3 Thoughts From No. 10 Purdue Volleyball's 3-Set Loss to No. 6 Wisconsin

Wisconsin left Mackey Arena with a dominant win over Purdue on Sunday. Here are a few thoughts from the Boilers' first Big Ten loss.

The Purdue volleyball team celebrates a point. | Purdue Athletics

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The stage was set for a massive top-10 showdown in Mackey Arena on Sunday afternoon between No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 10 Purdue. But the Badgers flexed their muscles in West Lafayette, cruising to a three-set victory.

With the loss, the Boilermakers dropped to 8-3 in the Big Ten and sit 1-1 in Big Ten play. Dave Shondell's team doesn't have any time to dwell, as Purdue heads to the West Coast to play Oregon and Washington this weekend.

Before turning the page to next weekend, here are a few thoughts from Purdue's loss to Wisconsin.

Purdue head coach Dave Shondell signals a play call. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Wisconsin shared the wealth

The Badgers were led by Decelise Champion, who finished the match with 11 kills, nine digs and five blocks. But she wasn't alone on Wisconsin's attack. Five different players finished the afternoon with at least five kills.

Audrey Flanagan had nine kills on 24 attempts, Eva Travis had seven kills, Lynney Tarnow finished with six and Jaela Auguste totaled five. The Badgers also accounted for eight team blocks.

Purdue didn't have much of an answer for those five, especially at the net. At times, the back row played well, but there were too many mistakes to overcome.

Mental errors

Wisconsin set the tone inside Mackey Arena, jumping out to an 8-3 lead in the opening set. After that, Purdue looked flustered by the Badgers' block. The Boilers failed to find fingertips, attempted to go with straight power too often and didn't make great decisions.

There were times when Purdue looked like it might be able to make a run, but Wisconsin always responded. The Boilers played much better in the third set, and even held a 15-14 advantage at the media timeout. But immediately after that, the Badgers put together a 4-0 run to take control of the set.

The Boilers looked like a team trying too hard to find answers. It only compounded the problem throughout the afternoon.

Lacking service pressure

Purdue's service pressure was better in the final set, but it wasn't consistent throughout the match. The Boilers only had four service errors, but they only had three aces, as well. To beat teams like Wisconsin, it's critical to take them out of system.

That wasn't the case for Purdue on Sunday afternoon. The Badgers were playing in system most of the night. Flanagan received the ball 25 times on serves, yet only made one error.

Service pressure has been a strength for Purdue early in the season, but it wasn't on Sunday.

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