Purdue Men's Club Volleyball

2021-2022:

We had a historic number of players tryout this year due to a shortened 2020-2021 season. Both teams had to quickly integrate many new players. The fall semester was a success with both teams playing exceptionally well. In the spring, the A team struggled a bit before nationals. At nationals, they figured it out, and finished in the top 25. The B team played extremely well in the spring semester. They won the MIVA tournament, and they carried their momentum to nationals. This resulted in a third overall finish. 

2016 - 2017:

The fall 2016 semester brought another talented crop of new players, expanding Purdue's reach beyond just the Chicagoland area with additions of freshmen Jake Watkins of Indianapolis and Eric Zhang of Northern California.  Both teams travelled to the University of Illinois where Purdue A took second place, followed by the annual Michigan State Back to the Hardwood Classic, then to Northern Illinois University.  The "preseason" ended with the fourth annual Boilermaker Classic, which grew to accommodate two divisions and welcome teams from as far east as Virginia Tech and as far west as Air Force, as well as a Purdue Alumni team.  Both teams entered the spring season ranked in the NCVF rankings, Purdue A at #16 and Purdue B at #11.

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West Lafayette was the site of the Big Ten Round Robin for the fifth consecutive year to begin the spring season.  Using many different permutations of the lineup with some players at multiple positions, Purdue handled Minnesota in three sets before crushing Michigan, losing to #11 Wisconsin, cleanly beating #3 Illinois, and falling to Indiana to close the first day.  Day two saw a win over Northwestern, a disheartening loss to Michigan State, a defeat of Iowa, and a tough loss to #14 Ohio State.  The team struggled to find the exact right lineup combination of chemistry, talent, and executional consistency, but the potential was definitely there.  Junior outside hitter Connor Wright was named to the All-Conference Second Team, and freshman outside hitter Jake Watkins and junior middle blocker Dave Hancock were given honorable mentions.

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A trip to Bloomington for the Hoosier-Illini Classic came next, where similar struggles continued.  Despite escaping Miami (FL) and Notre Dame with wins, a loss to #22 Iowa State proved the team wasn't playing its best volleyball.  A crossover win over Indiana B produced a gold bracket berth, where Purdue lost to Central Florida first thing Sunday morning.  Purdue fell to #22 in the national rankings following the tournament.

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The Big Ten Championship "Extravaganza" took place in March at the tail end of Spring Break in the Chicagoland area, featuring a B team division and an alumni division for the first time ever.  After another loss to Michigan State and a win over Iowa in the morning, the team finally settled on a lineup entering the bracket with an uphill climb to make.  With senior opposite Andrew Birky out of the country on study abroad for the weekend, graduate middle blocker Rob St. Claire moved to the opposite position, and sophomore middle blocker Josh Dailey stepped up to fill the hole.  Former all-conference libero Kyle Obernesser settled in as the starting setter, with senior Kevin Fekete holding down the libero spot.  Connor Wright and Jake Watkins continued their outstanding play at the outside hitter positions, and Dave Hancock further established himself as one of the premier middle blockers in the conference.

 

Northwestern was the first bracket opponent, and the Boilermakers seemed to start to click en route to an easy victory.  #5 Ohio State was the next obstacle, and served as a great opportunity for Purdue to prove themselves as a contender.  Purdue rose to the challenge and played its best match of the season by far, slowing down former NCAA National Champion Peter Edwards and All-American setter Josh Geary with a spectacular blocking and defensive match, coupled with sterling side-out efficiency.  The 25-23, 23-25, 15-11 win was just the validation Purdue needed, as teams around the gym started to take notice.  Hancock was unstoppable in the middle, and St. Claire established himself as a serious threat at the opposite position.  Obernesser entered the tournament with the flu and played through a significant toe injury in the Ohio State match, inspiring his teammates with superior toughness, but the energy drain from the previous match was too much for him and the team against Indiana in the semifinals, narrowly falling short of a third set comeback, 13-15.  Dave Hancock was named to the All-Conference first team, and Kevin Fekete and Rob St. Claire were awarded Second Team honors.

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Purdue moved up to #15 in the rankings entering the MIVA championships, held at Northern Illinois University.  The team was unable to build on its Big Ten Championships success on day 1, falling to lower ranked Northern Illinois and Michigan before beating Miami (OH).  After dropping the first set Sunday morning to Minnesota, Rob St. Claire entered the match at opposite and sparked a successful three set comeback.  Ohio State awaited next, giving Purdue an opportunity to prove the results from a few weeks prior.  Despite a good match, the Boilermakers were unable to do so, losing 22-25, 20-25.  Purdue then dropped down to the silver bracket and beat Michigan State before tournament scheduling issues ended the day early before the match against Iowa could take place.

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Entering NCVF Nationals in Kansas City, Purdue feared that its bad MIVA Championships losses would plummet its seed in the tournament.  Those fears were realized when Purdue was given the 30th overall seed out of 48 teams, the third of four seeds in their first day pool.  Traditional pool matchups gave Purdue their pool's top seed as the first opponent, #6 Arizona State.  Purdue overcame their typical early morning slowness and jumped out quickly, taking the first set and shocking Arizona State awake before taking the match in three sets, and taking Arizona State's #6 overall seed in the process.  All the Boilermakers had to do to maintain the seed was to win the remaining two matches on Thursday, which they did, beating Florida and UNLV to skip the challenge match stage and go straight to Friday's power pools.

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Perennial powerhouses comprised the power pool, including 2016 semifinalist Virginia Tech and a rematch with 2016 power pool opponent USC.  Purdue positively crushed Virginia Tech, and despite falling to USC in three sets, earned a spot in the 16-team gold bracket with a better draw of matchups and championship hopes very much alive.  The entire roster had come alive; it was as if every player had started playing the best volleyball of their career all at the same time.  Purdue thrived flying under the radar, having been seeded 30th overall coming in, and prepared to do some serious damage on Championship Saturday.

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Every match on Saturday came with win-or-go-home stakes, so margin of error was even slimmer than usual.  Tournament favorites and 2016 runners-up Penn State, returning almost their entire lineup from the previous year, were the first opponents.  Entering the starting lineup for the injured Jake Watkins, senior outside hitter Hayden Keller had to join his teammates in rising to the challenge, which Purdue absolutely did in the first set.  The Boilermakers shut down All-American opposite Joe Ferrell and Rob St. Claire, back to the middle blocker position, engineered an eight point service run to catapult Purdue towards a 25-20 first set win.  Penn State All-American outside hitter Ib Almoaiqel carried his team to a second set comeback, setting up a do-or-die third set in what the entire convention center quickly realized to be one of the best matches of the entire tournament.  Purdue used quick blocking and transition attacking to jump out to a 4-0 lead in the decisive set, and never looked back, winning 15-9 and advancing in a huge upset win!

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Conference rival Illinois was next, having beaten #1 overall seed Marquette earlier in the tournament and defeating Cal Poly in the first round.  Purdue hoped to reprise its clean two set win at the Big Ten Round Robin, and did so authoritatively with a 25-15, 25-16 crushing of the Fighting Illini.  Senior setter and club president Mark Mir contributed strongly as a service substitute, and the Boilermakers fired on absolutely all cylinders in the straight set win.  Big Ten Champions and nationally fourth ranked Wisconsin were the likely next opponents in the semifinals.

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However, Wisconsin couldn't overcome the supreme ball control and service pressure of San Diego State in the quarterfinals, losing 14-16 in the third set, giving Purdue a familiar matchup with the southern California squad.  In 2015 in Kansas City, Purdue played SDSU in pool play, mounting a ridiculous comeback from down 14-6 in the third set to 15 to win and keep their gold bracket hopes alive.  In 2016 in Louisville, Purdue played SDSU in the first round of the gold bracket, and lost rather hopelessly in two sets.  With a berth in the national championship game on the line, Purdue was determined to win the rubber matchup, and used another Rob St. Claire service run and unstoppable attacking from opposite Andrew Birky to win the first set, 25-21.  The Purdue and SDSU fan sections got really involved in the match as the teams raced towards the end of set two, where the Aztecs made a comeback of their own to take the set, 26-24.  In the third set, eventual national MVP Andrew Freiha and All-American Alec Tollgaard were too strong for Purdue, ending the Boilermakers' Cinderella run at third place.

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Middle blockers Dave Hancock and Rob St. Claire were named to the All-American First and Second teams, respectively, and in addition to Kyle Obernesser's honorable mention, Connor Wright, Andrew Birky, Kevin Fekete, and Hayden Keller all played incredible volleyball on Saturday and throughout the tournament.  Purdue B also authored an outstanding tournament, beating eventual champion Cal Poly and finishing in the gold bracket.  Third place at NCVF Nationals was the highest finish ever for a Purdue team, and an amazing achievement for the senior class of Mark Mir, Hayden Keller, Andrew Birky, Kevin Fekete, and graduate student Rob St. Claire.  We can't wait to get back to work to go even further next year in St. Louis!

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2015 - 2016:

The fall of 2015 saw another huge turnout for tryouts and the biggest combined team size in club history, with 29 players on the two teams.  The Purdue-hosted Boilermaker Classic saw more growth in size and logistical excellence, and Purdue A survived four three-set matches on Sunday to take second place.  Both teams headed to Indiana for the Hoosier Fall Classic, where Purdue A had won the last two years.  Both teams finished in gold, and Purdue A barely fell to Illinois in the finals for the second straight tournament.  Halloween weekend saw a combined A and B team head to Illinois for the Illini Fall Invite, where the team finished third after beating NAIA powerhouse Clarke’s reserves before losing to their starters.  The annual Back to the Hardwood Classic at Michigan State wrapped up the fall semester, where both teams finished fifth.  Purdue A was ranked #12 nationally entering the spring season, and Purdue B was ranked #8.

 

The Big Ten Round Robin was hosted at Purdue for the fourth straight year, and was Purdue A’s first real look at the rest of the conference.  A rematch of 2015’s Big Ten Championship finals was up first on Saturday morning, where Purdue handled Minnesota in two sets, but not without loss.  Senior opposite Billy Moisan suffered a compound dislocation of his pinky finger in the first set, which ended his season.  Senior Devin Burke came off the bench and played very well for the rest of the tournament in his place.  Wins against Indiana and Ohio State followed, featuring a great blocking sequence by senior outside hitter Chris Bulava to come back and win the second set.  Purdue once again was edged out by Illinois before beating Michigan to end the first day at 4-1.

 

Purdue handled Northwestern, Michigan State, and Iowa to start day two, and was watching the other matches very carefully while sitting at 7-1 before the last match.  It came down to a de facto championship game against Wisconsin, who was also 7-1, to take the regular season title.  Every senior on the team had never beaten Wisconsin in their four-year careers, so the stakes were raised even higher.  One of the closest and most well fought matches of the season came down to extra points in the third set, until senior outside hitter Sam Balaskas crushed a kill against a solo block to win the match and the regular season title, 26-24, 21-25, 16-14.  Chris Bulava was named First Team All-Conference for his performance in the tournament, and senior middle blocker Rob St. Claire and sophomore libero Kyle Obernesser earned second team honors.  The team shot up the rankings to #5 nationally after the win.

 

The Hoosier-Illini Classic was up next.  Purdue A easily beat Notre Dame, Florida, Louisville, Davenport, and Central Florida in pools and power pools to enter the gold bracket.  The first opponent there was Air Force, a well-disciplined team with excellent athletes and an unconventional offensive system.  Despite the unfamiliar matchup, Purdue took the match, 28-26, 26-24.  #2 nationally and tournament favorites Virginia Tech were up next, who Purdue had last seen and beaten at the same tournament in 2013.  Purdue played their best singular set of volleyball all year in the first set, demoralizing Virginia Tech 25-16.  However, Tech came back with strong mental fortitude and took the momentum and the match, 16-25, 25-15,15-9.  Purdue finished in third place.

 

Meanwhile, Purdue B capped off their MIVA regular season at 6-2-1 after their match with Wisconsin had to be cut short due to time constraints.  They entered the MIVA Championships ranked #11 in the nation.

 

A third straight Big Ten Championship was on the line next for Purdue A, as the conference converged on the Athletico Center in Northbrook, Illinois.  Usual host Northwestern’s gyms were under construction, forcing the tournament to be held at a suboptimal volleyball facility, with improper court dimensions and mere feet between the court and the walls.  Purdue beat Indiana soundly in the first match, and won the pool despite losing to Michigan in three sets afterwards.  Northwestern was the first bracket opponent, and Purdue was gaining momentum, winning 25-19, 25-21.  The momentum halted, however, in the semifinal match versus Minnesota, where Purdue fell 23-25, 19-25 and surrendered the Big Ten trophy to eventual champions Illinois.  Rob St. Claire earned first team All-Tournament honors, while Chris Bulava was named to the second team.

 

Purdue hosted the MIVA Championships two weeks later, as the last competition opportunity before Nationals.  #8 Purdue A faced tough competition on day 1, narrowly losing to eventual MIVA and national champions UW-Oshkosh, beating Grand Valley State, and losing a close match to Ohio State.  The day ended, however, with the most exciting match of the whole tournament, a 25-19, 23-25, 23-21 win over #5 Marquette after Kyle Obernesser’s serve hit the back line for a match winning ace.  Rob St. Claire’s broken nose, Obernesser’s back injury and junior outside hitter Andrew Birky’s absence due to Easter contributed to a less successful Sunday, where Purdue lost three set matches to Northern Illinois and Illinois State.

 

Purdue B’s tournament was a mirror image of Purdue A’s, ironically.  Purdue went 0-3 in pool play against UW-Oshkosh, Indiana, and Wisconsin, but completely reversed their fortunes on Sunday.  An easy win over Kentucky preceded a rematch with Indiana in the semifinals, which Purdue won 25-20, 25-19.  The championship match was another rematch from Saturday, versus Wisconsin this time.  Purdue fought and earned a 25-23, 25-21 win, and secured the club’s first ever MIVA Championship!

 

NCVF Nationals was held in Louisville two weeks later, and both teams entered their respective divisions as top seeds in their pools.  Purdue A was seeded 10th overall in Division 1, and had pool matchups with Long Beach State, UW-Milwaukee, and Missouri.  Senior setter Mike Noyes and junior setter Mark Mir ran a smooth offense and Purdue took care of business in pools, finishing at a perfect 3-0.

 

Power pools on day two saw some interesting matchups.  The first was USC, a good fundamental team typical of the California volleyball style.  Andrew Birky saw his first action of the year at opposite, and sophomore middle blocker Dave Hancock had a blocking sequence unlike any other in the third set, leading to a Purdue win, 23-25, 25-23, 15-11.  Next was Marquette, in a rematch of the instant classic from MIVA Championships two weeks before.  Large momentum swings led to a third set, where Hancock’s blocking continued.  Purdue won 17-25, 25-18, 15-11 and took the seventh overall seed entering the gold bracket.

 

San Diego State was the gold bracket matchup, who entered the tournament seeded fourth but dropped sets on day one.  They faced Purdue’s conference mates Illinois and Wisconsin in power pools, beating the former and losing to the latter.  Purdue also knew the team from 2015 Nationals pools, where they came back from down 14-6 in the third set to win.  This year’s match went quite differently, unfortunately.  SDSU’s service pressure and ball control was too much for Purdue, and the match ended in a 25-17, 25-19 San Diego State win.  Purdue finished tied for ninth in the nation, and outside hitter Chris Bulava was named to the Honorable Mention All-American team.

 

Purdue B’s tournament was remarkably similar.  They were seeded fourth overall in Division 3, and breezed through pool play, beating Florida State, Hartnell, and LSU.  Power pools ended similarly, with wins over Pittsburgh and Alabama to maintain their seed into the gold bracket.  Purdue was never able to find footing in the matchup versus Missouri, however, losing 10-25, 25-21, 8-15.  Purdue B also tied for ninth in the nation, and outside hitter Connor Wright was selected as an Honorable Mention All-American.

 

The club as a whole demonstrated its regional and national competitiveness all season, and represented Purdue very well.  Congratulations to seniors Mike Noyes, Billy Moisan, Devin Burke, Chris Bulava, Sam Balaskas, JP Whiteman, and Rob St. Claire on their decorated Purdue Men’s Volleyball careers!

 

2014 - 2015:

Another talented freshman class arrived in the fall and made an immediate impact on both teams.  Fall competitions saw both teams’ first trip to UW-Madison for a tournament, as well as first and third place finishes for the two teams at IU’s fall tournament.  The two teams split into three to make for an even number at the Purdue-hosted Boilermaker Classic, which was another success, and both teams traveled to Michigan State for the annual Back to the Hardwood Classic, where the B team took second place.

 

The Big Ten Round Robin, hosted at Purdue, was first up for the A team in the spring, where they went 6-3 and earned the third overall seed for the upcoming Big Ten Championships.  The B team played in a MIVA Division 2 play-day, going undefeated at 5-0.  Both teams then went to the Hoosier-Illini Classic, where the B team was forced to leave early due to snowy weather and subsequent travel restrictions, but the A team stayed long enough to earn a 28-26 comeback win over Missouri from down 24-16 and an eventual fifth place finish.

 

The Big Ten Championships were the next milestone for the A team.  Having taken the third seed, the team drew Indiana and Illinois in pool play.  After an easy win over Indiana and a three set loss to Illinois, Purdue’s bracket started with a scrappy and home crowd inspired Northwestern team, where Purdue had to mount a comeback to win 19-25, 26-24, 15-13 to advance.  There, they met familiar foe Ohio State in the semifinals, who were surely eager to avenge the previous year’s championship game loss.  This brought out probably the highest competition level of the year in a tightly fought three set match, but with the help of freshman opposite David Hancock’s blocking and clutch attacking, Purdue advanced, 18-25, 25-23, 15-13.  The other semifinal matchup pitted Wisconsin versus Minnesota, and while Purdue had never beaten Wisconsin, Minnesota pulled a miracle by winning that match in three sets to set up the championship game.  Without their best player Jeff Hochstein due to injury, Minnesota was never able to get on a roll after the first set, and Purdue used their size and momentum to capture a 18-25, 25-18, 15-12 win and a second straight Big Ten Championship!

 

The MIVA Championships were hosted at Purdue once again and saw the arrival of every team from the Midwest.  Purdue A breezed through pool play against Grand Valley State, Iowa State, and Michigan State, to meet familiar foe Minnesota in the challenge match.  Despite losing in two sets, Purdue still was in gold, and had to claw back from down 12-6 in set 3 to beat eventual D1-AA National Champions Miami (OH) 16-14.  Purdue then played a high level match against a highly ranked Marquette team and beat them 25-20, 28-26.  A match against perennial national contenders UW-Oshkosh followed, and despite a 21-25, 20-25 loss, one highlight of the season was middle blocker Rob St. Claire’s massive spike into the Oshkosh libero’s face.

 

Purdue B struggled in pool play at MIVA’s going 1-2, but since everyone goes into gold at that tournament, everyone’s championship hopes were alive going into Sunday.  Purdue beat Michigan State and Illinois in bracket play to get to a matchup with Indiana for the Division 3 MIVA Championships, and fought hard but took the loss 20-25, 24-26.  This finish was good enough to keep them in the top 10 in national rankings for Division 3 and earn a top seed at nationals.

 

NCVF Nationals in Kansas City, MO followed, and both teams were the top seeds in their respective pools.  Purdue A beat Northern Illinois first in pool play, then mounted the most ridiculous comeback of the year to beat San Diego State in three sets.  Down 14-6 in the third, all hope was pretty much lost, until libero Kyle Obernesser stepped back to the service line and the team blocked and dug their way back to a 14-14 tie, before eventually winning 19-17 in a comeback that quickly became known throughout the nation.  A loss to a good Maryland team earned Purdue second in the pool and a do-or-die challenge match first thing Friday morning to stay in gold.

 

There, the team met a scrappy James Madison team with talented middle blockers, but took care of business to stay in gold contention and join the power pool of UW-Oshkosh and West Virginia.  Purdue knew both these teams well, having played Oshkosh two weeks prior and having been knocked out of gold at last year’s nationals by West Virginia, so they were eager to get some revenge.  One of the best matches of the whole tournament was Purdue-Oshkosh, where after playing flat and getting crushed in the first set, Purdue came back for a 28-26 set two win, to set up the exciting third set.  Purdue eventually lost 15-13, but proved that Oshkosh wasn’t invincible and that they were a force to be reckoned with.  It then came down to the West Virginia match to get into gold, and despite losing set one in typical Purdue fashion, the team dominated sets two and three to win 21-25, 25-16, 15-9 and earn a place in gold!

 

Purdue got a lucky draw in the first round of gold due to Sacramento State beating highly ranked Air Force the day before, so Sacramento State was the first obstacle in the gold bracket journey.  Purdue was able to overwhelm the Californians from the service line and shut down their biggest attacker to win 26-24, 25-21 and earn a matchup with friends and rivals, Ohio State.  Unfortunately, Purdue never seemed to obtain their footing in the matchup and their season ended after a 15-25, 20-25 loss, tying for fifth place in the nation.  Outside hitter Chris Bulava was named an Honorable Mention All-American for his performance at nationals.  This was the club’s best finish ever and a great achievement for seniors Mark Hogan, Ryan Verner and Eric Kluge!

 

Purdue B had a similar nationals experience.  They were a top seed in their pool and took care of business against Utah Valley, UW-Milwaukee, and James Madison to forego a challenge match and stay in gold contention.  Their power pool included Minnesota and Ohio State, familiar Midwest opponents.  Purdue handled Minnesota easily, and despite a tight loss to Ohio State they earned a spot in the 12-team gold bracket for Division 3.  They took care of business in the first round of gold, earning a 25-19, 25-21 win over Iowa State, where they then met the previous year’s national champion UW-Oshkosh B.  It took a set for Purdue to figure out the matchup, and despite setter Mike Noyes severely injuring his ankle in the second set Purdue was within two points, losing 25-27 to end their season tied for fifth place in Division 3.  Noyes was named an Honorable Mention All-American for his performance and the B Team earned their highest finish ever at nationals.

 

The club’s combined average finish of fifth place was among the best of all clubs in all divisions, which speaks a lot to the talent level, competitive culture, and organization of the Purdue club.  We’re very eager to take this momentum into next season!

 

2013 - 2014:

This year's team went to four tournaments in the fall, including two tournament wins at the Bear Classic at Washington University in St. Louis and the Hoosier Invitational at IU.  Purdue also hosted the first annual Boilermaker Classic in October, which was very well attended.  The Michigan State Hardwood Classic once again concluded the fall season where Purdue A lost a third set in extra points on a questionable call to Illinois in the first round of bracket play.

 

The spring season started off strong with the addition of libero Caio Santos from Brazil, who anchored the Purdue defense and serve reception for the spring.  Purdue once again hosted the Big Ten Round Robin, where the team finished second.  Opposite Kyle Schwede was named to the first all-conference team and setter Ryan Verner was named to the second all-conference team for their performances at the tournament.  Purdue next traveled to Indiana for the Hoosier-Illini Classic, where the A team beat highly ranked Penn State and Virginia Tech teams before losing to eventual national champion UW-Oshkosh.  Purdue B played in this tournament and picked up an incredible 3 set win over Indiana A, quieting the home crowd and sending Indiana's top team to the Silver bracket in their own tournament.

 

The Big Ten Championships were the next step for the A team, once again at Northwestern.  Purdue dispatched Iowa and Michigan in pool play, earning a bye in the bracket before beating Michigan State to reach the semifinals.  The 8-time defending champions, Illinois, awaited next, where Purdue stopped their championship streak in 3 sets to reach the finals.  Nationally 3rd ranked Ohio State was the championship opponent, which Purdue beat in two sets, 28-26, 29-27 to win its first ever Big Ten Championship!  Opposite Kyle Schwede was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, libero Caio Santos was named Best Defensive Player of the tournament, and Schwede and outside hitter Chris Bulava were named to the first all-tournament team.

 

The MIVA Championships were two weeks later, and also hosted at Purdue.  Schwede sprained his ankle a few days prior to the tournament and was out until Nationals.  Santos and opposite Billy Moisan were missing the first day, outside hitter Sam Balaskas was dealing with a back injury, and Bulava went down during the second match with an ankle injury of his own, so the team was forced into some new lineups and still managed to win matches against Illinois State and Notre Dame.  Usual middle blocker Rob St. Claire saw significant time at opposite, and backup opposite Devin Burke logged time at outside hitter.  Purdue B made it to the gold bracket of the Division III tournament and lost a close 3-set match to Michigan State B in the semifinals.

 

It was then time to rest up and get healthy for Nationals, a week and a half later in Reno, NV.  Both teams went undefeated in pool play the first day, the A team beating Santa Clara, UCLA, and Liberty, and the B team beating Minnesota, James Madison, and upsetting #2 overall Cal Poly for the pool victory.  The second day saw power pools for both teams.  The A team drew familiar foe Illinois State as well as West Virginia.  Purdue beat ISU and lost to West Virginia, and ISU beat West Virginia, forcing a three-way tie.  ISU won the pool based on points, so Purdue and West Virginia played a one set tiebreaker to 25 to go to Gold.  Purdue lost the tiebreaking set 24-26, sending them to the silver bracket on Saturday.

 

However, Purdue B drew familiar opponents Indiana B and Ohio State B, which resulted in another 3-way tie which had to be broken by a set between Purdue and Ohio State.  Despite having lost just a few hours earlier, Purdue came back and beat Ohio State in the tiebreaker, earning a berth into the gold bracket!  On Saturday they lost to an excellent Illinois State B team, but made an unprecentented run to the gold bracket and earned All-American Honorable Mentions for outside hitter Andrew Birky, libero Zach Kroeger, and opposite Sean O'Connor.

 

At the end of the school year, the A team was asked by former USA National Team setter Lloy Ball to come and play at a professional indoor tournament that he hosts in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, which they happily accepted.  Our two seniors, Kyle Schwede and Dan Nesnidal, ended their careers with a bang, playing Lloy Ball's own Team Pineapple closely and taking a set from an Iowa Icemen team composed of a bunch of former NCAA National Champions and All-Americans en route to winning the silver bracket.  The team is excited to go back to the Lloy Ball Classic again next year!

 

2012 - 2013:

The team had one of the most talented groups of freshmen try out in the club's history. The combination of youthful talent and veteran experience led the team to a 3rd place finish at the Michigan State Hardwood Classic in November 2012, one of the most prestigious first semester tournaments in the nation. This led the team to a number 21 ranking in the nation at the start of the spring season.

 

Purdue hosted the Big Ten Round Robin in February 2013 at the gorgeous new Corec facility on campus. The team placed 3rd in the Big Ten Championships, losing two extra point sets to eventual national number 1 Illinois, and then placed 3rd at the MIVA Championships, ahead of many nationally ranked teams including undermanned victories over tenth ranked UW-Milwaukee and Lakeland College.

 

Nationals in Dallas, TX in April 2013 was the competitive culmination of the season, where Purdue earned victories over UC Davis, Sacramento State, Cal State Fullerton, and the eventual National Champions, Fresno State. Fresno's only loss in the entire tournament was to Purdue on day one. Purdue earned a number 4 seed in the gold bracket where they lost a close match to UC Irvine, earning a 9th place national finish for the season. Setter/opposite Kyle Schwede was named an Honorable Mention All-American for his performance at Nationals.