Purdue Sports Update: Nov. 10

Volleyball’s Win Streak Continues

Just 24 hours after the volleyball squad swept the defending national champions, the Boilermakers secured a 3-1 (25-22, 25-21, 17-25, 25-18) win against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

With the win, the Boilermakers improve to 22-3 (12-2 Big Ten) with eight straight victories, while Iowa drops to 13-13 (4-10 Big Ten). Purdue remains in second place in the Big Ten standings.

Purdue will return to Holloway Gymnasium for two matches within 24 hours, hosting Maryland next Friday at 7 p.m. ET, followed by Oregon on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Both matches will be streamed on B1G+.

Boiler Notes

• Purdue pulled away as the match went on, seeing 17 tied scores and five lead changes in Set 1, followed by just six tied scores and one lead change in Set 2. In Set 3, there was just one tie and lead change and in the fourth, the Boilermakers led the entirety of the match.
• Purdue closed the first set on a 6-1 run after trailing 20-21, with Akasha Anderson putting away the final two points with a solo stuff and kill.
• Purdue has won eight consecutive matches
• The Boilers improve to 5-2 in four-set matches, facing just their third in Big Ten play this season.
• Sienna Foster secured her fifth straight match with an ace, serving up eight in the stretch.
• The Boilers have won nine of their last 10 sets played.
• Kenna Wollard notched a double-double 13 kills, 10 digs for her fifth of the season.
• Taylor Anderson dished out 36 assists, seven digs and a pair of blocks and kills.
• Ryan McAleer anchored the back row with 18 digs.
• Akasha Anderson led the team through the first two sets with eight kills and just one error on 17 swings before finishing the night with 10 kills and a team-leading four blocks (1-3).
• After missing the last eight matches due to injury, middle Lindsey Miller made her return to the court late in Set 2. The grad student went errorless on the attack with six kills on 11 swings (.545%), an efficiency that led all players, while adding three block assists in the process.
• Purdue has won the last 13 consecutive matches against Iowa (2016-2025).
• Over the last eight matches (2021-present), Purdue’s dropped just five sets to Iowa.
• Shondell owns a 38-5 record against Iowa.

With Friday’s sweep over the defending national champions No. 25 Penn State (25-20, 25-21, 25-22), Purdue reached 20 wins, marking the fastest season a Boilermaker squad has reached the benchmark in 14 years.

It is the best start to Big Ten play ever under head coach Dave Shondell. Meanwhile, Purdue (20-3, 11-2 Big Ten) improves to 7-2 against ranked opponents as Penn State (13-10, 7-6 Big Ten) falls to 4-7 against ranked teams.

Boiler Notes

• It is the fifth time in program history that Purdue has posted at least seven wins against ranked opponents in a single season (7 in 2023, 9 in 2021, 8 in 2013 and 7 in 2011).
• Purdue swept Penn State for the first time under Dave Shondell, with the last by Purdue coming in 1987.
• Purdue is 3-2 over the last five matches vs. Penn State.
• The team’s 20-3 (11-2 Big Ten) record marks the second time ever HC Dave Shondell has reached 20 wins so quickly (joined by 2011’s season behind a 20-3, 10-3 Big Ten record).
• The Boilers out-hit the Nittany Lions: .312 vs. .241%. With the mark, Purdue is joined by Nebraska and Kentucky as the only teams to hit as efficiently against the defending National Champions this season.
• Kenna Wollard secured a team-leading 19 kills on a .417 clip (19-4-36), leading all players with double-digit attacks in efficiency, including fellow AVCA National Player of the Year Semifinalist Kennedy Martin, who finished the night with 20 kills on a .296 clip (20-6-47).
• In fact, Purdue contained Martin to just 14 kills – only Nebraska contained Martin to fewer kills in Big Ten play.
• The Boilers hit over .300 for the 10th time this season.
• Taylor Anderson guided the offense with 39 assists and 11 digs in one, if not the fastest, match the setter has reached a double-double after reaching the mark less than halfway through the second set.
• Three Boilers reached double-digit kills: Wollard (19), Akasha Anderson (10) and Grace Heaney (10)
• Akasha Anderson posted just one attack error, with seven errorless kills over the first two sets. It was her fourth match with just one attack error this year.
• Sienna Foster posted a team-leading two aces in the match, improving to four consecutive matches with an ace (seven total aces during the span).

Karsh Drops 24 as Purdue Downs EIU

In just her second collegiate game, Purdue freshman Hila Karsh dropped 24 points as the women’s basketball team pulled away to an 82-67 win over Eastern Illinois on Thursday night at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2022-23.

Karsh went 9-of-14 from the field, 5-of-7 from behind the arc. She added seven rebounds and four assists. Karsh became the first Boilermaker freshman to score 20 points, five rebounds, and five three-pointers since Courtney Moses against Michigan on Jan. 6, 2011.

Kiki Smith posted her second straight game in double figures off the bench with 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Kendall Puryear tacked on 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Freshman Avery Gordon turned in a solid performance over 14 minutes with eight points and six rebounds.

The Boilermakers shot 51.7% from the field and knocked down nine 3-pointers. Purdue posted a plus-seven advantage on the glass and turned 10 offensive rebounds into 12 points.

After a slow start in the first quarter, Purdue scored 20 or more points in each of the final three frames. In the second half, Purdue shot over 50% from the floor and connected six times from behind the arc, finishing with assists on nine of the 17 made field goals in the final 20 minutes.

KEY MOMENTS
EIU (0-2) jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, taking advantage of five Purdue turnovers. After falling behind by as many as seven, Kendall Puryear knocked down a mid-range buzzer beater to make it a four-point deficit after one.

Purdue rolled off an 8-2 run to start the second with three points from both Tara Daye and Puryear. The freshman duo of Karsh and Gordon scored the next eight points for the Boilermakers, as the hosts opened a 33-27 lead. Purdue tallied 20 points in the second quarter at a 46.7% clip to take a 37-32 lead into the break.

Early in the third, Karsh knocked down her third 3-pointer of the night, starting a 10-2 run that opened up a 53-41 advantage with 3:24 to play. Taylor Feldman scored her first points as a Boilermaker to keep the hosts’ lead at double digits heading into the fourth.

Karsh laced another 3-pointer to start the final frame, before EIU chipped the gap down to seven. Smith went on her own nine-point run with a pair of 3-pointers, plus an and-one to put the game away. Madison Layden-Zay capped the night with her 209th career 3-pointer.

NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series against Eastern Illinois 7-3 with a 5-0 record at home. The Boilermakers have won five straight matchups with the Panthers, dating back to 1981.
• Purdue connected on seven or more 3-pointers for the 66th time under head coach Katie Gearlds.
• Purdue scored 80 or more points for the 21st time under coach Katie Gearlds, improving to a 20-1 record on such occurrences.
• The Boilermakers shot 43.3% from three, marking the 27th time the team shot 40% or higher from three under coach Gearlds.
• Layden-Zay moved to 33rd on the all-time Purdue scoring list with a total of 1,037 points.
• She also moved to 21st on the all-time assists list for Purdue with 293 and is one shy of entering the top 20.
• Katie Gearlds picked up her 291st win, pulling her win 300 for her career. 

UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will have the weekend off before heading out on the road for the first time to Purdue Fort Wayne next Wednesday. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

Trio of Multi-Event Winners Propel Purdue Past Iowa

Caitlin Hurley, Ragan Mattice and Abby Marcukaitis all won multiple individual events to account for six of the Boilermakers’ 11 victories in a 190-109 dual meet win vs. Iowa on Friday at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center.

The Boilermakers improved to 4-0 in dual meet action this season and have now won 10 straight duals during the fall semester dating back to a season-opening win at Notre Dame in October 2023.

Hurley swept a pair of freestyle events for the second Friday in a row, winning the 100 and 200 free vs. the Hawkeyes. Mattice swept the distance freestyle events at a dual meet for the second time this fall. Marcukaitis swept the backstroke events.

Avery Worobel and Daryn Wright teamed up to sweep the springboard diving events for the second weekend in a row. They went 1-2 again on 1-meter and Wright led a 1-2-3-4 finish for the Boilermakers on 3-meter, winning with a team season-best list score of 356.25.

The rest of Purdue’s event winners included Meghan Sharma in the 100 breaststroke, her first as a Boilermaker, as well as Campbell Scofield in the 200 butterfly. Purdue also opened the meet with a victory in the 200 medley relay. Marcukaitis and Sharma teamed up with Lara Phipps and Hannah Hill for the win.

Marcuakitis and Wright continue to lead the team with six individual event victories apiece this season. Phipps was part of her team-leading fifth relay winner.

In the tightest finish of the day, Scofield out touched Iowa’s Olivia Swalley by .05 hundredths of a second to win the 200 fly. Swalley went on to win the 200 breast and 400 IM as the Hawkeyes’ top performer of the meet.

Along with the diving events, Purdue also enjoyed 1-2 finishes in the 200 (Hurley and Kate Mouser) and 1000 free (Mattice and Adele Sands). The Boilermakers also dominated the backstroke events. Amie Perna and Abbie Kehmeier finished 2-3 behind Marcukaitis in both events.

Purdue is back in action the week of Nov. 18-21 for the Ohio State Invitational, a co-ed midseason showcase in Columbus.

Baumann, Buell Win Gold; #23 Boilers Nab 6 Medals at Tiger Style Invite

The No. 23 Purdue wrestling team had a strong showing at the annual Tiger Style Invite with 10 placewinners, five finalists and two champions.

The Boilermakers, competing without three of their eight ranked wrestlers, placed fourth as a team in the all-day event inside Hearnes Center.

It was a loaded tournament that included No. 14 Little Rock, No. 15 Missouri, No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 24 South Dakota State.

No. 28 Stoney Buell, competing at 157 lbs, won his second career tournament crown with an unblemished 4-0 effort with two ranked victories. He earned a scrappy 9-7 decision over No. 29 Jaivon Jones (LR) in the quarterfinals and went on to win Purdue’s first gold medal with an 11-6 decision against No. 14 Cael Swensen (SDSU). It was Buell’s highest-ranked win since beating No. 10 Antrell Taylor at the 2023 Cliff Keen Invite.

No. 21 Brody Baumann (174) stayed perfect on the year with three wins over SDSU’s Connor Gaynor (21-5 technical fall, 5:49), SDSU’s No. 31 Moses Espinoza-Owens (10-7 decision) and OU’s Carter Schubert (7-3 decision). Baumann is a flawless 5-0 this season, the hottest start of the redshirt junior’s career.

Baumann wasn’t the only Evansville Mater Dei alum to have a remarkable day. In his first day of college wrestling. freshman Isaiah Schaefer dominated his debut against No. 25 Kade Moore (MIZ), taking a 12-3 major decision. He went on to win two more matches and came up just short of winning the whole thing, dropping an overtime 4-1 decision in the finals. But it was enough to show the Fargo Greco-Roman and Freestyle Junior All-American is legit.

Cole Solomey had a career day as well at 149, winning second place. Hailing from Demotte, Ind., Solomey surprised everyone by taking a major decision, a decision and a medical forfeiture to the title match against No. 6 Josh Edmond. He went down to the wire with the sixth-ranked wrestler, losing 2-1 only because of a second stall warning.

No. 17 Greyson Clark (141) also lost his finals match in overtime, giving up a takedown to Zeke Seltzer (MIZ). The two-time NCAA qualifier grinded out two decision victories to get to the finals and take silver.

Gavin Brown battled back from an early loss to win all the way through the consolation ladder, taking bronze with four wins to improve to 6-1 in his first year as a Boiler. The 149-pounder is making a strong case to become the latest Purdue starter to join the national rankings.

Additionally, Ashton Jackson (125), No. 17 Blake Boarman (133), Isaac Ruble (157) and No. 26 Ben Vanadia (197), all took fourth place in their brackets. Jackson arguably had the most impressive win of the bunch as the No. 16 seed, taking out top-seeded No. 23 Beric Jordan (OU) for his first ranked win.

The Boilermakers amassed 99 team points. Host Mizzou won the tournament again this season with 146.5 points.

MSU OPEN RUNDOWN

On Saturday, six Purdue freshmen made the trip to the Michigan State Open in East Lansing.

Vincent Paino (133) had one of the best performances with a pin, tech. fall and a major decision to place second. Aidan Costello (174) also showed out, taking second with two majors and a decision. Third-place Adrian Pellot (165) picked up a tech, two majors and a decision. Ty Henderson (125) placed fifth with four victories.

UP NEXT

Purdue returns home to host its quad meet known as the Boilermaker Duals next Saturday. The Boilermakers host Buffalo at 10 a.m. ET, Northern Illinois at 12 p.m. and American at 2 p.m. inside Lambert Fieldhouse. Admission is free of charge, and the broadcast will be on B1G+.