Purdue Sports Update: Sept. 8

Volleyball Ousts No. 15 Kansas

No. 17 Purdue continued its winning tradition against ranked opponents inside Holloway Gymnasium, upsetting No. 15 Kansas in five sets (25-16, 19-25, 25-18, 21-25, 15-11). With the result, Purdue picked up two five-set victories within 24 hours as the team improves to a 4-1 record while Kansas falls to 3-4.

Next week, Purdue travels to Indianapolis on Tuesday to play Butler in the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. The match, featuring two Shondell head coaches (Dave Shondell and son Kyle Shondell), is set for a 7 p.m. ET start on ESPN+.

Notes

• The tide turned in the fifth set with a successful challenge by head coach Dave Shondell, ruling the ball was down before the Jayhawks were able to pancake the play, which evened the match, 8-8. Purdue went on to outscore Kansas 9-2 to win the match. Akasha Anderson posted three kills in the run and the match was sealed on a kill by Lindsey Miller.
• With the win, Holloway Gymnasium has seen a ranked win in 12 of the last 14 years for a total of 26 top-25 takedowns during that span.
• Ryan McAleer’s 30 digs marked the most by a Boilermaker since 2021 (Jena Otec: 30 at Maryland, 11/5/21).
• McAleer is the 12th Boilermaker to reach the prestigious 30-dig club and just the fifth underclassman to do so.
• Kenna Wollard finished the Stacey Clark Classic with 63 kills over three matches and 34 digs. Not only did she reach double-double status two nights in a row (15 digs each night), but matched her career-high in digs she set 24 hours ago vs. Bowling Green.
• Taylor Anderson’s 44 assists, 14 dig performance marked her third double-double in the first five matches of the year – the fastest she’s racked up so many double-doubles in a season.
• After middle Dior Charles set the Purdue 5-set record for hitting % last night with her errorless 11 kills on 13 swings, fellow middle Lindsey Miller had herself a night vs. No. 15 Kansas, registering 11 kills and one error on 23 swings (.435%).
• The team’s 87 digs were the most since 2021. In fact, over the last 10 years, Purdue has reached at least 87 digs on just two other occasions (103 vs Minnesota – spring 2021 season and 89 vs. Illinois – 2021 season)
• Purdue improves to 3-0 in five-set matches.
• Purdue improves to 22-1 all-time in Stacey Clark Classic matches.
• 17 Purdue, No. 15 Kansas and No. 23 Georgia Tech each finished with a 2-1 record in the Stacey Clark Classic.

Junior middle blocker Dior Charles set a program record for hitting % in a five-set match in No. 17 Purdue’s effort to topple Bowling Green, 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 25-16, 26-28, 15-9).

Purdue (3-1) picked up its first win of the season at home, while handing Bowling Green its third loss (2-3).

Notes

• Dior Charles set a Purdue record for hitting % in a five-set match and produced the fourth-overall highest clip by a Boilermaker with her errorless .846 attack (11-0-13). Charles also led the way defensively at the net, on six of Purdue’s nine blocks.
• Charles’ efficiency was the second-highest mark by any player in the nation this season.
• For 10 members of the team, it was their first-ever win as a Boilermaker.
• Taylor Anderson tied a career-high 60 assists in the win, adding seven digs, four blocks, two aces and two kills.
• Kenna Wollard led the team in kills for all four matches of the season, ending the night with a double-double: 19 kills on a .318 clip alongside a career-high and team-leading 15 digs. It was her first career double-double.
• The middles’ production generated 25 kills for Purdue with just one error combined, as Charles’ performance was complimented by Lindsey Miller’s .533 clip (9-1-15).
• Purdue improves to 2-0 in five set matches this season.
• A balanced offensive attack saw four Boilermakers reach double-digit kills.
• Redshirt sophomore Grace Heaney hit .314% in the match, the third consecutive time she’s hit at least .300. Meanwhile, she was just one kill shy of tying her season-high after totaling 15 kills in the win vs. Bowling Green.
• Purdue picked up its first Set 1 victory after coming back in the first set to tie the match up at 20-all.
• Libero Ryan McAleer finished the night with 14 digs.
• Nataly Moravec paced the Boilers in Set 1 behind seven kills and a .357 hitting clip and ended the night with 14.
• As a team, Purdue hit .347 in the match. Overall this season, the Boilermakers have hit .347 or better in 50% of their matches.
• The Boilermakers had match point in the fourth set, leading 24-23 and 25-24 before the Falcons came back to take the set, 26-28.

Soccer Wins and Ties

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. –  Purdue soccer returned home in fashion Sunday afternoon, rolling past Western Illinois 4–0 at Folk Field.

The Boilermakers dominated every phase of the match, improving to 3–3–2 on the season, while Chiara Singarella earned her second-career hat trick on her Senior Day. Singarella became the first-ever Purdue player to record two hat tricks.

Senior, Margaux Chauvet, also scored her first-career goal.

From the opening whistle, Purdue piled on the pressure, firing 19 shots in the first half alone. The breakthrough came in the 28th minute when Singarella slotted home her fourth goal of the year, assisted by Zoe Cuneio and goalkeeper Emily Edwards. Despite chance after chance, the score remained 1–0 at halftime thanks to Leathernecks goalkeeper Ariel Bernard, who finished with 10 saves.

The floodgates opened in the second half. In the 75th minute, Singarella struck again, finishing off a sequence created by Cherry Yu and Emilia Deppe. Just three minutes later, she completed her hat trick—her second in a Purdue uniform—off an assist from Katrina Chong. The Boilermakers weren’t done yet: in the 82nd minute, defender Chauvet capped the rout with her first career goal, a strike that sealed the 4–0 win.

In total, Purdue outshot Western Illinois 37–2, with 14 shots on target and 11 corner kicks. Edwards and Ally Lynch combined for the clean sheet without needing to record a save, as the back line kept Western Illinois entirely quiet in the attacking third.

The Boilermakers earned a hard-fought point on the road Thursday night, playing to a 0–0 draw against Dayton at Baujan Field. The result moves the Boilermakers to 2–3–2 on the season.

The Boilers outshot the Flyers 14–6, with seven shots on goal. Megan Santa Cruz, Irene Campo, and Cherry Yu each tested the Dayton goalkeeper, who came up with six saves to keep Purdue off the board.

The Boilers had an early chance when Campo took the first penalty kick of the year for the Boilers, but it was saved to keep the score knotted up.

Emily Edwards recorded two saves to notch her second clean sheet of the season, backed by a back line that allowed just two shots on frame all evening.

Despite the 14 chances for Purdue and seven for Dayton, neither team was able to come away with the finisher. This marks the first tie in the series history between the two teams.

Zhu Honored as Big Ten Golfer of the Week

Redshirt freshman Andre Zhu has been named the Big Ten Golfer of the Week for his role in helping Purdue to a runner-up finish at the Island Resort Intercollegiate.

Playing in his first career event, Zhu finished tied for third at Sage Run Golf Club over the weekend, shooting a 15-under par 201 on rounds of 68-65-68. His 54-hole score of 201 is tied for the third-lowest tournament score in Purdue history while he became the fourth player in Purdue history to record all three tournaments rounds of 68 or better.

Zhu recorded 17 birdies with 35 pars and only two bogeys during the tournament.

The Boilermakers finished second at the Island Resort Intercollegiate, shooting a 49-under par 815 (277-264-274), good for the second-best, 54-hole score in Purdue history.

Purdue will be off until Sept. 18, when it travels to Olympia Fields for the Fighting Illini / Olympia Fields Invitational.

Under Par Rounds Put Purdue in Contention

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Returning to her home state, sophomore Lauren Timpf fired a pair of under-par rounds to lead Purdue Women’s Golf on the first day of the Wolverine Invitational. The Macomb, Michigan, native began the day with a 70 (-1) before carding a career-low 69 (-2) to sit three shots back in third place (-3) heading into Monday’s final round.

As a team, the Boilermakers (+17) are in fourth place. Purdue held the lead following the first round with a 7-over 291. Kent State (+6), Iowa State (+8) and Virginia (+13) all shot par-or-better as a team in the afternoon to leapfrog the Old Gold and Black.

Timpf made eight birdies through the first two rounds on the par 71 University of Michigan Golf Course. She birdied four of the six par 5s throughout the day, playing the lengthy holes 4-under to lead the field in par-5 scoring. The sophomore also played the par 4s under par (-1) to rank third in the field.

Starting her tournament 3-over after three holes, Timpf settled in and did not make a bogey for the rest of her morning round. She made four birdies along the way to move into red figures heading into the afternoon. Timpf birdied all three par 5s in the second round, helping her shoot 69 for the second time this season.

Ashley Kim found herself in the Top 10 after 36 holes, tied for ninth following rounds of 75 (+4) and 70 (-1). Her second round was her first under-par round as a Boilermaker, making four birdies to help shave five strokes off her first round total. Kim ended the day by playing her last nine holes bogey free, adding a trio of birdies down the stretch.

Samantha Brown carded an even-par 71 in the first round, balancing four birdies with four bogeys. The afternoon proved to be difficult for the sophomore, finding only one birdie on her way to a 78 (+7).

Luana Valero contributed to the team score in the first round with a 75 (+4), as she matched Brown and Timpf for a team-high four birdies. Michaela Headlee’s 77 (+6) counted in the afternoon.

The Boilermakers look to finish the tournament strong and move up the leaderboard, while Timpf goes after medalist honors. Purdue is paired with Big Ten foes Illinois (+19) and Michigan (+23) for Monday’s final round, which begins with an 8:45 a.m. ET shotgun start.