will snap a two-match losing streak.
- They will extend their current series win streak over the Hawkeyes to two matches and to nine of the last 11 meetings.
- They will move to 21-4 all-time against the Hawkeyes under Coach Shondell (since 2003).
- They will improve to 279-205-1 all-time when playing in the month of October, including a 10-6 mark when playing on Oct. 7. The Boilermakers last played on Oct. 7 in 2015, sweeping Indiana in Bloomington.
AN INKLING ABOUT IOWA
At First Glance: The Iowa Hawkeyes (12-4, 2-2 B1G) bring a two-match win streak into Friday's match. The Hawkeyes return 11 letterwinners, including five starters, from the 2015 team which went 12-21 and finished 13th in the Big Ten. Iowa is coached by Bond Shymansky, who is in his third season with the team.
Last Time Out: The Hawkeyes went 2-0 last weekend, sweeping Maryland at home Wednesday and sweeping Northwestern on the road Saturday.
Statistically Speaking: Outside hitter Lauren Brobst paces the Hawkeye offense with 3.43 kills per set, while hitting at a team-best .344 clip. Outside hitter Meghan Buzzerio (2.44), middle blocker Jess Janota (2.41) and right side hitter Reghan Coyle (2.00) also add two kills per set, while outside hitter Ashley Mariani chips in 1.84 putdowns per stanza. Janota also is hitting at a .344 clip, while Mariani (.337) and Coyle (.332) follow. Mariani also has put up a team-best 0.86 blocks per set, while Coyle adds 0.80 stuffs. Defensively, libero Annika Olsen pulls up 4.24 digs per set followed by setter Loxley Keala (2.06) and Buzzerio (1.88). Keala has served up a team-best 12 aces and dished out 11.59 assists per set. As a team, Iowa is hitting at a .288 clip and has served up 59 aces.
In 2015, Brobst led the team with 3.21 kills per set, followed by Janota (2.77), outside hitter Reagan Davey (2.43) and Mariani (1.92). Janota is the team's top returning hitter (.299) after the graduation of Mikaela Gunderson (1.99 kills per set, .333 hitting percentage, 0.78 blocks per set). Defensively, Olsen managed a team-best 4.75 digs per set followed by Davey (2.17) and Koukol (2.09). Mariani served up a team-best 32 aces, followed by Loxley (22) and defensive specialist Molly Kelly (22). As a team, Iowa hit at a .221 clip and served up 134 aces.
NEWS ABOUT NEBRASKA
At First Glance: The No. 3 Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-1, 3-1 B1G) will welcome Indiana to Lincoln on Friday before facing the Boilermakers on Sunday. The Huskers return 10 letterwinners, including five starters, from the 2015 team which went 32-4, finished second in the Big Ten and won the NCAA title. Nebraska is coached by John Cook, who is in his 17th season with the team.
Last Time Out: Nebraska ended a 12-match win streak last weekend, falling to No. 19 Ohio State in four sets Saturday in Lincoln. The loss came after a road sweep of No. 24 Illinois on Wednesday.
Statistically Speaking: Outside hitter Kadie Rolfzen leads a group of four Huskers averaging more than two kills per set. Rolfzen has put down 3.27 kills per set, while hitting at a .314 clip and also adding a team-best 14 aces, 2.52 digs and 0.95 blocks per set. Outside hitter Mikaela Foecke (2.77), outside hitter Andie Malloy (2.61), middle blocker Briana Holman (2.27) and middle blocker Amber Rolfzen (1.82) follow. Holman is hitting at a team-best .363 clip and also adds 1.16 blocks per set. Amber Rolfzen is hitting at a .337 clip and has put up a team-leading 1.36 blocks per set. Defensively, libero Justine Wong-Orantes leads the way with 3.86 digs per set. Kadie Rolfzen (2.52), setter Kelly Hunter (2.07) and defensive specialist Kenzie Maloney (1.82) follow. Hunter also has served up 13 aces and dished out 11.09 assists per set. As a team, Nebraska is hitting at a .315 clip and has served up 60 aces.
In 2015, Kadie Rolfzen paced the Huskers with 3.30 kills per set, to go with 2.82 digs and 0.86 blocks. Foecke (3.09) added 3.09 kills per set, while Amber Rolfzen added 2.30 putdowns while hitting at a team-best .358 clip and putting up a team-leading 1.58 blocks per set. Defensively, Wong-Orantes led the way with 4.55 digs per set. Kadie Rolfzen (2.82), outside hitter Annika Albrecht (2.43) and Hunter (2.23) followed. Albrecht also served up a team-best 41 aces. As a team, Nebraska hit at a .274 clip and served up 140 aces.
POLL POSITION
Purdue dropped three spots to No. 17 in this week's AVCA Coaches' Poll after being ranked at No. 14 in the Sept. 26 poll. The team's Sept. 19 ranking (No. 10) was the program's highest since being ranked No. 8 in the Sept. 8, 2014 poll.
The Boilermakers have been ranked in 22 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 181 times since the AVCA polls began in 1982, including preseason and postseason listings.
IN THE RPI
The first NCAA rating percentage index report was released on Oct. 3 and the Boilermakers check in at No. 7. Ten teams Purdue has already played in 2016 are listed among the Top 50: No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 2 Minnesota, No. 5 Stanford, No. 9 Washington State, No. 18 Kentucky, No. 24 Coastal Carolina, No. 35 Notre Dame, No. 39 Kansas, No. 40 Indiana and No. 50 Cal Poly. Five more - No. 4 Nebraska, No. 12 Michigan, No. 19 Michigan State, No. 30 Penn State and No. 31 Ohio State - are still ahead on the slate.
RPI rankings are based upon a team's wins and losses and its strength of schedule. It is comprised of a team's winning percentage (25%), its opponents' winning percentage (50%) and the winning percentage of those opponents' opponents (25%). Opponent winning percentage and the winning percentage of opponents' opponents make us the strength of schedule portion of the formula.
AMONG THE NATION
The Boilermakers rank among the nation's Top 50 in three major statistical categories: hitting percentage (20th with .277), assists per set (39th with 12.95), kills per set (47th with 13.82).
Individually, middle blocker Faye Adeleja ranks seventh nationally in hitting percentage (.436), while setter Ashley Evans ranks 19th in assists per set (11.09). Outside hitter Danielle Cuttino ranks 56th with 3.93 kills per set.
TOP 10 WINS
The Boilermakers have posted 13 wins over Top 10 foes in the Dave Shondell era, including 10 since 2010. A five-set win over No. 9 Stanford on Sept. 9 and a four-set win over No. 4 Kansas on Sept. 16 marked the first Top 10 wins since Nov. 21, 2015, vs. No. 3 Minnesota. Purdue topped three Top 10 foes in 2010 (No. 1 Florida, No. 4 Penn State and No. 10 Illinois). The 1983 Boilermakers posted four Top 10 wins (No. 6 Kentucky, No. 7 Cal Poly, No. 8 Nebraska and No. 10 Texas).
THE SLATE
The Boilermakers are slated to play 11 matches against teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Top 25 Poll, and three more against teams that are receiving votes outside of the Top 25. Purdue will face No. 1 Nebraska, No. 3 Minnesota, No. 4 Wisconsin twice, No. 5 Kansas, No. 9 Penn State, No. 11 Stanford, No. 14 Illinois twice, No. 15 Ohio State and No. 24 Kentucky. The Boilermakers also will face off with vote getters Michigan State twice and Michigan once.
DID YOU KNOW?
- ... that outside hitter Danielle Cuttino has posted double-digit kills in all but one of the team's matches this year after transitioning from middle blocker in the offseason.
- ... that setter Ashley Evans is one of 18 players in the country to boast a triple double. Evans recorded her 10 kill, 10 dig, 43 assist effort against No. 24 Kentucky on August 27.
- ... that the 2016 season marks the 42nd in Purdue volleyball history.
- ... that the Boilermakers have finished in the top half of the Big Ten each of the last six years and 11 of the last 12 seasons, including 2015 (fifth).
- ... that Purdue is one of just 12 schools to make four of the last six NCAA Sweet 16s.
- ... that Purdue volleyball has ranked among the Top 20 in national attendance average every year since 2003 (12th in 2015 with 2,524).
- ... that Purdue is one of just three schools among the 334 in Division I volleyball to score a perfect 1000 on the NCAA APR for 11 straight years.