Two Boilermakers Named Big Ten Volleyball Players of the Week After West Coast Wins
In this story:
A pair of wins on the West Coast helped Purdue garner some conference awards this week. Junior outside hitter Kenna Wollard and sophomore libero Ryan McAleer were recipients of Big Ten Player of the Week honors after leading the Boilermakers to a pair of ranked wins over No. 24 UCLA and No. 17 USC last week.
Wollard was named the Big Ten Player of the Week and McAleer earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors after the pair of wins in Los Angeles. It is the second time that both Boilers have received recognition from the league this season.
With the two victories, Purdue improved to 12-2 on the season and 3-1 in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers also moved up to No. 12 in the AVCA poll this week.
Big Ten Player of the Week — Kenna Wollard
Wollard started off Purdue's trip to California with a monster outing against UCLA. She ended the contest with a career-high 33 kills on just 65 swings. That included the game-winning kill to defeat the Bruins 15-11 in a fifth set.
Purdue trailed that match 0-2 and fended off four match points in the third set to pull off the reverse sweep. Wollard was a huge part of that success.
On Saturday, Wollard still had the hot hand, recording 16 kills in a sweep of USC. She led the Big Ten with 49 total kills for the week, averaging 6.13 per set and had a .330 hitting efficiency.
Wollard also had seven blocks during the road trip.
This is the second time Wollard has earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors this season, also getting recognition on Sept. 8, 2025.
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week — Ryan McAleer
McAleer has been stellar at the libero position for the Boilermakers this season, and last week was no exception. She helped Purdue hold UCLA and USC to an average .199 attack percentage in two matches.
She finished the week with a total of 33 digs, recording 16 against UCLA and 17 against USC. The 17 digs against the Trojans was the most for any Big Ten player in a three-set match last week.
So far this season, McAleer has racked up 198 digs, averaging 3.6 per set. She has tallied at least 10 digs in 13 of Purdue's 14 matches this season.
McAleer last earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 15, 2025.
Related stories on Purdue volleyball
SHONDELL SPEECHLESS AFTER WINS: No. 13 Purdue closed out its perfect West Coast trip with a sweep of No. 17 USC on Saturday. Boilermakers coach Dave Shondell was left nearly speechless. CLICK HERE
WOLLARD, ANDERSON ADDED TO NPOY LIST: Two Purdue volleyball stars have been added to the AVCA National Player of the Watch List after impressive starts to the 2025 season. CLICK HERE
IGNITE COACH IMPRESSED BY MACKEY CROWD: Purdue's matches inside Mackey Arena don't just make an impact in West Lafayette and the impact it's showing the state how much the sport can grow. 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.
Follow SchutteDustin