#10 Purdue Begins 4-Match Homestand

Thursday, October 17
7 p.m. ET | UCLA at #10 Purdue  | B1G+ | WSHY 104.3 FM
Hammer Down Cancer Match
 
Saturday, October 19
7 p.m. ET | Indiana at #10 Purdue  | BTN | WSHY 104.3 FM
Monon Spike Match | Blackout Match | Mackey Match | Alumnae Day
 

West Lafayette, Ind. – Beginning a two-week, four match stint at home the No. 10 Purdue Boilermakers (13-4, 4-2 Big Ten) are set to host UCLA (8-7, 2-4 Big Ten) and Indiana (9-7, 2-4 Big Ten) this weekend.

For the first time in history, UCLA will travel to West Lafayette for a 7 p.m. ET showdown on B1G+ this Thursday. Then, Purdue will play its first of two Mackey Arena matches on Saturday vs. Indiana at 7 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. The rivalry clash will not only serve as Alumnae Day, but the annual Monon Spike match and a Boilermaker Blackout match inside the historic arena. 

ON TAP THIS WEEKEND IN PURDUE VOLLEYBALL

• Purdue Athletics celebrates 50 years of women's sports. The volleyball team, among all of Purdue's women's sports celebrating its 50th season will be honored at the football game vs. #2 Oregon in the first quarter.
• Olympian Annie Drews will be inducted to the Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024 on Friday.
• Purdue's Hammer Down Cancer match will be Thursday vs. UCLA. The team is auctioning off its match-worn uniforms to benefit the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research. Auctions close Thursday, Oct. 17 at 10:30 p.m. ET.
• Saturday's match in Mackey will serve as Alumnae Day in addition to the Monon Spike match vs. Indiana.

PURDUE VS. UCLA: HISTORY AT A GLANCE

• Purdue will be looking for its first-ever win vs. UCLA.
• The teams have only met in postseason neutral sites during the 1979 (L, 0-2 in Carbondale, Ill.) and 1981 (L, 2-3 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.).

PURDUE VS. INDIANA: HISTORY AT A GLANCE

• Purdue is 40-11 all-time in home matches vs. Indiana.
• The Boilermakers have lost at home just one time under Dave Shondell and are 38-4 all-time vs. Indiana since Shondell took the reins in 2003.
• There have been no sweeps by either team since the Monon Spike match in 2021.
• The Boilermakers have won 19 of the last 21 Spike matches.
• Purdue and Indiana last met in Mackey Arena for the Monon Spike on September 24, 2016. Purdue won the match, 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-18) and was attended by 8,240 fans and stands today as the second-largest home attendance for Purdue in a Big Ten match (largest: 10,570 vs. Wisconsin, 10/17/08).

THE MONON SPIKE: BY THE NUMBERS:

• Purdue will be looking to take back to Spike after its 15-consecutive wins came to an end last year at Indiana. Purdue's All-Time Record in Monon Spike Matches: 36-13
• Monon Spike Record under Dave Shondell: 19-2
• Purdue has lost the Monon Spike just four times this century (2001, 2002, 2007 and 2023).

THE MONON SPIKE ORIGINS

• The Monon Spike traveling trophy was created in 1981 and is presented to the winning team after one of the two annual matches, alternating location each season between teams. Last year was in Bloomington.
• The trophy idea was the brainchild of Purdue's Donna Hardesty and Anne McMenamy, seniors on the 1981 team. They chose the Spike from the Monon Railroad, which originated in Indiana in the late 19th century, to be a reminder of the competition on the court as well as the tradition of the state of Indiana. As with its sibling trophies, the Old Oaken Bucket (football) and the Golden Boot (soccer), a "P" or "I" is added to the chain signifying the season's winner. The Spike currently has 36 "P" links and 13 "I" links.

PURDUE AT #2 NEBRASKA

• Purdue's 2-hour 53-minute five-setter at #2 Nebraska was the longest match in known-program history (research available through 1999). The second-longest match in program history was also last year's five-setter vs. #2 Nebraska, which clocked in at 2 hours and 51 minutes.
• The Boilermakers held match point, 14-13 and went errorless in Set 5 (13-0-27) for a .481 set clip.
• In addition to Purdue edging Nebraska in efficiency, .311% vs.  .242%, Purdue blew Nebraska opponents away as the most efficient team the Huskers have faced (previous opponent-high: SMU's .242% on 9/3/24).
• Purdue out-blocked Nebraska, 15-5, holding the Huskers to a season-low. Raven Colvin was on 11 of those 15 blocks.
• Eva Hudson and Chloe Chicoine went off, combining for 48 kills and each hitting over .300% in the match.
• The Achilles heel for Purdue were service errors, tallying 19 errors in the match, including four in Set 5.

ANNIE DREWS INDUCTED TO THE PURDUE HALL OF FAME

• Two-time Olympian Annie Drews (2012-15) will be inducted to the Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday.
• A four-year letterwinner as an outside hitter, she was a gold medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, playing a key role in Team USA's historic run on the world stage and a silver medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics as well as a regular with the U.S. Senior National Team.
• Before her international glory, she led the Boilermakers to three NCAA Tournament trips, including two Sweet 16s and one Elite Eight. Drews closed out her Purdue career with Second Team All-America honors in 2015 along with back-to-back First Team All-Big Ten accolades.
• She is the seventh volleyball player to be inducted to elite group, joining Ariel (Turner) Gebhardt (Class of 2020), Stephanie (Lynch) Harpenau (Class of 2018), Carol Dewey and Debbie (McDonald) West (Class of 2003), Marrianne (Smith) Orr (Class of 1999) and Jane Neff (inaugural Class of 1994).