Volleyball to Begin Season with The Stacey Clark Classic

STACEY CLARK CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Friday, August 30
3 p.m. ET | UC Davis vs. UMBC | B1G+
7 p.m. ET | #8 Purdue vs. K-State | B1G+
 
Saturday, August 31
4:30 p.m. ET | K-State vs. UC Davis | B1G+
7 p.m. ET | #8 Purdue vs. UMBC | B1G+
 
Sunday, September 1
11:30 a.m. ET | UMBC vs. K-State | B1G+
2 p.m. ET | Purdue vs. UC Davis | B1G+
 
West Lafayette, Ind. – The 2024 volleyball season has arrived as the Purdue Boilermakers open the year at home with the Stacey Clark Classic. The three-day tournament running Friday through Sunday will feature Kansas State, UMBC and UC Davis with every match streamed on B1G+.
 
 
PRESEASON ACCOLADES

• Purdue was picked #8 in the AVCA preseason poll, its highest-ever preseason nod, and #4 in the Big Ten preseason coaches poll.
• Eva Hudson and Chloe Chicoine were named to the Big Ten preseason team.

 
THE 2024 TEAM AT A GLANCE

• Purdue returns nearly its entire 2023 starting lineup with the exception of libero Maddie Schermerhorn, who led the Big Ten last season in digs per set.
• Three freshmen (DS Ryen McAlear, S Allie Shondell and DS Sienna Foster) and one senior transfer (OH/RS Raven Gray) join the team.
• The roster is one of the most talented and decorated in program history: returning all three 2023 All-America recognized players: Hudson, Chicoine, Colvin.
• Of Purdue's record-tying six Big Ten postseason honors, five are returning for the coming season.
• Hudson and Chicoine enter 2024 as the top-rated offensive duo in the nation, leading all of Division I (kills and points).
• For the last two consecutive seasons, All-America Honorable Mention and First Team All-Big Ten middle Raven Colvin has posted some of the most blocks in program history, ranking #2 for her 2022 season (151) and T-#3 in 2023 (148 blocks).
• One of the best freshman setters in Purdue history, Taylor Anderson led the entire Big Ten in five separate weeks and was the most productive blocker among all Big Ten setters (.89 blocks per set). Additionally, she guided Purdue to a pair of its best offensive productions in the last five years.

 
TOP OFFENSIVE DUO IN THE NATION: HUDSON & CHICOINE

• The Boilermakers' offensive arsenal includes the top-ranked offensive duo in the nation: Eva Hudson and Chloe Chicoine.
• No other program in the country has two players ranked as high in both kills and points last year.

 
CONSISTENTLY UNDERRATED: AVCA PRESEASON POLL HISTORY

• For six of the last seven years, Purdue has finished higher in the AVCA poll than predicted in the preseason voting.
• This includes 12 times under HC Dave Shondell: 2023, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2015, 2013, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2005.

 
SCOUTING K-STATE

• The Wildcats enter the season receiving votes in the AVCA preseason poll.
• K-State is coming off its first year with head coach Jason Mansfield and five top-25 takedowns, including two top-10 opponents: the national champions Texas and #8 BYU.
• Graduate outside hitter Aliyah Carter and senior setter Izzi Szulczewski received Big 12 preseason honors while the team was picked to finish seventh in the league's poll.
• Carter is a 2023 AVCA All-America Honorable Mention and three-time First Team All-Big 12 selection and the program's rally-scoring era leader in kills per set, averaging 3.79.
• K-State picked up LSU transfer Ella Larkin, a defensive specialist/libero in May.

 
SCOUTING UMBC

• UMBC is the four-time defending America East champion and was voted as the league's favorite for 2024.
• Senior Mia Bilusic and grad student Aysia Miller were voted to the inaugural preseason all-conference team.
• Bilusic is a three-time first team all-conference selection and 2021 Rookie of the Year while Millier is a three-time second team all-conference honoree at multiple positions and the Spring 2021 Setter of the Year and 2022 Defensive Specialist of the Year.
• UMBC's grueling schedule includes eight 2023 NCAA tournament teams this season.
• UMBC earned a #3 seed for the NCAA Tournament last year and drew new Big Ten member USC for its first round matchup.

 
SCOUTING UC DAVIS

• The team returns four starters for the season, including Big West preseason coaches team honoree Olivia Utterback, a fifth-year senior opposite.
• Setter Mia Starr returns for her sophomore campaign after leading the team as a freshman with 648 assists and 5.45 assists per set.
• UC Davis added grad transfer Allie Merz from LIU to add depth to the setter position.
• The team picked up wins vs. Arizona and North Carolina last season and clinched a spot in the Big West Tournament in 2023.

 
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

• The schedule features six non-conference matchups vs. 2023 NCAA Tournament teams.
• A total of 12 matches this fall will come against teams ranked or receiving votes in the 2023 AVCA final poll.
• For five consecutive matches in non-con play, Purdue will face teams ranked in the top-28 of last year's RPI: at No. 17 Utah State (9/7), vs. No. 28 Houston (9/13), at No. 24 SMU or vs. No. 7 Kentucky (9/14), at No. 14 Kansas (9/19) and vs. No. 9 Creighton (9/20).
• Purdue will play two matches in its historic Mackey Arena: vs. Indiana (10/19) for the Monon Spike trophy match and the following week vs. Wisconsin (10/26).
• The 2024 season will mark the most road matches in non-conference action since 2008, with Purdue at home for two matches in the month of September.
• For the first half of the season (August through mid-October), Purdue will have 12 away matches and five home matches.
• A rigorous end to the regular season will see three of the last four matches vs. top-25 teams: at No. 12 Penn State (11/21), vs. No. 24 USC (11/23) and at No. 7 Oregon (11/27).