MATCH NOTES
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Coming off its seventh-consecutive victory, the No. 12 Purdue volleyball team hits the road this weekend for a pair of matches against No. 8 Wisconsin and No. 3 Minnesota.
Purdue opens the weekend with a Friday match at UW Field House against the Badgers, followed by a Saturday contest against the Gophers at Maturi Pavilion. First serve for the matches are slated for 8 p.m. ET and 8:30 p.m., respectively.
The weekend's contests mark the first time the Boilermakers are squaring up against two top-10 opponents in back-to-back matches this season. Purdue's last full weekend of nationally ranked opponents came November 11-12, 2017, when the Boilermakers defeated then-No. 5 Minnesota (3-1) and then-No. 10 Wisconsin (3-0) at home.
AT THE NET – Big Ten Action
No. 12 Purdue at No. 8 Wisconsin
Friday, November 9 | 8 p.m. ET
WATCH | LISTEN | LIVE STATS
No. 12 Purdue at No. 3 Minnesota
Saturday, November 10 | 8:30 p.m. ET
WATCH | LISTEN | LIVE STATS
QUICK HITS
The Boilermakers are 14-56 all-time against this weekend's field:
No. 8 Wisconsin: 32-46
No. 3 Minnesota: 31-51
SCOUTING NO. 8 WISCONSIN
Following a 0-2 showing last week, Wisconsin drops in the AVCA rankings from No. 5 to No. 8. The Badgers enter the match with a 16-6 overall record and a 7-3 showing at home. Dana Rettke leads the team and conference in hitting percentage (.434) and blocks per set (1.59). The sophomore has totaled 129 blocks and 315 kills. Behind Rettke is Madison Duello with 225 kills (2.78 per set) and Grace Loberg with 203 (2.74 per set). Junior libero, Tiffany Clark has a team-best 375 digs and averages 4.63 digs per set, ranking her fifth in the Big Ten. Sydney Hilley is third in assists per set in the conference, averaging 11.69 per set. As a team, Wisconsin is hitting .278, which ranks third in the Big Ten and 11th in the NCAA. At the net, the Badgers average 2.65 blocks per set.
LAST MEETING VS. THE BADGERS
The two teams met earlier this season in a Saturday contest that saw then-No. 5 Wisconsin victorious, despite being limited to a .218 hitting clip and out blocked by Purdue 9-6. Redshirt senior Sherridan Atkinson (11) and redshirt juniors Blake Mohler (6) and Shavona Cuttino (6) guided the Boilermaker attack, combining for 23 of Purdue's 37 kills. Adding to Purdue's offensive sparks was freshman Marissa Hornung, who recorded a career-high five services ace to lead the match.
Defensively, freshman Grace Cleveland out blocked one of the Big Ten's top blockers Dana Rettke, four stops to two, while registering nine kills and two digs. Cuttino and Mohler added three blocks while Atkinson chipped in two. Altogether, Purdue finished the match with 37 kills, 36 assists and 35 digs, while only committing 17 miscues to Wisconsin's 21.
SCOUTING NO. 3 MINNESOTA
Undefeated in Big Ten play, Minnesota is coming off its first five-set match of the season with a 23-25, 25-19, 25-17, 21-25,15-7 victory against Michigan State. The Gophers, who are also undefeated at home, were guided by Regan Pittman with 15 kills and a team-high .520 clip. She also added eight blocks, which tied her career high. Pittman's offensive attack was directed by Big Ten Setter of the Week Samantha Seliger-Swenson with 55 assists. The senior setter now has 5,290 career assists and 1,084 career digs.
Overall, Minnesota stands at 20-2, having only lost to Oregon and Stanford. Tallying 1,122 kills, Minnesota has had an even offensive balance this season as five players have triple-digit kills this year. Stephanie Samedy leads the team with 247 kills, followed by Alexis Hart (197), Adanna Rollins (191 kills), Pittman (183) and Taylor Morgan (180). Four of the five are also hitting above .250, while all five have taken over 300 attempts.
LAST MEETING VS. THE GOPHERS
The Boilermakers faced Minnesota twice in 2017 as both teams won on their home court. Purdue fell to Minnesota, 3-0, on October 11, but outpaced the Gophers in four on November 10 in West Lafayette. In Purdue's victory, the Boilermakers stunned the Gophers 25-23, 25-21, 28-26, 25-14, snapping an 11-game winning streak by Minnesota. The match was also Purdue's second victory over a ranked opponent for the 2017 season.
Sherridan Atkinson led the Boilermakers with 20.5 points fueled by 17 kills, a .293 hitting percentage, an ace and four blocks to go along with eight digs. Blake Mohler and Caitlyn Newton added to the Purdue offense, combing for 26 kills. Mohler registered 14 kills on 24 swings with just two errors to hit .500 with two blocks while Newton found the floor 12 times on 27 swings to hit .296 with a block.
Overall, Purdue out-hit the nation's fifth-ranked team .317 to .234, registering 20-plus kills in the first, third and fourth sets. The Boilermakers were set the tone with their offense coming out of intermission as they hit .333 with 22 kills in the third set and .425 with 21 kills in the fourth.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Coming off its seventh-consecutive victory, the No. 12 Purdue volleyball team hits the road this weekend for a pair of matches against No. 8 Wisconsin and No. 3 Minnesota.
Purdue opens the weekend with a Friday match at UW Field House against the Badgers, followed by a Saturday contest against the Gophers at Maturi Pavilion. First serve for the matches are slated for 8 p.m. ET and 8:30 p.m., respectively.
The weekend's contests mark the first time the Boilermakers are squaring up against two top-10 opponents in back-to-back matches this season. Purdue's last full weekend of nationally ranked opponents came November 11-12, 2017, when the Boilermakers defeated then-No. 5 Minnesota (3-1) and then-No. 10 Wisconsin (3-0) at home.
AT THE NET – Big Ten Action
No. 12 Purdue at No. 8 Wisconsin
Friday, November 9 | 8 p.m. ET
WATCH | LISTEN | LIVE STATS
No. 12 Purdue at No. 3 Minnesota
Saturday, November 10 | 8:30 p.m. ET
WATCH | LISTEN | LIVE STATS
QUICK HITS
- The Boilermakers are 21-4 on the season and 10-4 in Big Ten action following back-to-back wins against Michigan State and Indiana at Holloway Gymnasium last week.
- Going 2-0 last week, Purdue improved to a seven match-winning streak; marking its second-best run of the season. Purdue's last run went 12-0 as the Boilermakers played undefeated through the nonconference season.
- Purdue's 21-4 overall record and 10-4 Big Ten showing marks its 11th season of at least 20 wins and its 12th year of at least 10 conference victories under head coach Dave Shondell.
- Purdue jumps to No. 12 in this week's AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll and has been ranked in all 12 polls this season. The Boilermakers are currently on a stretch of 28 listings and have made 210 overall appearances on the national poll. Purdue also boasts the nation's 12th-best RPI.
- Through 25 matches this season, senior libero Brooke Peters has registered 448 digs, putting her 41 digs away from cracking into Purdue's season top-10 list for most digs. With 41 more digs she would tie Killie Miller, who posted 489 in 2006. Overall, Peters has 1,296 career digs, to rank seventh in the Purdue's all-time career-list for most digs.
- Redshirt freshman Hayley Bush notched her fourth double-double of the season after delivering 58 assists and 17 digs against Indiana. Overall, the rookie leads Purdue with four double-doubles on the year and is the only Boilermaker with more than one double-double. Bush's 17 digs also tied her career-best mark set against Southern Miss earlier this season.
- Purdue is 2-4 against nationally ranked opponents this season, claiming wins against then-No. 25 Alabama and then-No.4 Penn State.
- The Boilermakers have only played six five-set matches this season and have won all six; defeating: Louisville, Southern Miss, South Alabama, Iowa, then-No.4 Penn State and Indiana.
- Friday will be the second meeting between the Boilermakers and the Badgers, while Saturday marks the first and only time Purdue faces Purdue this season.
The Boilermakers are 14-56 all-time against this weekend's field:
No. 8 Wisconsin: 32-46
No. 3 Minnesota: 31-51
SCOUTING NO. 8 WISCONSIN
Following a 0-2 showing last week, Wisconsin drops in the AVCA rankings from No. 5 to No. 8. The Badgers enter the match with a 16-6 overall record and a 7-3 showing at home. Dana Rettke leads the team and conference in hitting percentage (.434) and blocks per set (1.59). The sophomore has totaled 129 blocks and 315 kills. Behind Rettke is Madison Duello with 225 kills (2.78 per set) and Grace Loberg with 203 (2.74 per set). Junior libero, Tiffany Clark has a team-best 375 digs and averages 4.63 digs per set, ranking her fifth in the Big Ten. Sydney Hilley is third in assists per set in the conference, averaging 11.69 per set. As a team, Wisconsin is hitting .278, which ranks third in the Big Ten and 11th in the NCAA. At the net, the Badgers average 2.65 blocks per set.
LAST MEETING VS. THE BADGERS
The two teams met earlier this season in a Saturday contest that saw then-No. 5 Wisconsin victorious, despite being limited to a .218 hitting clip and out blocked by Purdue 9-6. Redshirt senior Sherridan Atkinson (11) and redshirt juniors Blake Mohler (6) and Shavona Cuttino (6) guided the Boilermaker attack, combining for 23 of Purdue's 37 kills. Adding to Purdue's offensive sparks was freshman Marissa Hornung, who recorded a career-high five services ace to lead the match.
Defensively, freshman Grace Cleveland out blocked one of the Big Ten's top blockers Dana Rettke, four stops to two, while registering nine kills and two digs. Cuttino and Mohler added three blocks while Atkinson chipped in two. Altogether, Purdue finished the match with 37 kills, 36 assists and 35 digs, while only committing 17 miscues to Wisconsin's 21.
SCOUTING NO. 3 MINNESOTA
Undefeated in Big Ten play, Minnesota is coming off its first five-set match of the season with a 23-25, 25-19, 25-17, 21-25,15-7 victory against Michigan State. The Gophers, who are also undefeated at home, were guided by Regan Pittman with 15 kills and a team-high .520 clip. She also added eight blocks, which tied her career high. Pittman's offensive attack was directed by Big Ten Setter of the Week Samantha Seliger-Swenson with 55 assists. The senior setter now has 5,290 career assists and 1,084 career digs.
Overall, Minnesota stands at 20-2, having only lost to Oregon and Stanford. Tallying 1,122 kills, Minnesota has had an even offensive balance this season as five players have triple-digit kills this year. Stephanie Samedy leads the team with 247 kills, followed by Alexis Hart (197), Adanna Rollins (191 kills), Pittman (183) and Taylor Morgan (180). Four of the five are also hitting above .250, while all five have taken over 300 attempts.
LAST MEETING VS. THE GOPHERS
The Boilermakers faced Minnesota twice in 2017 as both teams won on their home court. Purdue fell to Minnesota, 3-0, on October 11, but outpaced the Gophers in four on November 10 in West Lafayette. In Purdue's victory, the Boilermakers stunned the Gophers 25-23, 25-21, 28-26, 25-14, snapping an 11-game winning streak by Minnesota. The match was also Purdue's second victory over a ranked opponent for the 2017 season.
Sherridan Atkinson led the Boilermakers with 20.5 points fueled by 17 kills, a .293 hitting percentage, an ace and four blocks to go along with eight digs. Blake Mohler and Caitlyn Newton added to the Purdue offense, combing for 26 kills. Mohler registered 14 kills on 24 swings with just two errors to hit .500 with two blocks while Newton found the floor 12 times on 27 swings to hit .296 with a block.
Overall, Purdue out-hit the nation's fifth-ranked team .317 to .234, registering 20-plus kills in the first, third and fourth sets. The Boilermakers were set the tone with their offense coming out of intermission as they hit .333 with 22 kills in the third set and .425 with 21 kills in the fourth.