2021 has certainly turned out to be an unusual season in volleyball, and not just because a lot of schools were playing just a few months ago. The consensus #1 team isn’t in either of the two traditional power conferences (and will soon be moving to another non-traditional power conference), and neither are the next two teams. Massey only has two Big Tenteen teams in his top 10 - well, they’re also in his top 5, but you get the point. The ACC, SEC and Big 12 are moving toward a Power 5 in volleyball, which is great news for everyone, especially if you’ve seen how competitive some of the NCAA matches have been.

And yes, to bury the lede, the top-ranked school from the Big Tenteen is Purdue. Fourth in both AVCA and Massey, program highs for both. Massey has the Boilers favored in all but one of their remaining matches, with the exception being their November trip to Wisconsin, and it’s not unreasonable to think that the conference title might be decided by Halloween in Holloway and … Madness in Madison I guess? To be sure, Ohio State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Penn State will have something to say about that outcome, but right now, it’s easy to imagine the Boilers and Badgers 1-2 for a while.

#5 Purdue 3, #6 Ohio State 2 (25-17, 19-25, 21-25, 25-22*, 15-11)

Note that the box score says 25-23, but a picture from the match shows 25-22. I rewatched that point on BTN+ and confirmed it was 25-22.

Personnel

Standard lineup with Ellis at second OH and Chinn spelling her during set 3 and finishing out. Colvin appeared in four sets (spelling Trammell for a couple), Ali Hornung in one.

Recap

There’s … no play-by-play. I’m stunned. This was truly an excellent match to watch - I highly recommend going back and watching it if you have BTN+. What I recall is that Purdue did everything well in the first set. Starting in set two, Ohio State began attacking the middle with abandon and not just with their MBs, they ran their OH and OPP also. Purdue finally began to adjust during the third set, held on to take set four, and then really played well in the decisive fifth set, going on a key run to take a lead they would not relinquish.

I might reach out to Purdue about this, this was one of the best matches of the season and I can’t adequately explain it for you.

Stats

The stats were pretty balanced, as you might expect in a match that went down to the wire. Purdue led in aces (5-4) and blocks (11-6), OSU led in kills (71 at .210 to 57 at .214) and assists (65-50), and digs were even at 82-82.

Caitlyn Newton and Grace Cleveland tied for the team lead in kills with 15, although Cleveland hit .205 and Newton hit .175. Hayley Bush had 47 assists and 13 digs for another double-double. Newton shared match honors with 2 aces (+2), and Marissa Hornung (even), Cleveland (+1) and Jael Johnson (+1) served the others. Johnson led all players with 3.5 total blocks; Jena Otec had 22 digs and Newton added 14 for a double-double.

Ohio State’s attack was led by sophomore OH Emily Londot, who led everyone with 20 kills but hit just .048; junior OH Gabby Gonzales (14 at .238), sophomore MB Rylee Rader (12 at .353), freshman MB Arica Davis (11 at .444) and senior OH Mia Grunze (11 at .171) also hit double digits. Junior setter Mac Podraza had a match-high 54 assists. Londot led OSU with 2 aces (even); Rader (-3) and Gonzales (even) had one each. Londot and Gonzales also had solo blocks, with Londot leading the Buckeyes with 2.0 total. Junior libero Kylie Murr (Yorktown/Yorktown HS) had a match-high 29 digs; Gonzales (16), Londot (15) and Podraza (11) all had 10+ digs for double-doubles.

#5 Purdue 3, #97 Indiana 0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-20)

Personnel

Marissa Hornung at libero instead of Otec, Chinn and Koch as the second OH, Ali in for two sets, Torrance, Koch, Chacon and Colvin one each. Nice to be able to get 15 players court time in a rivalry match, credit to the team for taking care of business so that could happen.

Recap

Purdue took control early in set one, jumping out to a 7-1 lead; Indiana would run off three straight on two occasions, the second cutting the lead to 11-9, but the Boilers slowly opened it up again, and at 20-12 they were pretty much safe. They earned their first set point at 24-15, but that one was put aside by a Carly Mills kill; the next went away with an attack error, but Jael Johnson’s kill gave Purdue a 25-17 win on the third set point and put the Good Gals up 1-0.

Set two started out similarly, with the Boilers turning 0-1 into 4-1, but IU responded with three straight to tie, then two more after a service error to take a 5-6 lead. Again, the Boilers slowly opened up a lead, first 8-7, then 10-8, then 13-9, but it wasn’t until a Breana Edwards kill made it 14-11 that Purdue caught fire. With Cleveland at the line, Purdue ran off seven straight to lead 21-11. At 24-13, Purdue’s service error gave Indiana one more shot, but Chinn’s kill sent the Boilers to the locker room up 2-0.

The final score might make you think the third set was hard-fought, but Purdue led the whole way. Up 2-1, a 5-0 burst gave them a safe lead; IU cut it to three points a few times, but at 14-10, a 7-1 run had Purdue at that 21-11 margin yet again. A strong run by Camryn Haworth, including three straight aces, cut it back to four, but Indiana would not score on their serve again, and after Purdue lost a set point for the third straight set, Cleveland gave the Boilers match point with a kill for 25-20, 3-0, and another P for the Spike.

Stats

The run by Haworth gave Indiana a 4-5 advantage in aces, but Purdue led the rest of the categories: 30-27 in kills (.198 to .009 in attack percentage), 12-4 in blocks, 28-24 in assists, and 44-37 in digs.

The short match and error-prone offense meant that only one Purdue player hit double-digit kills, Cleveland with 11 at .212 (Newton just missed with 9 at .304). Bush had a double-double with 11 digs and a match-high 24 assists. Marissa Hornung had match honors with 19 digs and added 2 aces (+2), with Cleveland (even) and Newton (even) serving the others. Cleveland also had the Boilers’ only solo block, and Johnson led all players with 3.0 total.

Indiana’s attack was led by senior OH Breana Edwards, who had 7 kills and hit .000. Freshman setter Camryn Haworth (Fishers/Fishers HS) had 21 assists and a match-high 4 aces (+2); the other ace was from sophomore MB Savannah Kjolhede (even). All four of Indiana’s blocks were solos, with Edwards, senior OH/RS Kari Zumach, freshman OH Mady Saris, and junior MB Kaley Rammelsburg each getting one and tying for team honors with 1.0 total (obviously). Junior libero Paula Cerame led Indiana with 17 digs.

Overall summary

The Ohio State match was like three matches in one: one where the Boilers sweep the Buckeyes and it’s amazing, one where OSU storms back to win 1-3 and we wonder what could have been, and one where “I Believe” does its magic yet again and Purdue’s dream season continues.

It’s odd to see the Spike at stake during the first weekend of conference play, but in a way it was fitting, since it provided both a nice break from a tough pair of home matches and also served as a reminder that conference opponents are always tough on the road, especially rivals. (It also couldn’t have hurt that Wisconsin lost to Maryland the night before. If Shondell and his staff didn’t yet have the Boilers’ full attention for the IU match, that would have done it.)

Of note: Jael Johnson’s defensive performance earned her co-Defensive Player of the Week honors in the conference, which is a big deal. (I have not been great about mentioning conference honors and will try to add those in moving forward.)

Conference standings

Note that standings are in order based on last week’s results, but with Wednesday matches included, since it’s difficult for me to get these done early in the week

Purdue grabs the top spot with their Massey ranking and two big wins; Minnesota, Penn State, Nebraska and Illinois are the other unbeatens, to no one’s surprise.

Wisconsin’s five-set loss at Maryland kept them out of the top group; Michigan nearly upset Minnesota in Minneapolis and beat MSU at home. Maryland was swept at Minnesota but nearly took won Penn State Wednesday; Indiana also beat the Spartans, while Ohio State moved out of the winless group with a Wednesday win at IU.

Next up

A weekend in Holloway, with Illinois and Rutgers the guests this weekend. The Scarlet Knights should be an easy win, but Illinois isn’t quite the opponent their record might suggest - they’re still young but they aren’t completely separate from the team that was rumbling with the top of the conference a couple of seasons ago.

Friday, 7:00 PM: vs #28 Illinois (BTN+, live stats)
Saturday, 7:00 PM: vs #106 Rutgers (BTN+, live stats)

No pictures from IU because road match and COVID risks. Pictures from OSU match courtesy of Purdue Athletics and taken by Andrew Stein - thank you, Andrew, for providing 3000 words for this post, I think the readers like your words more than mine