Purdue to Close Out Regular-Season Home Slate

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The No. 16 Purdue volleyball squad is set to host No. 3 Wisconsin and Maryland on back-to-back nights to close out the regular-season home slate.

The Boilermakers begin Friday night with a highly-anticipated re-match vs. Wisconsin, which will air at 7 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. Purdue, riding a three-match winning streak, will take on a Badger team that just suffered its second loss of the season at Penn State.

Just 24 hours later, Purdue will host Maryland on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET for Senior Night. The Boilermakers, who beat the Terps in the Big Ten opener, 3-1, will look to earn the series sweep. The match will be streamed on B1G+.
 
 
PURDUE AT A GLANCE

• Only four matches remain in the regular season, with Purdue closing out its home slate this weekend.
• The Boilermakers rank #15 in the RPI and #16 in the AVCA/Taraflex poll. The team is considered on the edge for hosting NCAA first/second rounds. A win vs. #3 Wisconsin should solidify the team as a top-16 seed, and in turn, a host site.
• Seven of the team's last eight matches came vs. an opponent ranked or receiving votes. The Boilermakers have gone 6-1 in those matches.
• The Boilermakers are 7-3 over the last 10 matches.
• Purdue is third in the Big Ten standings (with the tie-breaker vs. Penn State) and rank as high as third in the Big Ten statistical rankings in hitting % (.246), blocks (2.54) and opponent blocks (203).
• Two Boilermakers lead the conference: Raven Colvin (142 total blocks) and Maddie Schermerhorn (4.42 digs per set). Meanwhile, Eva Hudson and Chloe Chicoine are among the top offensive players in the conference, ranking 3rd and 5th, respectively in total kills and 4th and 5th in total points.

 
LAST WEEK'S RECAP

• The Boilermakers took a pair of 3-1 victories at Minnesota and vs. Michigan State last week, a feat that includes the program's first series sweep vs. Minnesota under HC Dave Shondell and a 30-28 Set 2 comeback win vs. the Spartans.
• Purdue led the league in three categories last week: assists (13.75 per set), blocks (29 total) and digs (18.63 per set).
• Individually, Lourdes Myers led the league in blocks, Raven Colvin was #2 in hitting % and T-6 in blocks, Maddie Schermerhorn was #2 in digs, Chloe Chicoine ranked in the top five in both aces and points per set in addition to #10 in kills per set. Additionally, Eva Hudson ranked 9th in kills per set and 10th in points per set).

 
PURDUE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS

• The program has been ranked for 104 consecutive weeks (since preseason 2017), the longest active streak by any Purdue team. 
• The Boilermakers' history of excellence includes 42 of the last 58 weeks among the top-15.
• Purdue is ranked #15 in the RPI.
• Purdue's highest final ranking in program history came in 2021 at #6.
• Last year, the squad was ranked as high as 5th in the nation - its second-highest ranking in program history. The record was set in 2021, ranking 4th following the take-down of #3 Ohio State inside Holloway Gymnasium, 3-2 (9/24/21).

 
PURDUE VS. TOP-25 OPPONENTS

• The Boilermakers won matches against two teams ranked above them in the latest AVCA poll: #12 Kentucky (W, 3-2), and won twice vs. #14 Penn State. Meanwhile they came three points shy of beating #1 Nebraska.
• This year, Purdue is 5-3 vs. top-25 teams and 10-4 vs. teams ranked or receiving votes. Two of the losses come against the #1 and #2 teams in the nation.
• The Boilermakers have one match remaining vs. a top-25 team: #3 Wisconsin.

 
LAST TIME OUT VS WISCONSIN (PURDUE 1, WISCONSIN 3)

• The Boilers handed the Badgers a 25-16 Set 2 loss, which is the Badgers lowest set-score in Big Ten play this season.
• Eva Hudson was the first player for either team to reach double-digit kills, doing so in Set 2, before finishing the night with 18 kills. Hudson registered one of her eight double-doubles on the season with the most recent one coming at Minnesota (11/10).
• Maddie Schermerhorn led the team with 12 total digs on the night.

 
LAST TIME OUT AT MARYLAND

• Purdue reached 1,000 program wins in their 49th season with the win at Maryland (9/22).
• Eva Hudson led the team with 20 kills, while adding seven digs and four block assists on the defensive side of the net. 
• Raven Colvin ended the night with 10 total blocks (1 solo, 9 assisted) which is her second-highest mark of the season behind her 11-block night vs. Indiana (10/18). The junior also added four service aces and 7 kills (.385 attack %).
• The Boilermakers out-blocked the Terps, 13-8.5.
• Purdue hit .611% in the fourth set, one of their most efficient sets of the year.
• Six Boilermakers received some action in their first career Big Ten match.

 
THE DYNAMIC DUOS

• The Boilermakers' offensive arsenal includes two of the top players in the Big Ten in Eva Hudson and Chloe Chicoine.
• Hudson, 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and Chicoine, currently leading all freshmen in kills per set and points per set, are the only duo to average over 4.30 points per set in the Big Ten.
• In the back row, Maddie Schermerhorn and Ali Hornung are playing their best volleyball of the season now and together are averaging 38 digs per match over the last three matches.

RECORD BOOK RE-WRITES

• Eva Hudson is on track to become the fastest Boilermaker to 1,000 kills during the rally scoring era record, currently sitting at 937 kills entering the final four matches.
• Despite her junior status, Raven Colvin owns 384 block assists, which ranks as 5th in the Purdue career top-10 list. Additionally, if her career were to end today, she would set a rally-scoring era record and rank second in Purdue history with 1.36 career blocks per set (record: 1.49 by Donna Gill, 1991-92).
• Colvin would also enter the Purdue season top-10 in blocks per game and block assists this year for the second straight year.
• Maddie Schermerhorn is set to finish her collegiate career as one the best defensive specialists in program history, currently ranking 7th in Purdue history in career digs and 5th in single-season history.