No. 11 Boilermakers Welcome WildcatsNo. 11 Boilermakers Welcome Wildcats

No. 11 Boilermakers Welcome Wildcats

Purdue will play Northwestern in a Friday/Saturday matchup in Holloway this weekend

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Game Notes

Friday, February 19 | 6 p.m. ET
BTN+ | WSHY 104.3
Northwestern at No. 11 Purdue

Saturday, February 20 | 7:30 p.m. ET
BTN | WSHY 104.3
Northwestern at No. 11 Purdue 

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 11 Purdue volleyball program (4-4) is set to host Northwestern (2-0) for a Friday and Saturday matchup in Holloway Gymnasium.

Purdue will open Week Five of play on Friday, February 19 at 6 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network Plus and will reconvene against the Wildcats the following night at 7:30 p.m. ET on BTN.

The Boilermakers are set to honor their seniors Caitlyn Newton, Jena Otec and student athletic trainer Gabby Hofmeister on Saturday following the match.

Scouting No. 11 Purdue (4-4)
- The Boilermakers are coming off a 24-8 (14-6 B1G) record and a Sweet Sixteen appearance in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
- Purdue is ranked No. 11 in the nation for the second straight week, marking the first time with back-to-back weeks with a No. 11 ranking or better since Sep. 8 (No. 8) and Sept. 15 (No. 11) in 2014.
- The Boilermakers tallied 32 blocks in Week Four in Ann Arbor, including 17 in the first night - which ties the 2019 and 2018 season-bests. It is the most combined blocks by a Purdue team in back-to-back matches in over six seasons.
- As a team, Purdue owns 392 kills on 1,057 attempts and .248 attack % while holding opponents to 418 kills on 1,105 attempts and a .248 hitting clip.
- The Boilermakers have out-served their opponents, 43-22 in aces and 1.43-0.73 in serve %. 
- Purdue's defense is among the best in the Big Ten, ranking second in both digs per set (15.57) and opponent service aces (0.73 per set - only behind Northwestern's 0.33 % through six sets).
- Two of the team's three 2019 All-Americans returned: Cleveland (third-team) and Caitlyn Newton (honorable mention). 

Scouting Northwestern (2-0)
- Northwestern is coming off paused team activities, which went into place Feb. 1, after its Week 2 matches at Nebraska were mutually agreed upon to cancel.
- The Wildcats recorded a pair of sweeps over Rutgers the opening weekend.
- Players to Watch: sophomore Temi Thomas-Ailara and redshirt sophomore Abryanna Cannon. The outside hitters lead the team in kills (29 and 19 kills, respectively).
- Northwestern owns the best attack % by a Big Ten team with a .425 mark versus Rutgers in the opening match (1/22).
- The team produced six aces in each of the outings against Rutgers.
- Leading the Wildcats defense is middle blocker Alana Walker with 10 total blocks on the year and Cannon and Kiara McNulty with 21 digs apiece.
- Held Rutgers to a .099 attack percentage over its two matches.
- Northwestern owns a .355 hitting percentage through its first six sets and averages 2.0 aces per set, good for No. 2 in the league.

Hayley Bush: Big Ten Setter of the Week
- Recorded her 3,000th career-kill in the last match at then-No. 24 Michigan, becoming just the 11th Boilermaker in program history to do so.
- Enters Week Five with 3,034 career assists and is on track to break into the program's career top-10 list. when the redshirt junior hits 3,066, she will tie Paula Harmon (1991-93) with the program's 10th-highest mark.
- Produced seven kills with no errors on 13 attempts at No. 24 Michigan (2/14) for a .538 attack percentage.
- Added 22 digs over the two matches.
- Ranks No. 3 overall in the conference with 10.37 assists per set this season.
- Notched a career-best seven kills in the second night at Michigan and a career-high three blocks on night one.
- Bush produced a career-best 22 digs vs. No. 6 Minnesota (2/6).
- Ranked No. 40 in the nation in assists per set (10.71) last year.

Taylor Trammell: Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week
- Ranks first on the team and No. 10 in the Big Ten with a .383 hitting % (joins Wisconsin's Devyn Robinson, .481, as the only two freshmen in the league to rank among the league's best).
- Trammel set a career-best nine blocks night one vs. then-No. 24 Michigan, the most blocks by a true freshman since All-American Kierra "KiKi" Jones recorded nine on two occasions (8/27/11 vs. Charleston and 11/2/11 vs. No. 5 Illinois).
- Was Purdue's first true freshman to be awarded Defensive Player of the Week since All-American Kierra "KiKi" Jones in 2011).
- It marked Trammell's first Big Ten weekly honor of her career.
- Currently holds 45 kills, nine errors on 94 swings (.383 hitting %).
- Owns 35 blocks, a team-best (four solo, 31 assisted) to average 1.17 per game.
- In the last seven matches, Trammell has allowed just one error or less per match in six of them.
- Trammell's induction to collegiate play saw a team-leading .300 attack % over the first two matches at No. 1 Wisconsin, with nine kills on 20 swings.

Maddy Chinn: Making Strides
- Chinn recorded her first double-digit output with her 13 kills at then-No. 24 Michigan.
- The sophomore enters Week Five just 10 kills away from her 100th career kill.

Grace Cleveland: Efficiency in Ann Arbor
- In night two at Michigan, produced a season-best 19 kills with just two errors on 30 swings for a .587 attack %, the most efficient the junior as been in her career with at least 19 kills in a match.
- Exploded in the third set in the second night in Ann Arbor, registering eight kills and no errosr (.889 attack %), which was key in the Boilermakers momentum swing and eventual victory.
- Recorded a .355 hitting clip night one, with 13 kills and just two errors on 31 swings, while adding six block assists at the net.

Career Markers to Watch (Through matches of 2/18/21)
- Hayley Bush recorded her 3,000th career assist in the last match vs. then-No. 24 Michigan.
- Four Boilermakers nearing their 1,000th career kills/digs benchmark:
    > Caitlyn Newton: 945 kills
    > Jena Otec: 926 digs
    > Marissa Hornung: 954 digs
    > Grace Cleveland: 761 kills

Athletes Unlimited: 3 Alums Featured
- Sherridan Atkinson (2016-18), Val Nichol (2011-2014) and Erin Williams (2015-18) will make their way to Dallas for the first-ever U.S. women's pro volleyball league of its kind.
- Atkinson and Nichol will compete in the eight matches while Williams will work behind the camera, managing the media during matches and video content.
- The matches will be streamed on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Dailymotion and Twitch.