Match Schedule:
Thursday, 10/16 | 7 p.m. ET | Indianapolis, Ind. | Gainbridge Fieldhouse | BTN
#12 Purdue at #22 Indiana
Monon Spike Trophy Match
Sunday, 10/19 | 1 p.m. ET | Piscataway, N.J. | Jersey Mike's Arena | B1G+
#12 Purdue at Rutgers
PURDUE & INDIANA: OVERALL SERIES LOOK-IN
- Purdue is 41-11 all-time in home matches vs. Indiana.
- Purdue is 31-19 all-time in matches at Indiana.
- The Boilermakers have lost at home just one time under Dave Shondell and are 39-4 all-time vs. Indiana since Shondell took the reigns in 2003.
MONON SPIKE STATS
- Purdue's all-time Monon Spike record: 37-13
- The Boilermakers have won 20 of the last 22 Spike matches.
- Under Shondell's reign (last 22 years) Purdue and Indiana have gone to five sets just three times (2008, 2018, 2019). Purdue won all three of those matches.
- The Boilers have won the first set 77% of the time under Shondell (17 of 22).
- In 13 of the last 22 matches, the winner has been decided in straight sets.
LAST WEEK'S LOOK-BACK
- Purdue went 1-1 last week with a dominant sweep at Ohio State for its third straight win and ninth straight set win, before being taken down by #1 Nebraska 0-3.
- Kenna Wollard tied for second in the Big Ten last week after averaging 4.83 kills per set.
- Ryan McAleer averaged 4.0 digs per set.
- In Set 1 vs. Nebraska, the match was tied 22-22, and saw 19 tied scores throughout the set, the most ties in a frame all season for the Huskers. Purdue also out-dug them 19-16.
- The Boilers were third in the league last week with a .303 average hitting %.
PURDUE IN BIG TEN PLAY
- Since B1G play started, Purdue ranks #2 in total blocks (56), second to Nebraska, and sixth in total digs (271).
- The team ranks #3 in hitting % (.260) and is joined by Nebraska and Wisconsin as the only teams to hit as efficiently in league play.
- Ryan McAleer ties for second with the most digs (80) while Kenna Wollard ranks #2 in points/set and kills/set.
MINIMAL ERRORS AT OHIO STATE
- Purdue's six attack errors in the match marked the lowest committed since 2023 (6 vs. Minnesota, 10/26/23).
- It is the seventh time in the last 10 years Purdue has committed such few errors in a match.
EFFICIENT BOILERS
- As a team, Purdue's averaging a .285 attack %. If the season were to end today, that would rank #2 all-time, only bested by the 2017 season's .301 mark.
HIGHLIGHTS AT OHIO STATE
- Purdue hit .429 as a team at OSU, the first match hitting .400 or better since last November at Rutgers (.424% on 11/2/24).
- As a team, the Boilers had just two attack errors in every set, ending the night with six total - a season-low.
- Kenna Wollard hit 15 kills on a .400 clip with just three attack errors.
- Akasha Anderson posted 14 kills on a .414 clip with thee blocks (two solo).
- Bianka Lulic went errorless on the attack wtih five kills on seven swings (.714%) and three block assists.
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.