Purdue volleyball opens with 3-0 win over No. 8 Minnesota

The Boilers took advantage of a golden opportunity to sweep the No. 8 Gophers at Holloway on Friday night to get off to a 1-0 conference start.

No. 11 Purdue (10-1, 1-0 Big Ten) won its conference opener against Minnesota (5-4, 0-1 Big Ten) in three sets Friday night in Holloway Gymnasium.

How sweep it is! 💥@PurdueVB x @B1GVolleyball pic.twitter.com/BZ3A43qysy

— Purdue On BTN (@PurdueOnBTN) September 24, 2022

The team was without junior setter Megan Renner for the first time tonight this season. Head coach Dave Shondell said she had an “undisclosed injury,” but “was doing fine.”

Head Fifth-year setter Grace Balensiefer, led the Boilermakers with 40 assists, the most they’ve seen in three sets all year.

“I don't have time to get into what kind of lesson we saw tonight that has to do not only with volleyball but also in life,” Shondell said. “When a kid in their fifth year just wants to come be part of a Big Ten program in their hometown, and comes in willing to be a practice player if that's what it means.

And then to work hard enough to get an opportunity to go out and play like this — it’s just a great human interest story as far as I'm concerned.”

Freshman outside hitter Eva Hudson led the Boilers in kills once again, tallying 11. Hudson got the scoring started for the Boilermakers in a back-and-forth first set with an early 3 kills to get the crowd at Holloway Gymnasium roaring. Two ace serves in a row for senior libero Maddie Schermerhorn helped Purdue escape a dangerous 3-point deficit.

After that, it was all Boilermakers as they proceeded to outscore the Gophers 17-11 in route to a huge 25-18 set one victory. Hudson led the way for Purdue with 8 kills and sophomore middle blocker Raven Colvin was second with 4 kills.

The second set started in the exact opposite fashion as Minnesota led by as much as 5 points when it was 12-7 Gophers. However, the Boiler block held its ground and helped Purdue tie the match up at 16 a piece just as the Gophers began gaining momentum.

After a close battle coming down to an unsuccessfully challenged call, Purdue came out on top winning set two 25-23. Hudson added 3 kills in the set to bring her total to 11 on the match. Also, Colvin and senior middle blocker Hannah Clayton combined for 6 blocks to put the Boilermaker ahead 2-0.

Even though the early score in the third set read 11-9, all the momentum seemingly went in favor of Purdue as the sold-out Holloway crowd was rocking. A trade-off for points ensued, but the Gophers weren’t going to go away. Even when Purdue had a 18-15 lead, forcing Minnesota to take a timeout, the Gophers came right back to tie the set at 19 points.

After a hard-fought battle , the Boilermakers came out on top, taking the third set 32-30 sweeping the Gophers 3-0 in Holloway giving them their first Big Ten win of the season. Hudson ended her campaign with 21 kills while Colvin and Clayton had eight apiece.

The win is likely to boost Purdue in the national rankings, as five Big Ten teams, including Minnesota, are currently ranked ahead of Purdue.

Former Purdue All-American outside hitter Grace Cleveland and star middle blocker and wife of Purdue sixth-year senior quarterback Aiden O’Connell, Jael Johnson, made appearances at the game to support the Boilermakers.

Purdue next travels to take on Iowa on Sunday. The match will begin at 1 p.m. and will air on ESPN.