GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Belin Court at Holloway Gymnasium; West Lafayette, Ind.
Game Notes
Purdue vs. No. 13 Michigan
Friday, Oct. 28 / 7 p.m.
/ Live Audio / Live Video
Promotion: Dig for a Cure - Wear pink to support breast cancer awareness. The first 1000 fans may receive a free pink T-shirt.
Purdue vs. No. 15 Michigan State
Saturday, Oct. 29 / 7 p.m.
/ Live Audio / Live Video
Promotion: Halloween in Holloway - Wear your Halloween costume to the match. There will be a costume contest. Don't have a costume yet, we'll be giving away 100 gold capes.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Boilermakers return home this week to face off against No. 13 Michigan and No. 15 Michigan State to kick off the second half of Big Ten play. Friday has been designated as Dig for a Cure night and fans are encouraged to wear pink to support the breast cancer awareness cause. The first 1000 fans will receive pink T-shirts at the door.
THE BOOK ON THE BOILERMAKERS
At First Glance: Purdue (13-8, 3-7 B1G) is back home to kick off the second half of Big Ten play this weekend. The Boilermakers are coming off their 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 12 seasons after going 23-10 and finishing fifth in the Big Ten in 2015. The Purdue roster features seven returning players, two redshirts, a transfer and three newcomers. Head coach Dave Shondell is in his 14th season with the team.
Last Time Out: The Boilermakers split weekend road matches with Northwestern and No. 22 Illinois, falling to the Wildcats in four sets and topping the Illini in five.
Statistically Speaking: Outside hitters Danielle Cuttino and Azariah Stahl pace the Purdue offense with 3.99 and 2.79 kills per set respectively. Cuttino is hitting at a .281 clip and has added 0.55 blocks per set, while Stahl has also managed 2.33 digs per set, 0.49 blocks per set and 15 aces. Middle blocker Faye Adelaja follows with 2.24 kills per set and 0.75 blocks per stanza, while hitting at a team-best .392 clip. Outside hitter Sherridan Atkinson (1.90) and middle blocker Blake Mohler (1.53) also contribute offensively.
Mohler paces the Boilermakers at the net with 1.04 blocks per set. Adelaja follows with 0.75 blocks per set, while Atkinson has put up 0.62 blocks per set. In the back court, libero Natalie Haben leads the way with 3.11 digs per set to go with 19 aces. Stahl (2.33), defensive specialist Brooke Peters (2.19), setter Ashley Evans (2.17) and defensive specialist Carissa Damler (1.80) follow with nearly two digs per set. Evans also adds 10.76 assists per set and a team-best 21 aces. As a team, Purdue is hitting at a .250 clip and has served up 89 aces.
SERIES INFORMATION
Michigan (Purdue leads the series 47-24): The Boilermakers won 23 of the first 24 meetings with the Wolverines in the series which began on Oct. 31, 1975. The teams split the next 20 meetings from 1991 to 2000, including a five-match stretch for Purdue. Michigan won eight of the next nine contest, save a five-set decision on Nov. 22, 2002 in West Lafayette. The Boilermakers took six of the next eight matches from 2005 to 2008. The Wolverines swept the 2009 and 2010 series, including three five-set matches, but Purdue has taken the last seven in a row, including a sweep Sept. 25, 2015, in Ann Arbor. Twelve of the 25 contests since 2002 have gone five sets, including seven of the last 12 (Purdue 4- Michigan 3).
Michigan State (Purdue leads the series 48-29): Michigan State took the first four meetings in the series which began on Oct. 18, 1975. Purdue won 29 of the next 30, including 24 straight from 1981 to 1993. The Spartans took 19 of the next 21 contests from Nov. 13, 1993 to Nov. 1, 2003, including 11 straight to kick off the run. Purdue won five straight from 2004 to 2006 to start a 17-4 run of its own. The Boilermakers had won eight straight until a 3-0 loss in East Lansing on Nov. 26, 2014. The teams split the 2015 meetings, with Purdue winning in four sets on Sept. 26 in East Lansing and falling in five sets on Nov. 25 in West Lafayette.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WIN MAKES...
If the Boilermakers top No. 13 Michigan on Friday:
- They will move to 14-8 overall and 4-7 in the Big Ten.
- They will extend their current win streak to two matches.
- They will have beaten the Wolverines for the eighth straight match (dating to 9/24/11).
- They will have beaten their fourth Top 25 foe of the season (also #4 Kansas, #9 Stanford and #22 Illinois).
- They will improve to 281-208-1 all-time when playing in the month of October, including a 12-5 mark when playing on Oct. 28. The Boilermakers last played on Oct. 28 in 2011, topping No. 22 Michigan in five sets in Ann Arbor.
WORDS ABOUT THE WOLVERINES
At First Glance: The No. 13 Michigan Wolverines (18-4, 7-3 B1G) brings a two-match win streak into Friday's match. The Wolverines return nine letterwinners, including three starters, from the 2015 team which went 20-13, finished ninth in the Big Ten and advanced to the NCAA Second Round. Michigan is coached by Mark Rosen, who is in his 18th season with the team.
Last Time Out: The Wolverines went 2-0 last week, topping Maryland on the road in five sets Wednesday and besting No. 9 Penn State in five sets at home Saturday.
Statistically Speaking: Middle blocker Abby Cole paces the Wolverine offense with 3.28 kills per set on a team-best .337 hitting percentage, while also adding 1.07 blocks per set. Five other players are averaging 2.00 kills per set: outside hitter Adeja Lambert (2.73), outside hitter Kelly Murphy (2.45), outside hitter Carly Skjodt (2.10), opposite Katherine Mahlke (2.04) and middle blocker Claire Kieffer-Wright (2.03). Murphy has served up a team-leading 19 aces and added 1.74 digs per set, while Skjodt has chipped in 1.86 digs per set.
Middle blocker Cori Crocker has put up a team-best 1.13 blocks per set, followed by Cole and Kieffer-Wright (0.95). In the back court, libero Jenna Lerg leads the way with 4.47 digs per set. Setter MacKenzi Welsh adds 2.30 digs per set to go with 16 aces and 10.48 assists per set. Skjodt (1.86), defensive specialist Tiffany Clark (1.75) and Murphy (1.74) follow. As a team, Michigan is hitting at a .279 clip and has served up 90 aces.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
At First Glance: The No. 15 Michigan State Spartans (17-5, 6-4 B1G) continue a three-match road trip at Indiana on Friday. The Spartans return 12 letterwinners, including six starters, from the 2015 team which went 19-14, finished seventh in the Big Ten and advanced to the NCAA Second Round. MSU is coached by Cathy George, who is in her 12th season with the team.
Last Time Out: The Spartans went 1-1 last week, sweeping Rutgers at home Wednesday and falling to No. 19 Ohio State on the road Saturday.
Statistically Speaking: Outside hitter Autumn Bailey leads a group of five players averaging more than two kills per set. Bailey has turned in 3.21 kills and 2.41 digs per set to go with 21 aces. Outside hitter Chloe Reinig (2.70), middle blocker Alyssa Garvelink (2.46), middle blocker Allyssah Fittterer (2.17) and middle blocker Brooke Kranda (2..12) round out the offense. Fitterer is hitting at a team-best .404 clip, while Garvelink is hitting .383 and has put up a team-leading 1.28 blocks per set. Kranda has served up a team-best 27 aces.
Defensively, libero Abby Monson has pulled up a team-leading 3.08 digs per set, while Bailey (2.41), outside hitter Holly Toliver (1.90) and setter Rachel Minarick (1.90) follow. Minarick and Toliver each have also served up 26 aces. As a team, Michigan State is hitting at a .263 clip and has served up 146 aces.
POLL POSITION
The Boilermakers dropped out of the AVCA Coaches' Poll Top 25 this week, marking the first time since the preseason 2015 listing that Purdue had not been included. The team had been ranked in 24 straight polls (Aug. 31, 2015 through last week's No. 24 listing). The Boilermakers are listed second among vote getters outside of the Top 25.
THE SLATE
In the Oct. 10 listings, the Boilermakers' schedule was ranked as the toughest in the country in terms of strength of schedule, one of the pillars of the RPI system. In the most recent rankings, released Oct. 24, Purdue is listed at No. 5. Purdue was slated to play 11 matches against teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Top 25 Poll, and three more against teams that were receiving votes outside of the Top 25. In reality, the Boilermakers have faced eight ranked teams thus far: No. 2 Minnesota, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 4 Kansas, No. 9 Stanford, No. 10 Penn State, No. 22 Illinois and No. 24 Kentucky.
IN THE RPI
The first NCAA rating percentage index report was released on Oct. 3 and the Boilermakers checked in at No. 7. In the Oct. 24 listing, Purdue dropped to No. 18 in RPI. Eleven teams Purdue has already played in 2016 were listed among the initial Top 50: No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 2 Minnesota, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 Stanford, No. 9 Washington State, No. 18 Kentucky, No. 24 Coastal Carolina, No. 30 Penn State, No. 35 Notre Dame, No. 39 Kansas, No. 40 Indiana and No. 50 Cal Poly. Three more - No. 12 Michigan, No. 19 Michigan State and No. 31 Ohio State - are still ahead on the slate.
RPI rankings are based upon a team's wins and losses and its strength of schedule. It is comprised of a team's winning percentage (25%), its opponents' winning percentage (50%) and the winning percentage of those opponents' opponents (25%). Opponent winning percentage and the winning percentage of opponents' opponents make us the strength of schedule portion of the formula.
AMONG THE NATION
The Boilermakers rank among the nation's Top 50 in hitting percentage (50th with .250).
Individually, middle blocker Faye Adelaja ranks 22nd nationally in hitting percentage (.392), while setter Ashley Evans ranks 31st in assists per set (10.76). Outside hitter Danielle Cuttino ranks 50th with 3.99 kills per set.
THE TIES THAT BIND
Michigan middle blocker Savannah Guy and Purdue setter Lexi Dorn both hail from San Diego, Calif. Michigan outside hitter Carly Skjodt hails from Indianapolis and attended Carmel High School. Wolverine head coach Mark Rosen coached Purdue assistant coach Kathy Jewell at Northern Michigan, leading the team to a Division II national championship in 1994 and three Elite Eight appearances.
Michigan State middle blocker Brooke Kranda hails from Westfield, Ind., and played for the Munciana Club program.
EVANS SET TO JOIN ELITE GROUP
Redshirt junior setter Ashley Evans is set to join an elite group in the near future, Purdue setters with at least 2,000 career assists and 750 digs. To date, Evans has dished out 2,239 assists and pulled up 730 digs. In program history, only five women have accomplished the feat: Renata Dargan (5871 assists, 921 digs); Rachel Davis (3294 assists, 874 digs); Darcy Orin (4523 assists, 853 digs); Jaclyn Hart (4918 assists, 818 digs); Kelly Niedbalski (3056 assists, 811 digs). Taryn Catlin posted 4584 assists and 717 digs, just missing inclusion.
DID YOU KNOW?
- ... that junior outside hitter Danielle Cuttino has posted double-digit kills in 20 of the team's 21 matches in 2016.
- ... that redshirt senior middle blocker Faye Adelaja has hit at a .500 or better clip in five matches this season, including .889 twice and .875 once.
- .,. that the Boilermakers have hit .250 or better as a team in 12 matches in 2016, including .300 or better eight times and .500 or better once.
- ... that the 2016 season marks the 42nd in Purdue volleyball history.
- ... that the Boilermakers have finished in the top half of the Big Ten each of the last six years and 11 of the last 12 seasons, including 2015 (fifth).
- ... that Purdue is one of just 12 schools to make four of the last six NCAA Sweet 16s.
- ... that Purdue volleyball has ranked among the Top 20 in national attendance average every year since 2003 (12th in 2015 with 2,524).
- ... that Purdue is one of just three schools among the 334 in Division I volleyball to score a perfect 1000 on the NCAA APR for 11 straight years.