Opening of the Big Ten game in Holloway

7:00 p.m. ET | #4 Penn State at #10 Purdue | BTN | WSHY 104.3 FM

Saturday, September 14

6:30 p.m. ET | #10 Purdue at #16 Minnesota | BTN | WSHY 104.3FM

West Lafayette, Indiana – After a 9-2 nonconference win, the No. 10 Purdue Boilermakers begin their Big Ten journey at home against the No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions (10-1) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET. Purdue then travels to Minneapolis to face the No. 16 Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. ET. Both games will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• The Boilermakers return home on Wednesday after 24 days on the road and are in a stretch that includes three consecutive top-10 matchups.
• Including this week’s games, Purdue will continue a winning streak with four of five games against top-10 teams and five of six games against top-20 teams.

PURDUE VS. PENN STATE: THE LATEST STORY AT A GLANCE

• Purdue won the series against Penn State last year: S, 3-2 at home on 11/5/23 and S, 3-1 on 10/22/23. Last season, both teams reached the NCAA Regional Semifinals in Madison, Wisconsin, but Penn State was No. 12 and Purdue No. 13 in the AVCA finals.
• Over the last three years, Purdue has a 3-2 record against Penn State.
• Since 2016, neither team has been able to beat the other so clearly.

PURDUE VS. MINNESOTA: HISTORY AT A GLANCE

• Purdue has a 4-1 record against Minnesota over the last three years.
• The Boilermakers have won two of their last three games in Minneapolis: (W 3-1 in 2021, L 1-3 in 2022 and W 3-1 in 2023).
• In the last ten years, only three games between the two teams went over five sets (3 out of 17).

PURDUE: SHORT HITS

• Purdue ranks No. 2 in the nation in blocks per set (3.26) and No. 14 in slugging percentage (.289).
• Last week Eva Hudson And Chloe Chicoine were named to the AVCA Players of the Year Watch List.
• Three Boilers average 2.5 kills per set or more: Hudson (4.34), Chicoine (3.42) and Colvin (2.50).
• Purdue has won 29 sets this season, 9 of them 29-9.
• The Boilermakers’ adjustments during a match resulted in an improvement in play from the first to the second set.
• Raven Colvin leads the nation in blocks and has a .454 average hitting percentage. The senior has already hit .700 twice, recording 16 kills against Cal (9/5) and two 10-block matches.
• First semester DS Ryan McAleer is a regular in the back row and has a perfect reception percentage in eight games and only one error in the last seven consecutive games.
• Eva Hudson had a nearly flawless game at Kansas, now ranked No. 9, committing only one attack error on the final points of the match. This season, she has averaged 4.34 kills per set and 4.76 points per set.
• Chloe Chicoine has achieved four double-doubles this season, making him the leading player on his team.

ADJUSTING AS YOU GO: PURDUE’S IMPROVEMENTS COMPARED TO SET 1 AND SET 2

• Purdue has improved in at least one aspect in 10 of 11 games from Set 1 to Set 2, including a 10-game streak.
• The Boilermakers’ sideout percentage increased from Set 1 to Set 2 in seven of eleven games.
• Every time the number of errors decreased, it decreased by at least three.
• In eight of Purdue’s 11 games, the team improved in multiple statistical categories (fewer errors, higher hit rate, higher sideout rate, higher block rate, and/or higher kill rate).

SCOUTING #4 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS

• After facing a Kansas team that ranks No. 1 nationally in batting average last week, Purdue will face a Penn State team that ranks No. 2 nationally (.329) this week.
• The Boilermakers will face a Penn State team that just ousted Purdue from first place in the league in kills per set (14.57), a mark that also ranks fifth nationally.
• Penn State has a 3-1 record against top-15 opponents, including a home win over then-No. 4 Louisville and a 3-2 win over Kentucky. The team’s only loss was last week in straight sets to No. 1 Pitt.
• Individually, center Taylor Trammell ranks 8th in the nation in hitting percentage (.481) and setter Izzy Starck ranks 15th in assists per set.
• The team is led by Jess Mruzik, a 2023 second-team All-American and named to the AVCA Player of the Year list last week, who averages 4.09 kills per set at a .307 clip.

SCOUTING #16 MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS

• Minnesota has one of the best defenses in the country, leading the Big Ten and ranking 8th nationally in defensive actions per set (17.66), 3rd in the league and 14th in the nation in opponent hitting percentage (.140).
• The Gophers have held their opponents under .200 in their last seven straight games.
• Before playing Purdue, Minnesota will face No. 7 Wisconsin (on BTN) at home on Wednesday, immediately following Purdue’s game against Penn State.
• Veteran setter Melanie Shaffmaster was named to the AVCA’s Players of the Year list last week. She averages 8.46 assists per set, leads the team in service aces (13) and is second on the team in digs per set (3.43).
• Three Gophers lead the attack: Julia Hanson (3.61 kills/set), McKenna Wucherer (2.67/set) and Lydia Grote (2.47/set). Calissa Minatee, meanwhile, leads the way in efficiency with a .421 magazine.

ON A MISSION: RAVEN COLVIN

• No player in DI ranks as high in both hitting percentage and blocks as Colvin. He ranks first in blocks per set (.203) and 11th in hitting percentage (.454).
• She hits and blocks more efficiently than ever before in her career.
• Colvin has nearly doubled her hitting efficiency compared to 2023: .454% versus .280%.
• She has never hit below .440% in six consecutive games.
• Colvin ranks fourth in Purdue history with 535 career blocks. She is one of only two blockers in program history to record that many blocks this century (most recent record-holder: Stephanie Lynch, 660 blocks, 2005-08).
• She is also No. 2 in Purdue history and the only Boilermaker this century to record 1.40 blocks per set in her career (record holder: Donna Gill, 1.49 blocks/set, 1991-92).
• She is on pace to set a Big Ten single-season record in blocks per set (current record: 1.85, set in 1996).
• Named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after back-to-back .571% performances, seven blocks against #10 Kentucky and four against Houston.
• The Boiler has recorded two 10-block performances: against K-State (August 30) and at Utah State (September 7).
• Number of games with one or less attack errors: 6
• Number of games with an average of .300 or more: 6
• Number of games with an average of .400 or more: 8
• Number of games with an average of .500 or more: 4
• Number of games with an average of .700 or more: 2

SMOOTH AND STABLE: SETTER TAYLOR ANDERSON

• Anderson has scheduled four games for Purdue with a percentage over .300%, including .310 against #10 Kentucky and .450 against UC Davis.
• She averages 10.95 assists per set, 2.24 digs per set, and 1.18 blocks per set.
• With 45 blocks this season, she leads all Big Ten setters (the second most is Mia Tuman of USC with 34).
• Anderson has become more aggressive on offense compared to her freshman season, averaging 0.53 kills per set compared to 0.31 last season (35 kills in 2023 versus 20 already in 2024). In fact, her numbers are up in virtually every category, including digs per set (1.97 versus 2.24), assists per set (9.88 versus 10.95), and blocks (0.85 versus 1.18).
• Has posted 7 or more blocks three times this season.
• 40 or more assists in a game this season: 5
• 50 or more assists in a game this season: 1
• Double-doubles this season: 3

QUICK HITS: LAST WEEK AT A GLANCE

• Purdue went 1-2 at Kansas after playing two top-10 teams in less than 24 hours.
• Throughout the tournament, Purdue was on par with its opponents in kills/set (14.45), more blocks (2.64 vs. 2) and more serves (11-9). The difference was in the defensive games (13.82 vs. 15.00 digs/set).
• Additional points were needed to decide set 1 against #10 Kansas (29-31) and set 4 against #9 Creighton (25-27).
• Purdue held four set points in the first set in Kansas before losing 29-31.
• Colvin hit .453% throughout the tournament.
• Anderson averaged 10.91 assists/set, 2.27 digs/set and 1.36 blocks/set.
• Hudson averaged 4.27 kills/set, or 0.280%, and remained virtually error-free in Kansas.