Volleyball Season Kicks Off at Tennessee Classic

Friday, August 26 | 10:30 a.m. ET
#13 Purdue vs. Bowling Green
WSHY 104.3 FM

Saturday, August 27 | 1 p.m. ET
#13 Purdue vs. Loyola Chicago
WSHY 104.3 FM

Saturday, August 27 | 6 p.m. ET
#13 Purdue at Tennessee
SEC Network+ | WSHY 104.3 FM

 
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 20th volleyball season for head coach Dave Shondell is set to begin tomorrow at the Tennessee Classic. Over the two-day tournament, the Boilermakers are set to face three opponents with an early bird match at 10:30 a.m. ET on Friday vs. Bowling Green, followed by a pair of matches on Saturday vs. Loyola Chicago at 1 p.m. and at Tennessee at 6 p.m. ET.
 
All matches can be listened to on WSHY 104.3 FM or online HERE. Meanwhile, Purdue's final match of the tournament will be available to watch on SEC Network+.
 
A Look at Bowling Green
Series Record vs. 3-1 (PUR Leads) | Last Meeting: Aug. 24, 2018 (W, 3-0 - West Lafayette, Ind.)

• Picked to win the East Division and MAC Tournament.
• A conference-leading three players were named to the All-Mac Preseason Team: Petra Indrova, Katelyn Meyer and Julia Walz. All three were named 2021 All-Mac First Team honorees with Walz named MAC Defensive Player of the Year and Indrova MAC Player of the Year.
• The Falcons went 21-9 last season and went to the MAC championship match, where they lost to Ball State in five sets.

 
A Look at Loyola Chicago
Series Record vs. 3-0 (PUR Leads) | Last Meeting: Sept. 17, 2017 (W, 3-0 - West Lafayette, Ind.)

• Picked to finish third in the A-10 conference this season, following its first regular-season conference championship since 2002 last year.
• The Ramblers return five starters including First Team Missouri Valley Conference honorees Addie Barnes and Taylor Venuto, and second teamer Emily Banitt.

• A force in the back row, junior libero Grace Hinchman is already 32 digs away from reaching her 1,000th.

 
A Look at Tennessee
Series Record vs. 7-1 (PUR Leads) | Last Meeting: Sept. 18, 2021 (W, 3-0 - West Lafayette, Ind.)

• The last time Purdue traveled to Knoxville was Sept. 11, 2004, where the Boilers fell to Tennessee 1-3. Overall, Purdue is 1-1 at Tennessee. The Tennesee Classic will mark the second time HC Shondell has traveled to Knoxville for a match.
• Purdue's Maddy Chinn notched a career-best 11 kills vs. Tennessee last year. Meanwhile, Tennesee's Morgahn Fingall led the Lady Vols with 14 kills.
• The Lady Vols are coming off an NCAA Second Round tournament appearance, where they lost to Ohio State in four sets.

 
Purdue in the AVCA Rankings

• It is Purdue's third straight season ranked at least #13 in the preseason poll.
• Purdue is ranked in the AVCA top-15 for 23 straight weeks (begins: March 8, 2021), a program-record.
• The program has been ranked for 77 consecutive weeks (begins: preseason 2017), the longest active streak by any Purdue team, including men's basketball.
• The Boilermakers are coming off a 10-week stint ranked in the top 10.
• Purdue is coming off its highest final ranking in program history at #6, besting the team's previous record, #7 which was season the season before.

 
Defense Lives Here

• Purdue led the nation in total blocks last year with 372.5.  It marks the second straight season.
• Meanwhile, the team's 631 block assists not only led the nation, but broke a 35 year-old program record.
• Purdue has out-blocked opponents 1.4 blocks per set this season, the largest margin for the program in 17 years.
• The Boilermakers averaged 15.17 digs per last season, a mark only reached four times in the program's last 17 seasons.

The Newcomers

• The Boilermakers welcome six newcomers to the team this season, including three transfers: junior DS Emily Brown (previously at Missouri), fifth year MB Hannah Clayton (previously Iowa) and fifth year S Grace Balensiefer (previously Northern Illinois).
• Three freshmen join the roster: Lizzie Carr (MB, 6'6", West Chester, Pa.), Eva Hudson (OH, 6'1", Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Brielle Warren (OH, 6'1", College Station, Texas).
• Hudson was a 2021 AAU All-American and AAU 18 Open National Champion. She was the first-ever three-time Summit Athletic Conference MVP and a two-time Ultra Ankle JVA All-National Team selection. As a senior, she averaged a .462 hitting % at Bishop Dwenger High School and finished her HS career at a .428 clip, 1,557 kills and 811 digs.
• Warren was the No. 4 recruit out of the state of Texas for the 2022 class. Named to the 2021 AVCA All-America Watch List, the outside hitter received MVP honors as a freshman in the U15 Junior Olympics and was a member of the 2021 USA Volleyball U19 Summer Training Series. In addition, she guided her team to a UIL 5A State Runner-Up finish in 2020 and helped her club team Houston Skyline to a #5 national ranking as a junior. Her father played for the New England Patriots - teammates with Raven Colvin's father, Rosevelt Colvin.
• Warren is the first Boilermaker out of the state of Texas since Anna Drewry (2009-12).
• Carr was a member of the National Team at East Coast Power, where she helped the team to a fifth-place finish at AAU nationals. As a senior, she posted 418 kills, 103 total blocks and 47 aces in just 21 matches. Additionally, she was named Max Preps/AVCA Pennsylvania Player of the Week (9/13/21) after posting 47 kills and 5.88 kills per game.
• In addition to being picked to finish third in the SEC and receiving AVCA Preseason Poll votes, three Lady Vols earned preseason SEC honors: Morgahn Fingall, Natalie Hayward and Danielle Mahaffey
• In Tennessee's exhibition match vs. Belmont on 8/20, newcomers Kadynce Booth (freshman), Erykah Lovett (sophomore transfer) started all three frames.

 
Returning Players to Watch: Outside Hitters

• Returners Emma Ellis, Maddy Chinn and Madeline Koch all saw action in 2021 after rotating into the same position: pin opposite All-American Caitlyn Newton.
• Ellis leads the returners with 25 matches played and had a breakout performance at Maryland (11/5) when she set a career-best in kills (15), leading the team in the four-set victory.
• Over the 2021 season, Ellis set season-bests in four defensive categories: total block solos (7), total block assists (33), total blocks (40), and blocks per set (.6).
• Chinn played in 18 matches with one start last season, averaging 1.50 kills per set. Chinn set a career-bests last season vs. Tennessee, with 11 kills and five digs (9/18/21). Meanwhile, Chinn was an impact player in the NCAA Second Round reverse-sweep-victory vs. Dayton (W, 3-2) after going errorless and recording four kills and a block assist.
• One of the strongest players on the team, Koch averaged 1.84 kills per set after starting one match and playing in 16 matches. Koch posted 10 kills and a .563 hitting clip vs. Rutgers (10/2), a career best, and helped the Boilermakers to victory over Illinois (10/6) with a career-high 24 attacks and three digs.