Match Notes
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The No. 17 Purdue volleyball team returns to Holloway Gymnasium to host Maryland and Ohio State this weekend, taking on the Terrapins on Friday, October 19, and the Buckeyes on Sunday, October 21. Friday's match is set for 7 p.m. ET, while Sunday's contest will hit off at 1 p.m.
AT THE NET – Big Ten Action
#17 Purdue vs. Maryland
Friday, Oct.19 | 7 p.m.
Dig Pink Match | All fans are encouraged to wear pink in an effort to raise awareness about breast cancer
WATCH | LISTEN | LIVE STATS
#17 Purdue vs. Ohio State
Sunday, Oct. 21 | 1 p.m.
WATCH | LISTEN | LIVE STATS
QUICK HITS
The Boilermakers are 55-45 all-time against this weekend's field:
Maryland: 8-1
Ohio State: 43-44
SCOUTING MARYLAND
Following a pair of losses to Michigan State and Michigan, Maryland stands at 12-8 overall and 3-5 in Big Ten play. Before the losses, the Terps registered a 3-3 conference start for their best record through six Big Ten games since first joining the conference in 2014. Claiming wins against Rutgers and Ohio State, Maryland's success has been fueled by its strength at the service line. The Terps have tallied 110 service aces on the season, the fifth most in the conference with more than 40 of those aces coming during Big Ten play.Overall, Maryland is paced by sophomore outside hitter Erika Pritchard, who has 300 kills, 1178 digs and 45 blocks on the season. Pritchard has recorded a double-double in eight of Maryland's 20 matches. Aiding Maryland's offense, sophomore setter Nicole Alford guides the Terps with 716 assists this season, at 9.81 per set. Freshman libero Allegra Rivas is first in digs with 332, at 4.55 per set, while redshirt freshman middle blocker Katie Myers leads the team in both blocks (77) and aces (37).
LAST MEETING VS. THE TERRAPINS
Earlier this season, then-No. 16 Purdue rallied for a 3-1 (15-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-21) win against Maryland at the Xfinity Pavilion on September 26. Freshmen guided the triumph as rookies Grace Cleveland, Marissa Hornung and Hayley Bush led Purdue in kills, digs and assists, respectively. Cleveland powered the offense with a career-high 15 kills on 32 swings for a .312 hitting clip, while Bush propelled the offensive efforts with a match-high 43 assists, registering her seventh match of 40 or more assists. The redshirt freshman also chipped in eight digs and two assisted blocks. Defensively, the Boilermakers were paced by Hornung's career-best 16 digs.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
Ohio State enters the week with a 12-8 record as well as a 3-5 showing in Big Ten action. The Buckeyes' trio of conference wins come over Rutgers, highly-ranked Penn State and Michigan State. Despite a slow start to the conference schedule, sophomore middle blocker Lauren Witte leads the Buckeyes and ranks sixth in the Big Ten Conference with a .370 hitting percentage. Aiding Witte are freshmen Mia Grunze and Vanja Bukilic. Through 20 matches, the rookie duo has combined for 39 percent or 388 kills of the Buckeyes' team total (1,006). Grunze averages 2.70 kills per set and has 10 matches in double figures while Bukilic has tallied 16 double-digit outings and 3.01 kills per set. Defensively, Ohio State has out-blocked its opponents 11 times, including a season-high 17.0 rejections at Dayton.
LAST MEETING VS. THE BUCKEYES
In 2017, the Boilermakers and the Buckeyes split their home-and-home series as Ohio State won the first match, 3-1, and Purdue delivered a sweep in the second meeting. In Purdue's sweep, the Boilermakers outperformed Ohio State in seven statistical categories at St. John Arena. The road win for Purdue was the first time since 2012 that the Boilermakers took down Ohio State on its home floor. In the victory, Purdue hit .322 while holding Ohio State to a .121 hitting percentage and siding out at 73-percent to control the match. The Boilermakers' offense set the tone in the first set, hitting .615 with 17 kills, including an 11-4 run to finish off the set. Despite the strong start by the offense, it was the defense that stepped up in the final two stanzas as the Buckeyes hit just .000 and .086 in the second and third set.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The No. 17 Purdue volleyball team returns to Holloway Gymnasium to host Maryland and Ohio State this weekend, taking on the Terrapins on Friday, October 19, and the Buckeyes on Sunday, October 21. Friday's match is set for 7 p.m. ET, while Sunday's contest will hit off at 1 p.m.
AT THE NET – Big Ten Action
#17 Purdue vs. Maryland
Friday, Oct.19 | 7 p.m.
Dig Pink Match | All fans are encouraged to wear pink in an effort to raise awareness about breast cancer
WATCH | LISTEN | LIVE STATS
#17 Purdue vs. Ohio State
Sunday, Oct. 21 | 1 p.m.
WATCH | LISTEN | LIVE STATS
QUICK HITS
- The Boilermakers are 15-4 on the season and 4-4 in Big Ten matches following a five-set victory over Iowa last week.
- Purdue stays at No. 17 in this week's AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll and has been ranked in all nine polls this season. The Boilermakers are currently on a stretch of 25 listings and have made 207 overall appearances on the national poll. Purdue also boasts the nation's 16th best RPI.
- Sherridan Atkinson tops Purdue's roster with 286 kills and 3.92 kills per set. Her total ranks fourth in the Big Ten, while her average is good for sixth. Overall, she owns 948 career-kills in her three seasons with the Boilermakers. The California native only needs 52 kills to become the 17th Boilermaker in program history to reach 1,000 kills.
- Brooke Peters continues to guide Purdue's defense as she averages 4.96 digs per set, a 1.33 improvement from her 3.63 average in 2017. Her average and mark of 362 digs this season, rank second among Big Ten opponents. Overall, Purdue averages 14.86 digs per set, ranking fifth in the conference.
- Commanding Purdue's offense, redshirt freshman Hayley Bush guides the Boilermakers with 10.79 assists per set. While her average ranks fifth in the Big Ten, her mark of 788 assists is the second most by any Big Ten setter this season. Bush is also effective defensively as she leads the Boilermakers with three double-doubles on the season and just nearly missed her fourth with a match-high 37 assists and nine digs against Michigan State (10/6). The rookie is third on the team with 140 digs.
- This season, the Boilermakers have aced opponents 109 times to average 1.49 service aces per set and rank sixth in the league. Brooke Peters is responsible for 27 of those aces, followed by Julianna Reisinger with 24 and Jena Otec with 20.
- Blake Mohler and Grace Cleveland have established themselves as Purdue's double threat along the net. Together they have combined for 142 blocks for the Boilermakers. Mohler leads the squad with a team-best 84 blocks, ranking sixth in the Big Ten overall. Cleveland follows with 83 blocks, including a team-best 16 solo blocks.
- Friday's match against Maryland marks Purdue's sixth sellout crowd at Holloway Gymnasium this season. The Boilermakers' first five sellouts came against Notre Dame, Louisville, then-No. 8 Illinois, Northwestern and then-No. 5 Wisconsin. Overall, Purdue has totaled 26,029 fans this season, the ninth best attendance in the nation.
The Boilermakers are 55-45 all-time against this weekend's field:
Maryland: 8-1
Ohio State: 43-44
SCOUTING MARYLAND
Following a pair of losses to Michigan State and Michigan, Maryland stands at 12-8 overall and 3-5 in Big Ten play. Before the losses, the Terps registered a 3-3 conference start for their best record through six Big Ten games since first joining the conference in 2014. Claiming wins against Rutgers and Ohio State, Maryland's success has been fueled by its strength at the service line. The Terps have tallied 110 service aces on the season, the fifth most in the conference with more than 40 of those aces coming during Big Ten play.Overall, Maryland is paced by sophomore outside hitter Erika Pritchard, who has 300 kills, 1178 digs and 45 blocks on the season. Pritchard has recorded a double-double in eight of Maryland's 20 matches. Aiding Maryland's offense, sophomore setter Nicole Alford guides the Terps with 716 assists this season, at 9.81 per set. Freshman libero Allegra Rivas is first in digs with 332, at 4.55 per set, while redshirt freshman middle blocker Katie Myers leads the team in both blocks (77) and aces (37).
LAST MEETING VS. THE TERRAPINS
Earlier this season, then-No. 16 Purdue rallied for a 3-1 (15-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-21) win against Maryland at the Xfinity Pavilion on September 26. Freshmen guided the triumph as rookies Grace Cleveland, Marissa Hornung and Hayley Bush led Purdue in kills, digs and assists, respectively. Cleveland powered the offense with a career-high 15 kills on 32 swings for a .312 hitting clip, while Bush propelled the offensive efforts with a match-high 43 assists, registering her seventh match of 40 or more assists. The redshirt freshman also chipped in eight digs and two assisted blocks. Defensively, the Boilermakers were paced by Hornung's career-best 16 digs.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
Ohio State enters the week with a 12-8 record as well as a 3-5 showing in Big Ten action. The Buckeyes' trio of conference wins come over Rutgers, highly-ranked Penn State and Michigan State. Despite a slow start to the conference schedule, sophomore middle blocker Lauren Witte leads the Buckeyes and ranks sixth in the Big Ten Conference with a .370 hitting percentage. Aiding Witte are freshmen Mia Grunze and Vanja Bukilic. Through 20 matches, the rookie duo has combined for 39 percent or 388 kills of the Buckeyes' team total (1,006). Grunze averages 2.70 kills per set and has 10 matches in double figures while Bukilic has tallied 16 double-digit outings and 3.01 kills per set. Defensively, Ohio State has out-blocked its opponents 11 times, including a season-high 17.0 rejections at Dayton.
LAST MEETING VS. THE BUCKEYES
In 2017, the Boilermakers and the Buckeyes split their home-and-home series as Ohio State won the first match, 3-1, and Purdue delivered a sweep in the second meeting. In Purdue's sweep, the Boilermakers outperformed Ohio State in seven statistical categories at St. John Arena. The road win for Purdue was the first time since 2012 that the Boilermakers took down Ohio State on its home floor. In the victory, Purdue hit .322 while holding Ohio State to a .121 hitting percentage and siding out at 73-percent to control the match. The Boilermakers' offense set the tone in the first set, hitting .615 with 17 kills, including an 11-4 run to finish off the set. Despite the strong start by the offense, it was the defense that stepped up in the final two stanzas as the Buckeyes hit just .000 and .086 in the second and third set.