Northwestern, Michigan State on Deck - Purdue Boilermakers (2024)

Friday, October 4
8 p.m. ET | #10 Purdue at Northwestern| B1G+ | WSHY 104.3 FM

Sunday, October 6
7:30 p.mET | Michigan State at #10Purdue| BTN | WSHY 104.3 FM

West Lafayette, Ind. –The Boilermakers are set to split the week with a home and away showing in Week 2 of Big Ten play. No. 10 Purdue will open the weekend at Northwestern with an 8 p.m. start on B1G+. Then, Purdue will return home to take on Michigan State on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Five of Purdue's last six matchups have come vs. teams currently ranked in the top-13 of the poll.

QUICK HITS: LAST WEEK AT A GLANCE

• Purdue went 1-1 last week, picking up a win at #16 Minnesota in 5 sets.
• The Boilermakers recorded a season-high 79 digs at Minnesota,
• Raven Colvin posted a career-high 29 points in the win, the most by a Boilermaker this season.
• Julia Kane registered three aces to help the Boilermakers pull away in the fifth set.
• Taylor Anderson posted 54 assists at Minnesota, a season-high.
• Purdue's 91 points at Minnesota was the most since 2022's non-con season. In the last 7 years, there have only been 4 matches, including Saturday, when the Boilers have scored as many points.\
• 5 career-highs and 11 season-highs (individual& team) were record in addition to twoPurdue records tied in Minneapolis.

PURDUE VS. NORTHWESTERN: RECENT HISTORY AT A GLANCE

• The Boilermakers have lost the last two matchups against the Wildcats, losing in five on 10/1/23 in West Lafayette and 10/28/22 in five.
• Last season's meeting was a reverse sweep for the Wildcats (25-17, 25-15, 25-27, 11-25, 12-15). Purdue nearly had a sweep when the team tied the score, 25-25 in Set 3. In the match, Eva Hudson was errorless through three sets (14-0-36).

PURDUE VS. MICHIGAN STATE: RECENT HISTORY AT A GLANCE

• Purdue has won the last three consecutive matches against MSU and own a 7-3 record over the last 10 meetings.
• During Dave Shondell's tenure, Purdue owns a 13-4 record against Michigan State in West Lafayette. They have never been swept by the Spartans on their home turf under Shondell.
• The two teams met in the regular-season finale last year, in which Eva Hudson reached her 1,000th kill to become the fastest Boilermaker in program history to accomplish the feat. She did so with a career-high-tying .500 attack % and a double-double of 21 kills, 10 digs. The win also solidified Purdue to finish third in the Big Ten standings. The Boilers hit .324% in the match, the highest clip in Big Ten play that season.

PURDUE: QUICK HITS

• Purdue is #10 in the nation in blocks per set (2.93) and #20 in hitting % (.278).
• Last week Eva Hudson and Chloe Chicoine were named to the AVCA Player of the Year Watch List.
• Three Boilers are averaging 2.5 kills per set or higher: Hudson (4.20), Chicoine (3.35) and Colvin (2.61).
• Purdue is 32-14 in sets won this season.
• The Boilers are averaging .278 hitting %. To put in perspective, it would rank as #3 in Purdue single-season history if things were to end today.
• The Boilermakers adjustments during a match have led to improved play from first to second set.
• Raven Colvin is #2 in the nation in blocks and is averaging a .435 hitting %, which would set a program record if the season were to end today. She has hit .700 twice already and recorded 19 kills and 7 aces at #16 Minnesota and two 10-block matches.
• Freshman DS Ryan McAleer is a regular in the back row and has recorded a perfect reception % in nine matches. Moreover, she recorded six aces at #16 Minnesota, tying as the most-ever by a Purdue freshman.
• Eva Hudson nearly had an errorless match at now-#8 Kansas, committing just one attack error in the final points of the match. This season, she is averaging 4.34 kills per set and 4.76 points per set this season.
• Chloe Chicoine owns a team-leading six double-doubles this season.

ACED IT: 17 ACES AT #16 MINNESOTA

• The team's 17 service aces included five in the fifth set. Three came during libero Julia Kane's serving tear, which was a career-high.
• Raven Colvin tied a program record in five-set matches with her seven service aces.
• Freshman Ryan McAleer generated six aces, the third freshman in Purdue history, including the only one this century to do so (joining Lauri Grimes and Brooke White, both accomplished in1993).
• The Boilermakers' 17 aces were the most by any team in the nation last week and are the most by a Big Ten team this season.

SCOUTING THE NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS

• The Wildcats come into this match 3-7, recording their first Big Ten conference win of the season against Maryland last Thursday.
• Setter Alexa Rousseau posted the third triple-double of her career in the match against Maryland, with 25 assists, 17 kills, and 15 digs.
• Junior transfer Buse Hazan has had a strong start to her Northwestern career, producing 100 total kills throughout the first month of play. She transferred from South Florida, where she recorded double-digit kills in 25 of 34 matches.
• Northwestern is coached by Tim Nollan in his first season with the Wildcats. He previously spent eight seasons as the head coach for Grand Canyon University.

SCOUTING THE MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS

• Michigan State will face Indiana on Friday before facing the Boilermakers on Sunday and are currently 7-6 on the season, with recent conference losses to Michigan and #4 Penn State.
• The Spartans have a strong Junior duo at outside hitter, with Akasha Anderson (3.21 kills/set) and Taylor Preston (2.56 kills/set).
• Senior libero Nalani Iosia's 200 digs on the season places her at 3rd in the Big Ten rankings.
• Sophomore middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig is 6th in the Big Ten in blocks/set with 1.40.
• The Spartans are coming off a 3-1 loss at now-#3 Penn State, taking a set off the Nittany Lions in rec Hall. The teamw as led by Taylor Preston's 18 kills and Nalani Iosia's 14 digs.
• Leah Johnson is the head coach for the Spartans in her third season leading the program. She led MSU to nine conference wins last season, which was their most since 2017.

ON A MISSION: RAVEN COLVIN

• No player in DI is taking care of business like Colvin for both hitting % and blocks, ranking #2 in blocks per set (1.80) and #18 in hitting % (.435). She led the nation in blocks for the first 4 weeks.
• She set a career-high 19 kills at #16 Minnesota (9/28) alongside a Purdue record-tying 7 aces in a five-set match.
• She is hitting, blocking and serving more efficiently than ever before and leads the team in aces.
• Colvin has nearly doubled her hitting efficiency compared to 2023: .435% vs. .280%. Her current clip would set a Purdue season record (current: .409% by Stephanie Lynch in 2008. Lynch is the only Boilermaker to ever hit .400 in an entire season.
• She hit .440% or higher in six straight matches (9/7-9/20).
• Colvin ranks #2 in Purdue history with 475 career block assists and #4 in total blocks. She is one of just two blockers in program history to post as many this century (last: record-holder Stephanie Lynch, 660 blocks, 2005-08).
• She also ranks #2 in Purdue history and the only Boilermaker this century to record 1.39 career blocks per set (record holder: Donna Gill, 1.49 blocks/set, 1991-92). The Big Ten season record in blocks/set is record: 1.85 set in 1996.
• Named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after back-to-back .571% performances, 7 blocks vs. #10 Kentucky and four vs. Houston.
• The Boiler has recorded two 10-block performances: vs. K-State (8/30) and at Utah State (9/7).
• Number of matches with one or fewer attack errors: 6
• Number of matches hitting .300 or above: 8
• Number of matches hitting .400 or above: 8
• Number of matches hitting .500 or above: 4
• Number of matches hitting .700 or above: 2
• Number of matches with six or more blocks: 8

SMOOTH & STEADY: SETTER TAYLOR ANDERSON

• She leads all Big Ten setters with 50 blocks this season (second-most is 36 by USC's Mia Tuman). In perspective, Anderson also owns more blocks than middles Andi Jackson (Nebraska), Taylor Trammell (Penn State), Devyn Robinson (Wisconsin), Carter Booth (Wisconsin).
• Anderson has set Purdue to four matches over .300%, including .310 vs. #10 Kentucky and .450 vs. UC Davis.
• She is averaging 10.85 assists per set, 2.15 digs per set and 1.18 blocks per set.
• Anderson has gotten more aggressive on the attack compared to her freshman season, averaging .50 kills per set compared to .31 from last season (35 kills in 2023 vs. 23 in 2024). In fact, her numbers are up in virtually every category including digs per set (1.97 vs. 2.15), assists per set (9.88 vs. 10.85) and blocks (.85 vs. 1.09).
• Has posted 7 or more blocks three times this season.
• 40 or more assist in a match this season: 6
• 50 or more assists in a match this season: 2
• Double-doubles this season: 4