WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Following a pair of wins against teams ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA poll, Grace Heaney was selected as Big Ten Player of the Week and Taylor Anderson Big Ten Setter of the Week, guiding the volleyball squad to a dominant 3-0 sweep at Illinois (10/24) and a 3-2 reverse sweep against No. 20 Minnesota (10/26).
In total, Purdue has racked up a league-leading seven Big Ten weekly awards and stands as the only program to have two different athletes earn the Player of the Week nod this season.
Heaney earned her first-ever weekly award as the only player in the league to rank in the top-10 in kills per set (4.38) and hitting % (.431%). The Omaha, Nebraska native began the weekend with a one-attack-error-match with 16 kills on 28 swings for a .536 hitting % - marks which led all players in kills and efficiency.
Then, two days later against No. 20 Minnesota, she totaled 22 kills on a .364 clip with 11 digs for her third career double-double. Heaney started the match strong, going errorless on the attack in the first set (8-0-11) for a .727 attack %. Moreover, her performance was key in the reverse-sweep win, scoring the final two points for Purdue as the Gophers nearly swept the Boilers, scoring the go-ahead point for the 26-25 advantage and then was on the set-winning block immediately after to force a fourth set.
Anderson earned her second straight Setter of the Week nod after leading all Power 4 players with her 59 assist-showing against No. 20 Minnesota. The 59 assists were a Big Ten match career-high and one shy of her overall career-best. Moreover, in the match, she came two digs shy of a double-double.
Overall, she ran an efficient offense with saw a .310 average attack % while totaling 91 assists (11.38 per set). The junior started the week by registering a double-double with 32 assists, 11 digs at Illinois. In the match, she led the team to hit .376%, with just eight attack errors (second-lowest mark this season) and two sets with the team hitting above .440%.
Also announced on Monday, Purdue has risen one spot to No. 10 in the AVCA poll, re-entering the top-10 for the second time this season. Purdue has been ranked for 137 consecutive weeks, have ranked in the top-10 for 43 weeks since the Spring 2021 season, and have spent 71 of the last 88 weeks in the top-15.
This week, the Boilermakers will once again hit the road for the last back-to-back away matches of the season. First, Purdue will take on Michigan State on Friday at 7 p.m. ET followed by a Sunday afternoon 2 p.m. start at Michigan. Both matches will be streamed on B1G+.