PITTSBURGH – A historic season came to a close for the No. 6 seeded Purdue Boilermakers (26-7, 15-5 B1G) in the NCAA Regional Finals as they fell to host No. 3 Pitt in a hard-fought four-set match (20-25, 30-28, 20-25, 15-25).
The match marked the first loss to a top-4 team this season, after owning a 3-0 record throughout the regular season. Meanwhile, Purdue's 26 victories are the most since 2011.
With one of the toughest Boilermaker squads in program history, Purdue's Regional Finals battle was led by graduate outside hitter Caitlyn Newton's 16 kills, senior setter Hayley Bush's 39 assists and 14 digs and graduate libero Jena Otec's 25 digs.
As a team, Purdue was held to a .156 efficiency despite just three attack errors and a .478 clip in the first set.
Bush's double-double was the 16th of the season for the Union, Kentucky native. Meanwhile, freshman Raven Colvin tallied 10 kills, one shy of her career-best, set two days ago in the Regional Semifinals vs. BYU.
Leading the team in efficiency was senior Jael Johnson, who closed her collegiate career with a.545 attack %, which included eight kills and two errors on 11 swings.
All-Region Team
Hayley Bush
Caitlyn Newton
The match marked the first loss to a top-4 team this season, after owning a 3-0 record throughout the regular season. Meanwhile, Purdue's 26 victories are the most since 2011.
With one of the toughest Boilermaker squads in program history, Purdue's Regional Finals battle was led by graduate outside hitter Caitlyn Newton's 16 kills, senior setter Hayley Bush's 39 assists and 14 digs and graduate libero Jena Otec's 25 digs.
As a team, Purdue was held to a .156 efficiency despite just three attack errors and a .478 clip in the first set.
Bush's double-double was the 16th of the season for the Union, Kentucky native. Meanwhile, freshman Raven Colvin tallied 10 kills, one shy of her career-best, set two days ago in the Regional Semifinals vs. BYU.
Leading the team in efficiency was senior Jael Johnson, who closed her collegiate career with a.545 attack %, which included eight kills and two errors on 11 swings.
All-Region Team
Hayley Bush
Caitlyn Newton