MATCH SCHEDULE
Friday, 10/31 | 7 p.m. ET | East Lansing, Mich. | Breslin Center | B1G+
#10 Purdue at Michigan State
Sunday, 11/2 | 1 p.m. ET | Ann Arbor, Mich. | Cliff Keen Arena | B1G+
#10 Purdue at Michigan
THE NEED TO KNOW
- Purdue is 8-2 over the last 10 matches.
- Taylor Anderson is coming off back-to-back Big Ten Setter of the Week awards and Grace Heaney as Player of the Week last week.
- Six of the last eight matches have come against teams ranked or recieving votes in the poll.
- In the first NCAA Committee Top-16 reveal, Purdue was slated at #8.
- One of the most efficient teams in the nation, the Boilers rank #12 in the nation with a .290 attack %.
- The Boilermakers are undefeated in all road matches at 12-0 (8-0 away, 4-0 neutral site).
Ten matches remain in the regular season, however six will come on Purdue's home court. - The Boilers have reverse swept a ranked team two times this season - the first time in program history the feat has been accomplished against ranked opponents. Meanwhile, it marked the first time Purdue's reverse swept two teams in a single season since 2002 (first time under HC Shondell).
- Purdue stands tied for second place in the Big Ten standings
- It is the 11th consecutive year Purdue has notched at least one top-10 win.
REVERSE SWEEPS HISTORY
- Purdue has two reverse sweeps this season - both against ranked opponents: at #24 UCLA and vs. #20 Minnesota.
- It is the first time in Purdue history the Boilers have reverse-swept two ranked teams in a single season.
- It is just the fourth season in program history Purdue has reverse swept a team twice, including the first time since 2002.
A RECORD FOR THE RECORD BOOK
- The Boilers have started the season 17-3 for just the second time in 39 years.
- Purdue's 6-2 Big Ten record is the best start to conference action in 11 seasons (last: 6-2 record in 2015).
- It is the second-best start to Big Ten play in the 23-year Shondell era (2014: started 7-1).
EFFICIENT BOILERS
- As a team, Purdue's averaging a .290 attack %. If the season were to end today, that would rank #2 all-time, only bested by the 2017 season's .301 mark.
LAST WEEK AT A GLANCE
- Purdue went 2-0 last week, picking up a dominant 3-0 sweep at Illinois, a team receiving votes in the AVCA poll, followed by a reverse sweep vs. #20 Minnesota in West Lafayette.
- Purdue took away match point for Minnesota in Set 3 in the reverse sweep effort, similar to the team's reverse sweep win at #24 UCLA earlier this season.
- Akasha Anderson was a catalystin Set 5, recroding six kills in the final set vs. Minnesota.
- Grace Heaney led the team for the second consecutive match with a .536 hitting clip, 16 kills and one attack error on 28 swings. She nearly posted a double-double with seven digs and added three blocks.
- The Boilermakers allowed just 49 total Illinois points in the match, the second-fewest in the programs’ rivalry history since rally-scoring began (record: 46 points in 2023).
- Purdue’s defensive efforts were stellar, out-blocking Illinois 12-1 and out-digging the host team 44-39. As a team, Purdue committed zero reception errors after facing 47 serves. It was the first time this season Illinois was kept from recording an ace.
- Purdue hit over .400 in two of the three sets at Illinois with a .433 attack % in Set 1 and a .444 attack % in the third set.
LEADING THE LEAGUE: B1G WEEKLY AWARDS
- Purdue's seven Big Ten "of the week" awards are the most of any program.
- The program is the only one to have two separate players earn Big Ten Player of the Week honors this season.
TAYLOR ANDERSON: RETAINING B1G SETTER OF THE WEEK
- The junior is Setter of the Week for the second consecutive week, leading the league with 91 assists.
- She led 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.
- Overall, she ran an efficient offense with saw a .310 average attack % while totaling 91 assists (11.38 per set).
- At Illinois, posted a double-double with 32 assists, 11 digs. 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%.
GRACE HEANEY: FIRST B1G PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
- 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%).
- Began the weekend at Illinois with a one-attack-error-match with 16 kills on 28 swings for a .536 hitting %, which led all match players in kills and efficiency.
- Against No. 20 Minnesota, she totaled 22 kills on a .364 clip with 11 digs for her third career double-double. She 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.