Purdue pulls off big sweep over Minnesota volleyball to open Big Ten play (2024)

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What a statement for Purdue. The Boilermakers pulled off a huge sweep over No. 8 Minnesota to make a big statement heading into conference play. Purdue played so well on all fronts — they passed so well to set up great opportunities on offense, and served really tough. They totaled five aces on the match and outhit the Gophers .246 to .204. Eva Hudson put on a show tonight, with 21 kills on .372 hitting. Raven Colvin followed with eight kills and Hannah Clayton was huge later in the games with eight kills on .467 hitting.

Taylor Landfair led the Gophers with 17 kills, and the freshman McKenna Wucherer added 13 kills in the loss.

We did have an absolutely INCREDIBLE third and final set though. The Boilermakers had five match-points before they finally won set 3 by a score of 32-30. Here is what happened late in the third:

Minnesota gained some momentum and energy to tie the set up at 19-all. Taylor Landfair tooled one off the block and then she and Carter Booth picked up a big block before Purdue called a timeout. Right out of the break though, Purdue took the momentum right back, which is exactly what they were able to do all set long, with two back-to-back kills. A crazy defensive rally that ended up in Purdue's favor gave the Boilermakers a 22-20 lead. Minnesota tied it back up again at 22 with an uncharacteristic error from Hudson and Purdue took another timeout. We all knew if Hudson got the ball back, it would be a different outcome. Out of the time out she absolutely hammered one down. Purdue picked up match point, but Minnesota absolutely battled back for set-point themselves, 25-24. The match was then tied up at 25, then again at 26, then again at 27, then again at 28, then again at 29, then again at 30 ... Man did Purdue want the sweep and man did Minnesota want to keep playing. Purdue picked up match point no. 5 and Colvin FINALLY got it down, finding the middle of ground on the other side of the net for the win.

Eva was ⚡️ ELECTRIC ⚡️@PurdueVB freshman Eva Hudson matched her career high of 2️⃣1️⃣ kills in the 11th-ranked Boilermakers' Friday night sweep against No. 8 Minnesota.#NCAAWVB pic.twitter.com/8pma6lx8bo

— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) September 24, 2022

We are seeing some high-level volleyball in the third set, especially on offense. Minnesota is facing a win-or-go-home set, but Purdue has kept its foot in the gas pedal. When in-system, they have been able to get some quick sets to their middles which has been really successful — Hannah Clayton hammered down two back-to-back kills, followed by a a kill from Eva Hudson on the outside before Minnesota called a timeout. Madeline Koch notched another for Purdue out of the timeout, making it a 4-0 run to take a 12-9 lead.

Speaking of Hudson, the freshman is up to 16 kills on the match. She is attacking from everywhere as a six-rotation player, and she has been really efficient.

The Boilermakers are looking good. Purdue took a 2-0 lead on the match with a 25-23 win in set two.Set two was a game of runs. Both Purdue and Minnesota alternated runs of three points or so throughout the set, and Purdue went on a 4-0 run to win the set. Madeline Koch hammered one down to give the Boilermakers set point, and then a Minnesota attacking error sealed the deal. Eva Hudson is up to 11 kills for Purdue at a strong .360 clip. Koch and Hannah Clayton stepped up a bit in the second set as well to provide a few extra points apiece.

As far as stats go, the numbers are fairly close. However Purdue is coming up clutch when it matters. They are riding with the crowd at their home court, and now have a 2-0 lead on the match.

You can't make this stuff up. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/pXl4yqnLII

— Purdue Volleyball (@PurdueVB) September 24, 2022

The Gophers have a five-point lead in the second set, up 11-6 when the Boilermakers took a timeout to slow the roll. Purdue's hitting percentage has drastically decreased in the second set, hitting .000 so far as the Gophers took a lead. No lead is safe, though. The Boilermakers are charging back and got some clutch points from Hannah Clayton. Purdue has cut the deficit to two, down 14-2 in the second.

.@melshaffmaster keeps it alive, @JennaWenaas finishes it off!#Gophers lead early in set two. pic.twitter.com/yQNjFrsTyk

— Minnesota Volleyball (@GopherVBall) September 24, 2022

The Purdue Boilermakers took the first set 25-18 after a mid-set run gave them a huge advantage. The Boilermakers just barely outhit Minnesota .294 to .276 — both teams were siding out very quickly. The difference though was Purdue's 10-1 run to take a 18-12 lead in the middle of the set.Schermerhorn posted three service aces in the middle of that run as well.

Eva Hudson posted eight kills on .571 hitting, and Raven Colvin was huge for the Boilermakers — adding four kills at a .429 clip. McKenna Wucherer and Taylor Landfair led the way offensively for Minnesota.

The Gophers were off to a hot start, hitting a strong .583 early to start the match. Purdue started off hitting .250, but hanging in there, only trailing by one or two points. Eva Hudson is leading all hitters for Purdue, with five kills already.

The Boilermakers went on a HUGE run with MaddieSchermerhorn behind the service line. They were in the midst of a 5-0 run to take a 15-11 lead before a media timeout. Minnesota will need to regroup and come out of the timeout and sideout.

We have a huge in-conference battle with a spot in the top-10 on the line as conference play opens up. The Big Ten is an incredible volleyball conference, and week after week the top teams in the nation go head-to-head. Conference play is just beginning, and we have a good one right out of the gates. Purdue and Minnesota both really need a win here. If you ask me, I'd say a spot in the top-10 is on the line. Minnesota is barely hanging on to its top 10 ranking after it fell to Pepperdine last weekend. Before that, they fell to Stanford (a team now highly ranked) and Texas, but notched big wins over Florida, Oregon and Baylor. Those three wins are starting to look like not enough, if they lose yet again.

Purdue is right outside of the top 10 with just one loss on the season to Louisville, but no big wins. They are in serious need of a ranked win to make their way into the top 10 teams in the nation.

Minnesota is led by Taylor Landfair and Jenna Weenaas offensively. However, highly ranked recruit MckennaWucherer is back now from injury. I am excited to see how she bolsters this offense against a top-tier team. Purdue has a lot of new faces this season, highlighted by the freshman standout — Eva Hudson. She is leading her team by a landslide with 4.85 kills per set. Raven Colvin ranks right behind her with 2.4.

Who: No. 8 Minnesota vs. No. 11 Purdue
Where: West Lafayette, Indiana
When: 8 p.m. ET
How to watch:Big Ten Network