Purdue Sports Update: Dec. 1

Holloway to Host NCAA Volleyball 1st & 2nd Rounds

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The NCAA Volleyball Selection Committee has chosen Purdue to host the NCAA First & Second Rounds at Holloway Gymnasium on Thursday, December 4 and Friday, December 5. The Boilermakers, an overall top-16 team with hosting rights, were tabbed as a No. 3 seed and will face Wright State in the first round on Thursday at approximately 7 p.m. ET or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the 4:30 p.m. ET match, which features Arkansas State and No. 6 seed Baylor.

The winners of the Purdue/Wright State and Arkansas State/Baylor will then play in the NCAA Second Round on Friday at 6 p.m. ET. All NCAA First & Second Round matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

Tickets will go on-sale tomorrow, Monday, December 1 at 10 a.m. ET through the Purdue Athletics ticket office. Fans can purchase tickets online HERE.

The match vs. Wright State will be the second in the teams’ program history, with the first coming in the NCAA tournament in 2019, when the Raiders came to Holloway (12/6/2019).

The NCAA Regionals are scheduled for the following week, Thursday December 11 through Sunday, December 14. The NCAA Semifinals are set for Thursday, December 18 and the NCAA Championship on Sunday, December 21.

The Boilermakers enter postseason play after one of its most successful seasons in program history, finishing third in the Big Ten standings behind a 24-6 (15-5 Big Ten) record. Together, the team secured eight top-25 wins and 10 against teams ranked or receiving votes, produced a program-record three reverse sweeps and posted the second-highest team hitting percentage in single-season history (.285).

Purdue in the NCAA Tournament: Quick Hits

• Purdue has earned a postseason berth for 11 consecutive years.
• Dave Shondell have led Purdue to 20 NCAA appearances in his 23 seasons.
• It is the program’s 37th overall NCAA appearance.
• It is Purdue’s third straight year earning a three seed or better.
• The team’s No. 3 seed is the best since 2023 (also a three-seed).
• Purdue and Wright State have met once before in its series history, which also came in West Lafayette for the NCAA tournament (12/6/2019).
• Purdue and Wright State have met once before in its series history, which also came in West Lafayette for the NCAA tournament (12/6/2019).
• Purdue and Baylor have met just three times before, with the last also coming in the NCAA Regionals in Waco in 2019 (12/13/2019).
• Purdue and Arkansas State have never played in the regular-season or postseason.

Volleyball Closes Regular Season

The No. 11 Purdue Boilermakers capped off the regular-season with a 3-1 win vs. No. 15 Indiana Hoosiers (25-17, 25-19, 24-26, 25-20) inside Mackey Arena.

With the victory, Purdue finishes third in the Big Ten standings behind a 24-6 (15-5 Big Ten) record, including a 7-4 record against top-25 opponents. Meanwhile, Indiana, a team that was fighting for a third-place finish, finishes fourth with a  23-7 (14-6 Big Ten) record.

Boiler Notes

• Purdue out-blocked Indiana 15-9 in the match, an effort led by Dior Charles’ 11, which was a season-high for the middle transfer.
• Taylor Anderson nearly had a triple double, totaling 31 assists, 10 digs, seven kills (.600 attack %) and six blocks. It was her 11th double-double of the season and a season-high in both kills and blocks.
• Purdue’s third place finish in the Big Ten standings mark the fourth time head coach Dave Shondel has finished at third or better, including the best since 2023 (third-place).
• The Boilers finish the regular-season with a 3-2 record vs. top-15 opponents and 8-4 vs. top-25 teams, and 10-4 vs. teams ranked or receiving votes.
• Against Indiana, Purdue improves to 22-1 at home under HC Dave Shondell, including 69-15 in sets won.
• Purdue volleyball’s all-time record in Mackey Arena: 16-6
• Purdue tied a season-high set hitting % in Set 1 with .571%, allowing just one team attack error in the opening game.

In a heavyweight battle among top-20 teams, Purdue fell to No. 18 Minnesota 1-3 (21-25, 26-28, 25-14, 22-25). With the result, the Boilermakers drop to 23-6 (14-5 Big Ten) while the Gophers improve to 22-8 (12-7 Big Ten).

Purdue led in nearly all statistical categories, including attack efficiency, digs and blocks, but fell short behind the serve line, where the team committed 12 service errors.

The match included 16 tied scores and seven lead changes in the final set.

WBB Falls at Central Michigan, Beats Howard

The women’s basketball team dropped a 57-55 decision on the road at Central Michigan on Sunday afternoon. The Boilermakers had two attempts to tie the game under 10 seconds, but a block and a final shot at the horn came up short.

Purdue was led in scoring by Tara Daye’s 14 points, her fifth game in double figures this season. The redshirt junior led the way on the glass with eight rebounds and posted three steals.

Madison Layden-Zay became the 17th player in Purdue history to reach 100 career starts. The fifth year was one of three players – Kiki Smith and Kendall Puryear – to finish with seven points on the afternoon.

The Boilermakers shot an even 40% from the field and went 3-of-11 from behind the arc. Nya Smith gave Purdue a boost off the bench with a career-high five assists.

Central Michigan shot 44.4% from the floor and had two players finish in double figures, led by Ayannna-Sarai Darrington’s 16 points.

NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series with Central Michigan 6-5.
• Layden-Zay connected once from the outside pulling her within 16 of Katie Gearlds for third on Purdue’s all-time list. She is 22 3-pointers shy of Karissa McLaughlin’s record of 244.
• Layden-Zay passed Tonya Kirk for 30th on Purdue’s all-time scoring list. She now has 1,090 for her career.
• Taylor Feldman finished with five points. She is 68 points away from 1,000 for her career.

UP NEXT
Purdue will return to Mackey Arena on Wednesday to square off with Evansville at 7 p.m. on B1G+. It will be Purdue’s final game of December that will tip after noon. 

Purdue continued its perfect record at Mackey Arena this season with a 92-62 win over Howard on Wednesday afternoon, its largest win of the year. The Boilermakers (4-2) put five players in double figures and outscored Howard (6-2) 40-12 off the bench.

A pair of Boilermakers turned in double-doubles. Lana McCarthy finished with a career-high 19 points and 15 rebounds. The sophomore was 6-of-7 from the field and 7-of-10 at the line. It was the first 19-point, 15-rebound performance by a Boilermaker since Whitney Bays against Ohio State in 2014-15.

Tara Daye posted her second double-double in the last three outings with 15 points and 13 rebounds, both career highs. 

Madison Layden-Zay connected four times from behind the arc to finish with 14 points to go with four rebounds and three assists. Kiki Smith laced a trio of triples to post 13 points and a team-high six assists. Taylor Feldman dished out five helpers in addition to 10 points with a pair of 3-pointers. Purdue finished the afternoon 11-of-27 from behind the arc.

The Boilermakers dished out a season-high 21 assists, their most since a 27-dime performance against Indiana State last year.

Purdue dominated on the glass with a 50-20 margin. It was Purdue’s largest rebounding margin since Nov. 17, 2016, against USC Upstate. Purdue grabbed a season-high 17 offensive rebounds to score 18 points. The Boilermakers also tallied 22 points on the fastbreak.

Sapp Signs Two Standouts to National Letters of Intent

Second-year head men’s golf coach Andrew Sapp has announced the signed recruits for the Class of 2026, consisting of two standout high school golfers that will be on the Boilermaker squad for the 2026-27 season.

Toku Fujiwara and Micah Sheffer have signed their National Letters of Intent and will join the Boilermakers next fall.

“We welcome Micah and Toku to our Purdue Golf Family,” Sapp said. “They are good friends and will push each other as well as the rest of our team to get better and reach our goals. They are a great addition to Purdue.”

Toku Fujiwara | West Chester, Ohio

SAPP SAYS: “We are excited for Toku to join us next fall. It has been incredible to see how much his golf has improved from the time he verbally committed to Purdue to his signing date. I can’t wait to see how much his hard work is going to pay off in these next nine months before he arrives in West Lafayette. He will be a wonderful teammate and contributor to our team.”

• Named first-team All-Conference four times and the GMC Player of the Year three times in Ohio.
• Set the GMC Tournament record as a junior with a 36-hole total of 9-under par 144 (65-70).
• Was the OHSAA Division I Southwest District Player of the Year, first-team All-State and runner-up at the OHSAA Division I State Championship as a senior.
• Posted a 35.8, 9-hole stroke average as a senior, the second-best total in school history.
• Was a two-time GMC conference champion.
• Posted four AJGA top-5 finishes, including a win at the 2024 Future Legends Championship.

Micah Sheffer | Brownstown, Indiana

SAPP SAYS: “Micah is an athlete first and a golfer second. As a successful football and basketball player he brings some great leadership to our program. And his golf is great too. I look forward to seeing how good his golf becomes when he is focusing on golf alone. Micah will arrive in West Lafayette in January and we can’t wait to start working with him and seeing how much he improves and grows leading into the Fall of 2026.”

• One of the state’s top athletes, Sheffer arrives at Purdue after starring on the golf course, the football field and hardwood.
• Two-time all-conference honoree and team MVP in golf, before opting not to play his junior season and playing junior tours instead.
• Named the 2025 Golfweek Player of the Year and won four events on the AJGA and Golfweek Junior Tours last summer.
• In 24 tournaments, he posted 13 top-5 finishes.
• A standout quarterback for Brownstown Central, Sheffer has led Brownstown Central to the Class 2A state championship game played this weekend at Lucas Oil Stadium.
• Has thrown for 1,126 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for over 400 yards. Leads an offense averaging 54.7 points per game.
• On the hardwood, he was a varsity starters for two years, including as a sophomore helping Brownstown Central to the 2024 state championship, alongside current Purdue basketball player Jack Benter.