How Purdue Volleyball Can Close Out 2025 Season by Making a Statement
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You can't really say Purdue controls its own destiny in the Big Ten when it's chasing second place, but the Boilermakers have every opportunity to end the year as the conference's second-best team this year, behind only Nebraska. After all that occurred in the offseason, wouldn't that be quite an accomplishment?
Over the weekend, the Boilermakers defeated Maryland 3-0 but lost a five-set match to Oregon, ending their winning streak at nine games. It was the first time Dave Shondell's team had suffered a defeat since falling on Oct. 12 to No. 1 Nebraska.
With the loss, Purdue fell to No. 11 in the AVCA rankings. The Boilers are also 13-3 in Big Ten play, finding themselves tied for second place in the conference standings, along with No. 10 Wisconsin.
Purdue will have a chance to create separation on Wednesday, as it heads to Madison for a showdown with the Badgers. The winner will take sole possession of second place in the league standings.
But that's just a quarter of the challenge that remains for the Boilermakers in the final stretch of the regular season. Three of their last four matches come against ranked opponents.
Purdue will play No. 10 Wisconsin on Wednesday night, then will return home for Senior Night against Northwestern on Sunday, Nov. 23. The following week, the Boilers have a road trip to play No. 19 Minnesota before closing out the year against No. 17 Indiana at Mackey Arena.
The Boilermakers have already defeated two of those teams this season, taking down Indiana for the Monon Spike on Oct. 16, and beating Minnesota in a five-set match on Oct. 26. The matches against Northwestern and Wisconsin will be the only times Purdue plays those two opponents this year.
Purdue is 22-4 on the season and has turned a lot of heads in the volleyball world. If the Boilers find a way to win the last four matches, it would be quite the accomplishment for a team projected to finish seventh in the Big Ten.
Where does Purdue stand in Bracketology?
As of last week, ESPN's Bracketology for college volleyball had the Boilermakers penciled in as a No. 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament. That could potentially change after suffering the loss to Oregon on Saturday night at Holloway Gymnasium.
Per Avid Volleyball, the latest bracket projects Purdue as a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers are listed in the Lexington Regional. As a top-four seed, they would host the first two rounds of the tournament before heading to Lexington for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds.
If the Boilermakers win out, could they improve their seed line and get back into that No. 2 spot? It certainly would help their chances.
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PURDUE MAKES HISTORY VS. PENN STATE: Purdue made program history in multiple ways with a 3-0 sweep of Penn State at Holloway Gymnasium on Friday night. CLICK HERE
Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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