On Senior Night, Purdue beats Michigan in 4 sets - 25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23
Purdue's seniors led the charge on Senior Night in what might be their last game at Holloway Gymnasium.
Grace Balensiefer led the Boilermakers with 36 assists. The senior from Lafayette, Indiana was nearly perfect setting up her teammates the entire match. She had no errors.
Maddie Schermerhorn had the highlight of the night, digging the ball once and saving it again before she was able to even get off the court. Schermerhorn had 22 digs and 7 assists on the night.
Raven Colvin had 9 combined blocks and was big in the third set, helping Purdue come from behind. Colvin also had 11 kills.
Eva Hudson continues her freshman dominance. She led the team with 15 kills and contributed 7 digs.
Purdue's Seniors: Ava Torrance, Grace Balensiefer, Maddy Chinn, Maddie Schermerhorn, Maddie Koch, Emma Ellis and Hannah Clayton.
Purdue 25, Michigan 23 - Set 1
Purdue's Maddie Schermerhorn was still on the ground from a dig when the ball ricocheted back towards her with Purdue up 24-23.
Just before the point, normally reserved Coach Dave Shondell had made his way to the court and implored his players, "Right now."
Shermerhorn responded by tossing her hand up behind her, somehow catching the volleyball and sending it back over the net. She kept the point alive and a Maddy Chinn kill would give Purdue the first set, 25-23 on Senior Night for the Boilers.
Eva Hudson led the Boilers with 5 kills and 0 errors in the first set. The freshman continues her Freshman of the year campaign with another strong set on a night for the upper class women.
Michigan 25, Purdue 23 - Set 2
Michigan's scrappy Wolverines were able to respond and recover from a 9-2 deficit in the second half to win the second set 25-23.
Michigan and Purdue were tied at 17, but three straight errors gave Purdue a 3 point lead and it looked like the Boilermakers were ready to take the second straight set to start the match.
But Megan Renner couldn't handle a serve and Eva Hudson missed an attack and Michigan was tied with Purdue again at 22. Michigan's Maddie Dowd's Ace pushed Michigan to a 23-22 lead and a Hannah Clayton spike was blocked by Michigan to give the Wolverines the second set.
Purdue 25, Michigan 21 - Set 3
Eva Hudson polished another set off with a powerful kill and Purdue fought off another Michigan surge to take the 2-1 lead in sets.
Raven Colvin's ability to defend above the net really started to show in Purdue's third set. She added to her block assist totals, leading the way with 5 going into the fourth set with two block scores in the third set.
Purdue's collection of high-flying strikers was too much for the Michigan Wolverines.
On senior night, Grace Balensiefer, the Lafayette native made sure to add one more spectacular highlight to her career in Holloway Gymnasium, chasing out a wild dig three feet off the court and saving it back over her head to breathe life back into a Purdue team trailing 14-7 in the fourth set.
Purdue clawed back to tie the game, but couldn't push ahead of the Wolverines more than a point, that is until Balensiefer stepped up to serve with a narrow 22-21 lead. She drilled her serve and served up a final bit of Senior magic on Senior night, giving Purdue the 23-21 lead.
If that's not a good enough ending for you, two seniors combined for the final block assist, Hannah Clayton and Maddy Chinn, and Purdue won the fourth and final set 25-23. q
