Showdown in Louisville

Thursday, December 12: NCAA Regional Semifinal
7 p.m. ET | #6 Florida vs. #2 Stanford | ESPN2
30 minutes following Match 1 | #4 Purdue at #1 Louisville | ESPN2 | WSHY 104.3 FM 

Saturday, December 14: NCAA Regional Final
7 p.m. ET | #6 Florida / #2 Stanford vs. #4 Purdue / #1 Louisville | ESPN2

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 4 seeded Purdue Boilermakers have their sights set on No. 1 seed Louisville, as the teams are set to square off in Freedom Hall tonight. The match will begin 30 minutes following the conclusion of Match 1 (approximately 9:30 p.m. ET) and will air on ESPN2.


LAST WEEK'S NEED-TO-KNOW

• Purdue posted two impressive sweeps last week to open the NCAA tournament, with wins vs. Western Michigan (25-21, 25,23, 25-22) and Loyola Chicago (25-20, 25-21, 25-12).
• As a team, Purdue hit .397%, averaged 3.83 blocks/set, 15.50 assists/set and 14.33 digs/set.
• Eva Hudson and Chloe Chicoine combined for 33 kills with two errors on 69 swings in the win. Hudson posted a .455 hitting %, the highest mark since Day 2 of the season (.467% vs. UMBC, 8/31/24) and remained errorless until the third set, all while tying a career-high five blocks. Meanwhile, Chicoine notched a double-double with 19 digs, 12 kills on a .440 hitting %. Nine of Chicoine's digs came in the opening frame alone.
• Raven Colvin became Purdue's all-time block assists leader in the 1st Round, passing Purdue great Stephanie Lynch's 550 BA.
• Hudson averaged a .500 attack % and led the entire tournament field with nearly 7 kills/set.
• Chicoine averaged .362% clip and 4.67 digs/set to lead the team.
• Anderson led the tournament field with 14 assists/set.

HUDSON IN THE 2024 NCAA 1ST/2ND ROUNDS

• Hudson led the entire tournament field over the first two rounds with 6.83 kills/set and No. 1 among all remaining players (and #2 overall) with 7.33 points per set.
• She posted the 8th highest attack % in a match (min. 10 attempts) with her .563% vs. Loyola Chicago - however among the top-10 list, Hudson led those players in number of kills (20).
• Her 21 kills vs. Western Michigan (Round 1) was 3rd -most in a 3-setter in the tournament.
• Her 20 kills vs. Loyola Chicago (Round 2) was 5th-most in a 3-setter in the tournament.
• She's joined by Melanie Parra (TCU) and Madisen Skinner (Texas) as the only players to record 23 points in a 3-set match.

CHICOINE IN THE 2024 NCAA 1ST/2ND ROUNDS

• She was #1 among all outside hitters in digs/set, averaging 4.67. She ranked overall 10th among all players over the first and second rounds and 5th among all players continuing on the the Regional Semifinals.
• Chicoine's 19 digs in the First Round were the second-most in a 3-set match last week, nine of which came in Set 1. She completed the Purdue sweep with a double-double, on a .440 attack % (12-1-25).

ANDERSON IN THE 2024 NCAA 1ST/2ND ROUNDS

• Led the tournament field with 14.00 assists per set over the 1st and 2nd rounds.
• Guided Purdue to an average .397 attack %, ranking third among all teams in the tournament over the first two rounds.
• With Anderson guiding the way, Purdue hit .387% vs. Western Michigan and .409% vs. Loyola Chicago, marking the third .400 attack % match of the season for the Boilermakers.

MIDWEST ALL-REGION HONORS

• Eva Hudson was named the AVCA Midwest Region Player of the Year, the first Boilermaker to earn Regional Player of the Year.
• First Team Honorees: Hudson, Raven Colvin, Chloe Chicoine
• Honorable Mention: Ali Hornung

A WIN AT LOUISVILLE WOULD MEAN...

• Purdue's fifth Regional Final appearance under HC Shondell and sixth overall for the program.
• Would be the first win over a No. 1 team since Purdue topped No. 1 Florida on Dec. 10, 2010.
• A return to the Regional Finals for seniors Raven Colvin, Ali Hornung, Lourdes Myers, Sydney Yim (other: 2021).
• The highest AVCA ranked win of the season and highest since last year (W, 3-2 vs. #3 Wisconsin in West Lafayette, 11/17/23).