VB continues homestand; Purdue Sports Update: Sept. 14

BOILERMAKER CHALLENGE ON DECK

The No. 17 volleyball team enters its final week of non-conference play with the Boilermaker Challenge.

The Boilermakers (5-2), riding a four-match winning streak, will play a pair of opponents that are receiving votes in the latest AVCA/Taraflex Coaches Poll: vs. UCF (8-1) on Thursday and vs. future Big Ten-member USC (4-4) on Friday. Both matches will air on Big Ten Network at 8 p.m. ET.

HAMMER DOWN CANCER: FRIDAY VS. USC

Purdue’s Hammer Down Cancer match takes place Friday. The Boilermakers are auctioning off specialty Hammer Down Cancer uniforms online, which are currently open to fans. Bidding closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday. Click here to bid on a jersey.The Boilermakers will also be playing in special uniforms, featuring Purdue’s “volt” color in honor of the Hammer Down Cancer efforts.

LAST WEEK AT A GLANCE

Purdue improved to a four-match win streak after taking down SMU 3-1 and #19 Kentucky (3-2).Chloe Chicoine received Player and Freshman of the Week honors and Taylor Anderson was named Setter of the Week for their performances vs. SMU and #19 Kentucky.Purdue recorded eight individual season-highs during the match vs. SMU.The Boilermakers saw some of its most efficient and balanced offenses over the weekend, with a team season-best .346 attack % vs. SMU and a season set-high of .462% vs. #19 Kentucky.

THE DYNAMIC DUO: EVA HUDSON & CHLOE CHICOINE

Purdue is the only Big Ten team to have two players rank in the top-10 in kills per set or points per set: Kills per set: Chloe Chicoine (4th with 4.10) Eva Hudson (9th with 3.52).Points per set: Chicoine (4th with 4.50) and Hudson (10th with 3.90).

STATS TO WATCH

Purdue is two matches away from its 1,000th program win.

FALL BALL: 2 EXHIBITION GAMES, 15 OPEN SCRIMMAGES

Fall exhibition games in both September and October highlight baseball’s fall ball schedule, which also features a bevy of open scrimmages at Alexander Field.

The Boilermakers’ 45-day fall practice calendar begins Monday, Sept. 11. All fall exhibition games and open scrimmages feature free admission.

Purdue has exhibition games against Louisville and Dayton again this fall. The Boilermakers will return to Louisville’s Jim Patterson Stadium in September for the second year in a row, with the game set for Sunday, Sept. 24 at 1 p.m.

Dayton returns to Alexander Field for a 1 p.m. game Sunday, Oct. 15. It will mark the Flyers’ third visit to Alexander Field since March 2022 and the second year in a row the teams have played in the fall.

The coaching staff has designated at least 15 practice dates as scrimmage days, which are also open to the public. Primarily set for Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sunday, scrimmages begin Sept. 12 and traditionally begin during the 3 o’clock hour on weekdays and one o’clock hour on weekends.

Times and scrimmage updates will be shared on social media on the day of and posted here as they become available. Dates and times are subject to change based on weather.

ANDERSON, CHICOINE GARNER BIG TEN WEEKLY AWARDS

Freshmen secured three Big Ten volleyball weekly awards after No. 20 Purdue took down No. 19 Kentucky and SMU during the third week of play. Chloe Chicoine earned Big Ten Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors, while Taylor Anderson received Setter of the Week.

The accolades mark the first time Chicoine received Player of the Week honors, while it was her second straight Freshman of the Week nod. Meanwhile, it was the first weekly award of Anderson’s career.

Chicoine picked up Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week following a Big Ten-best and career-high 24 kills versus No. 19 Kentucky (24-4-48). The performance also included a career-high 25 points and a career-high .375 attack %. Against SMU, Chicoine hit at a .361 clip, with 17 kills and just four errors on 36 swings alongside 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the year.

Overall, the outside hitter averaged 4.89 points per set and 4.56 kills per set last week to lead Purdue to the title of Stacey Clark Classic Champions in addition to her award as tournament MVP.

Anderson led the Big Ten with 11.33 assists per set after making her first two career starts. In one of the strongest first career starts by a Boilermaker setter, Anderson dished out 56 assists versus SMU which not only was a season-best for the San Antonio product, but the most by any Boilermaker since 2019 (Hayley Bush in 5 sets vs. Indiana, 10/9/19). Moreover, her 56 assists were the most in a four-setter in six years. In addition, Anderson guided Purdue to its most efficient match of the season with a team hitting % of .346. The 56 assists were complimented by a career-high six total blocks (1 solo, 5 assisted) and an errorless three kills (.600 attack %).

Anderson was named to the Stacey Clark All-Tournament Team after closing out the weekend with a double-double: 46 assists and 12 digs in the win versus No. 19 Kentucky. During the match, Purdue had its most efficient set of the year, boasting a .462 attack % (16-4-26) in the third set versus Kentucky.

It is the first time a Purdue freshman was named Setter of the Week and the first among the league in three seasons (last: Melanie Shaffmaster, 2020). Meanwhile, Chicoine is the second Boilermaker (joins sophomore Eva Hudson) as the program’s only freshman to earn Player of the Week.

BOILERMAKERS BATTLE NATION’S TOP TEAMS AT OLYMPIA FIELDS

The men’s golf team travels to one of America’s greatest courses to face a loaded field at the Olympia Fields Invitational.

The 54-hole tournament starts Friday and ends Sunday with 15 teams playing 18 holes each day on the difficult North course. The tournament is being played just three weeks after the conclusion of the BMW Championships won by Viktor Hovland. The tournament was the last event before the season-ending Tour Championships.

The field is considered the strongest in college golf this year. Seven of the 15 teams in the field made the NCAA Championships match play finals last May, including defending National Champion Florida. All 15 teams in the field made NCAA Regionals with 11 of the teams reaching Nationals. The last five National Champions are in the field, dating to the 2018 event.

‘FORGING’ AHEAD CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCED

The John Purdue Club and Purdue Athletics have partnered to launch the Forging Ahead campaign, it was announced Thursday (Sept. 14) by vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics Mike Bobinski.

With an ever-present eye towards innovation, the $18.69 million fundraising campaign is designed to fund a data-driven approach to recruiting, retention, and the development of championship teams across all 18 Boilermaker sport programs. Paying homage to Purdue’s founding in 1869, the fundraising goal will allow for the launch of the initiative in the near term while also establishing a substantial endowment that will annually produce capital to support programming and staffing needs.

“We’ve been fortunate to have donors generously support us over the past seven years and provide funds for extensive renovation and improvement projects that create competition environments that are second to none,” said Bobinski. “As we plan our next significant fundraising initiative through the John Purdue Club, our focus is on winning championships in the state-of-the-art environments we’ve built. The Forging Ahead campaign is about taking the next step in our ongoing quest for greatness by investing in systematic and impactful data analysis, programming and staffing to achieve a championship culture by design.”

The campaign will involve a comprehensive evaluation of multiple areas impacting departmental culture, including the investment by Purdue Athletics in a partnership with Profile, a behavioral assessment agency owned and operated in West Lafayette. Profile founder and CEO, Chad Brown, is a former Purdue Football student-athlete who also coached alongside legendary Purdue Football head coach Joe Tiller.

“We want nothing more than to see Purdue succeed,” said Brown. “It has been an honor to serve the teams we’ve worked with thus far, and we are incredibly excited about what the future holds with expanding the partnership.”

Profile already works with Purdue Men’s Basketball and Wrestling, with both programs experiencing positive outcomes. The relationship between L. Dick Buell head coach Matt Painter’s program and Profile has existed for 12 years, and has evolved to help identify new tools and techniques to recruit and develop champions via the partnership. Team results during that time span include multiple Big Ten Conference championships, multiple weeks ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation, numerous All-America accolades, multiple NBA Draft selections and a consensus National Player of the Year.

“Working with Chad over the years helped me realize that I needed to be more adaptable,” said Painter. “I needed to be more intentional about recruiting players who were not just the most talented guys in the country, but the best fit for Purdue Men’s Basketball. We now require every recruit to take Profile’s assessment to ensure we are achieving that goal and consistently rely on their report throughout their time in our program to hold ourselves accountable in meeting their needs as coaches. When you do that, guys want to stick around.

“Like Chad, I am a proud alum who wants nothing more than to see our Purdue Athletics programs excel. True to Purdue form, Profile has identified a way to put us at the forefront of using data analytics to succeed at a high level, and I want to see all 18 of our programs share in that experience.”

Purdue Wrestling began collaborating with Profile midway through last season and saw immediate results, including several All-America finishes at the NCAA Wrestling Championships, the biggest upset in recent college wrestling history and a Top 20 finish at the national tournament.

Purdue University’s athletics department is one of only a handful at the Division I level that is entirely self-sustaining: the department does not receive any taxpayer dollars or Purdue student fees. Because of that, and to reflect the importance of this priority for the department, those who donate to Forging Ahead will receive additional John Purdue Club priority points, as follows:

Donors will receive 2 priority points per $100 for all cash gifts made throughout the course of the campaign.Donors who sign at least a $50,000 cash pledge (that can be paid off over five years) will receive 1 priority point per $100 upfront. In addition, 1 priority point per $100 will be awarded after each pledge payment is received.For example, Purdue Pete commits to a $50,000 signed cash pledge. He will receive 500 priority points upfront. The rest of Purdue Pete’s priority points will be awarded as 1 priority point per $100 after he makes each pledge payment.

Boilermakers can support the initiative by visiting johnpurdueclub.com or donating directly at boile.rs/forging-ahead. Please note, contributions to Forging Ahead are in addition to and will not count towards John Purdue Club membership.

If you would like more information or have questions, contact your Boilermaker Athletics Representative or the John Purdue Club offices at 765.494.2582.

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