Purdue Sports Update: Oct. 9

Volleyball Players Gather Honors After Wins on West Coast

Junior outside hitter Kenna Wollard was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Week, following a pair of performances on the road that led to a reverse sweep at No. 24 UCLA and a sweep at No. 17 USC over the weekend.

Wollard, who was selected Big Ten Player of the Week yesterday, led the league in kills (49) last week. Her play included a 33-kill performance on an efficient .369 attack % at No. 24 UCLA to become just the fourth player in Purdue history to post as many kills in a single match, joining two-time Olympian Annie Drews (2014), Aneska Arosarena (1998 & 1999) and Bev Krupa (1998). She was responsible for two kills that took away a pair of Bruin match points at 23-24 and 26-27 in the third set and finished the match one dig shy of a double-double.

Additionally, Wollard led the team in the sweep at USC, totaling 16 kills, a perfect reception % after facing 16 balls, and three blocks.

Wollard joins elite company, as the award marks the eighth time a Boilermaker has earned the prestigious honor and the third time in the last five years.

Up next, Purdue will travel to Ohio State for a midweek matchup. The Boilermakers will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. Then, Purdue returns home for its first match at Holloway Gymnasium in 21 days on Sunday when the team takes on No. 1 Nebraska at 1 p.m. ET. The match will be streamed on B1G+.

Boilermakers Finish Strong in South Bend

The men’s golf team put together three consistent rounds and finished fifth at the competitive Fighting Irish Classic at the Warren Golf Course.

Purdue totaled a 54-hole tally of 9-over par 849 (280-285-284), piecing together the third-lowest round of the day on a day when the scoring average was almost two shots higher per player than Monday’s second round.

UCLA won the event at 7-under par and was followed by North Carolina (-4), Notre Dame (+4) and Louisville (+7). The Boilermakers finished three shots ahead of Iowa, Tennessee and Georgia Southern.

Leading the way for the Boilermakers was senior Kentaro Nanayama and sophomore Supapon Amornchaichan in 12^th place. Nanayama posted rounds of 67-72-72, while Amornchaichan recorded scores of 72-69-70.

Jenson Forrester moved up 11 spots into 23^rd place at 4-over par 214 (69-74-71). Sam Easterbrook was tied for 29^th at 5-over par 215 (73-70-72) and Andre Zhu was tied for 39^th at 7-over par 217 (72-74-71).

Purdue will host the Purdue Fall Invitational next Monday and Tuesday at the Kampen-Cosler Course.

Soccer Heads to Nebraska, Illinois

Purdue heads on the road for a pair of away games at the universities of Nebraska and Illinois on Thursday, October 9 at 8:00 p.m. EDT and Sunday, October 12, at 2:00 p.m. EDT.

The Boilers are 2-3-1 in road games this season, while also sitting 2-3-1 in conference matches. Purdue is 11^th in conference as it stands while Nebraska comes in at 17^th, with Illinois in 6^th.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Nebraska is 5-3-5 on the season and is yet to earn a victory in conference, despite drawing in three matches. The Huskers earned non-conference victories over Southern Indiana, Weber State, Omaha, Oregon State and Kansas State. They are led by Kayma Carpenter who has five goals on the season with two assists.

Illinois started the season with a program-record seven straight wins in non-conference games. The Fighting Illini defeated back-to-back SEC teams in Kentucky and Missouri as well as ACC foe Boston College. Illinois is led by Sarah Foley who has six goals and two assists and Cayla Jackson who has five goals with three assists.

SERIES HISTORY
The Boilers are 5-9-1 against the Huskers, and have not met with them since 2023. In the last matchup, the No. 25 Huskers defeated Purdue 2-0 in Lincoln, Neb. The first meeting with Nebraska was in 2000, where the Boilers lost 4-1 in Lincoln.

The Boilers are 10-16-3 against the Illini, and haven fallen in the last three matches in consecutive years. The last victory for the Boilers was four years ago, defeating Illinois to 2-1 in Champaign. The teams met for the first time in their histories in 1998, with Purdue falling 2-1 also in Champaign.

Buckeridge Named B1G Athlete of the Week

Cross Country’s Douglas Buckeridge was named the Big Ten Men’s Athlete of the Week, the conference announced on Wednesday.

Buckeridge, a senior, is coming off a personal-best 23:10.3 in the 8k that placed him 13th at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invite on Oct. 3. The top 12 at the meet ahead of Buckeridge all ran top 50 times in country this season.

The Melbourne, Australia native’s time is second in the Big Ten and 52nd in the country this season. His time trails only Donnie Fellows (22:50.9 in 2000) and Nathan Walker (23:09.4 in 2024) in Purdue history.

The B1G Athlete of the Week honor is the first weekly of Buckeridge’s career. He is the first Boilermaker to earn athlete of the week since Walker on Sept. 20, 2023. 

Purdue will conclude its regular season on Oct. 18 at the Pre-National Invitational, hosted by Missouri, before postseason competition begins at Big Tens, hosted by Michigan State, on Oct. 31.