Purdue Continues Road Stint At Illinois, Northwestern

Press Release courtesy of Purdue Athletics

No. 18 Purdue (13-2, 3-1 B1G) continues its five-game road trip with matches against Illinois (12-3, 3-1 B1G) and Northwestern (11-5, 1-3 B1G). The Fighting Illini present perhaps the toughest matchup since Kansas for the Boilermakers while the Wildcats will be looking to even the score after falling to Purdue in the Big Ten opener.

The Boilermakers kick off the weekend with Illinois Friday, Oct. 6, at 8 p.m. ET before finishing the weekend with the Wildcats Sunday, Oct. 8, at 2 p.m. ET. Friday’s contest will be aired on the Big Ten Network and both matches can be viewed on btn2go.com.

Purdue is coming off back-to-back victories against Indiana in which it registered a .429 hitting percentage with 86 kills in six sets of action. The performance lifted Purdue to a 14.64 kills per set average on the season that leads the Big Ten. The Boilermakers also rank second in the conference in assists per set (13.48) and hitting percentage (.351). Ashley Evans averaged 12 assists per set with 72 assists to fuel Purdue’s offensive effort and earn Big Ten Setter of the Week honors. She’s the first Boilermaker to earn the award since Val Nichol garnered the accolade in 2014. She’s averaging 11.54 assists per set this season to rank third in the conference.

After hitting .491 with 28 kills against Indiana, Danielle Cuttino now ranks third in kills (208) and kills per set (4.24) in the Big Ten. Her .392 hitting percentage this season leads all pin hitters in the Big Ten and ranks eighth among all hitters in the conference. She leads the conference with a 5.15 kills per set average and 67 kills in Big Ten play while boasting a .398 hitting percentage that ranks seventh overall and best among pin hitters. She has registered double-digit kill efforts in all four conference matches with her lowest hitting percentage coming against Ohio State in which she hit .333 with 23 kills in four sets.

She leads a Purdue squad in which all of its hitters are hitting above .300 on the season other than Azariah Stahl who is hitting a very efficient .287 on the outside with 128 kills. Brooke Peterscontinues to hold down the backcourt with 10 consecutive 10-plus dig matches. She also led an effort on serve receive against Indiana in which the Boilermakers sided out 75-percent of the time. The Hoosiers only managed a .101 hitting percentage in the pair of rivalry matchups.

NOTES

• Purdue advances to No. 18 in this week’s AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll and has been ranked in all seven polls this season. The Boilermakers boast the nation’s 17th best RPI.
• Purdue’s total home attendance of 16,151 fans this season ranks eighth in the nation.
• Purdue is hitting .351 this season and ranks second in the country while its 14.64 kills per set average is good for best in the Big Ten and eighth in the nation.
• Ashley Evans averages 11.54 assists per set to rank third in the Big Ten and 13th in the nation. She fuels Purdue’s overall 13.48 assists per set average that ranks second in the conference. In conference play she averages 12 assists per set to rank second in the Big Ten.
• Danielle Cuttino ranks eighth in the conference as an outside hitter with a .392 hitting percentage, owns the third best kills per set average at 4.24 and ranks third in total kills with 208 on the season. Her .392 hitting percentage is the best mark in the conference among pin hitters. In Big Ten play she’s averaging 5.15 kills per set with 67 total kills to lead the conference in both categories.