Purdue Continues Road Slate With Nebraska, Iowa

Nebraska held off Purdue’s offense enough to defeat the Boilermakers 3-1 in Mackey Arena on Oct. 14. The win sparked a five-match winning streak leading into the contest between the Cornhuskers and the Boilermakers Friday, Nov. 3, in Lincoln, Nebraska, at 8 p.m. ET. Purdue leads its all-time series with Iowa 52-22 but has split the last four contests. The Boilermakers take on the Hawkeyes Sunday, Nov. 5, at 3 p.m. in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have struggled of late, winning just one of their last five contests.

Purdue is coming off a weekend in which it hit .348 against Ohio State and Maryland, leading to its .323 hitting percentage on the season that ranks third in the nation. Sherridan Atkinson (.344), Blake Mohler (.340) and Danielle Cuttino (.330) all rank among the conference’s top 15 hitting percentages this season. Purdue is the only program with three student-athletes ranked in the top 15. Purdue’s hitters have Ashley Evans to thank as she has set the offense to 11.28 assists per set which is good for third in the Big Ten. Cuttino has found the most success offensively with a 3.96 kills per set average that ranks second in the conference and a kill total of 305 that ranks third. Purdue is the league’s toughest program to defend as opponents are averaging just 10.49 digs per set and 1.44 blocks per set. Both figures are worst in the conference.

Serving has been a strength for the Boilermakers in conference play as Purdue is averaging 1.27 service aces per set to rank fourth in the league. Jena Otec’s 14 service aces against Big Ten opponents have her tied for the most by a freshman in the conference this season. She’s averaging .34 aces per set to rank her fourth in league play. Azariah Stahl has aced Big Ten opponents 13 times to average .32 aces per set and rank eighth in the conference.

Notes

• Purdue slides to No. 22 in this week’s AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll and has been ranked in all 11 polls this season. The Boilermakers boast the nation’s 24th best RPI.
• Purdue’s total home attendance of 26,270 fans this season ranks 11th in the nation.
• Purdue is hitting .323 this season and ranks third in the country.
• Ashley Evans is averaging 11.28 assists per set ranking her third in the conference. She ranks fourth in the Big Ten since conference play began as she is averaging 11.20 assists per set through the first 12 Big Ten matches.
• Danielle Cuttino is hitting .330 this season with a 3.96 kills per set average. Her kills per set average is good for second in the Big Ten and she ranks third in total kills with 305. Cuttino is averaging 4.00 kills per set in Big Ten play to rank third in the conference.
• Brooke Peters continues to improve in her first season as Purdue’s libero as she has earned a 3.76 digs per set average in conference play. The average is the second best in the conference among first-year liberos.
• Blake Mohler is earning the reputation as one of the conference’s best young middles as the redshirt-sophomore is hitting .307 this season and averaging 1.00 block per set in conference play. Her hitting percentage is third and her blocks per set average is second among underclassman middles in the conference.
• Since the beginning of Big Ten competition, the Boilermakers have aced opponents 52 times to average 1.27 service aces per set and rank fourth in the league. Azariah Stahl and Jena Oteccombine for 27 of Purdue’s 52 service aces against Big Ten opponents. Otec is tied for the most service aces in the conference by a freshman with 14 in league play.