No. 14 Purdue Sweeps No. 8 SMU to Claim Inaugural Paradise Invitational Title
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The Boilermakers are Paradise Invitational champions. On Sunday, No. 14 Purdue swept No. 8 SMU to claim the tournament title. It was the first collegiate volleyball tournament to be played internationally.
Purdue had a balanced effort during Sunday's championship, with three players reaching a double-digit kill total. Grace Heaney led the way with 12 kills on 30 attacks. She also had six digs and three blocks for the Boilermakers.
Middle blocker Kate Hansen had her best match of the season, tallying 10 kills on 19 attacks. She was also responsible for four blocks. After a bit of a sluggish start, head coach Dave Shondell featured Hansen in the slide, and she took advantage of her opportunities.
The Boilermakers also got 10 kills from outside hitter Mimi Mambu and nine more from fellow hitter Addy Tindall. Dior Charles led the way on the block, totaling five for the match.
Taylor Anderson had 33 assists and nine digs and Ryan McAleer and Elle Schara combined for 20 digs and MaryKate Scheumann recorded a pair of timely aces in the match.
Early in the match, SMU was in control but allowed Purdue to stay close in the first set due to five service errors. The Boilers only gained confidence as the match continued and began to find success on the block.
Purdue totaled five blocks in the first set and four more in the second. It only recorded one in the third set, but the Boilermakers had a .417 kill percentage in the final two sets.
With the victory, Purdue improved to 5-2 on the season and returns to West Lafayette to play four consecutive home matches. The Boilers will host Albany on the first night of the Stacey Clark Classic on Thursday, Sept. 17.
Purdue swept Houston to reach championship
Shondell's team has been on a mission since getting swept by No. 11 TCU last weekend in Holloway Gymnasium. The Boilermakers have not dropped a set since, sweeping IU Indy, Houston and SMU.
To reach the championship of the Paradise Invitational, Purdue swept Houston on Saturday afternoon. Tindall led the way with 22 kills, Mambu added 13 and Heaney totaled 10. Anderson had 41 assists, McAleer had 11 digs and Charles totaled four blocks.
Purdue also had 10 blocks in that match and hit .311 for the day.
The Boilermakers are now undefeated in their two biggest events of the season. Purdue swept No. 14 Texas A&M and defeated Georgia in five sets in the Big Ten-SEC Challenge. They followed it up with a 2-0 trip to the Bahamas.
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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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