Game Notes: at Iowa, No. 9 Nebraska

PURDUE SPORTS INFORMATION

The Slate
Thursday, Nov. 8: 8 p.m. at Iowa
TV: BTN.com (purduesports.com All-Access)
Radio: WSHY 1410 AM, purduesports.com
Live Stats: purduesports.com

Saturday, Nov. 10: 8 p.m. at #9 Nebraska
Video: BTN.com (purduesports.com All-Access)
Radio: WSHY 1410 AM, purduesports.com
Live Stats: purduesports.com

The Book on the Boilermakers
At First Glance: The No. 21 Boilermakers (18-7, 9-5 Big Ten) look to avenge earlier season home losses to the Hawkeyes and Huskers this week. Purdue returns 12 players, including five starters, from the 2011 team which advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. Head coach Dave Shondellis in his 10th season with the team, which was picked third in the 2012 Big Ten preseason poll.

Last Time Out:Purdue extended its win streak to four matches, topping Illinois in five sets on Wednesday and sweeping Northwestern on Saturday.

Statistically Speaking: Outside hitter Ariel Turner paces the Boilermakers with 4.22 kills and 2.70 digs per set, while also serving up 22 aces. Outside hitters Catherine Rebarchak (2.33) and Annie Drews (2.02) also add more than two kills per set, while middle blockers Kiki Jones (1.87) and Anna Drewry(1.77) and outside hitter Val Nichol (1.57) also contribute offensively. Jones is hitting a team-best .384 clip. Drewry also is hitting over .300 at .311.

Defensively, libero Carly Cramer has posted 4.18 digs per set, while Turner (2.70), defensive specialist Amanda Neill (2.27), setter Rachel Davis (2.15) and defensive specialist Hilliary Fox (1.98) follow. Cramer also has served up a team-leading 24 aces, while defensive specialist Amanda Millerhas added 12. At the net, Drewry and Jones pace the team with 1.10 and 0.94 stuffs per set. Jones also adds 11 aces to the team tally. As a team, Purdue is hitting .246 and has served up 98 aces.

Series Information
Iowa (Purdue leads the series 48-19): The Boilermakers won the first 10 meetings in the series with the Hawkeyes, which began on Oct. 28, 1977. Iowa took seven of the next 12 contests, before Purdue launched an eight-match win streak, sweeping each season 1990 to 1993. The Hawkeyes won 11 of the next 20 from 1994 to 2003, but the Boilermakers took each of the next 11. Iowa snapped the streak with a five-set win in Iowa City on Nov. 27, 2009, but Purdue won both contests in 2010 and 2011.

Nebraska (Nebraska leads the series 11-5): Purdue won the first four meetings in the series with the Cornhuskers, which began on Oct. 17, 1980. Nebraska took the next 10 meetings from Oct. 14, 1984 to the Oct. 7, 2011, match in Lincoln. The Boilermakers swept the No. 2 Huskers on Nov. 12, 2011. Nebraska won the most recent meeting, a 3-0 decision in West Lafayette, Oct. 5.

What a Difference a Win Makes...
If the Boilermakers top Iowa on Thursday ...

• They will move to 19-7 on the season and 10-5 in Big Ten play, while extending their current win streak to five matches.

• They will have reached the 10-win mark in conference play for the seventh time under Coach Shondell, and third consecutive season (12-8 in 2010, 16-4 in 2011).

• They will move within one win of securing the sixth 20-win season under Shondell. (also 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011).

• They will move to 185-154 all-time in the month of November, including a 6-9 mark on Nov. 8.

An Inkling About Iowa
At First Glance:The Iowa Hawkeyes (10-17, 2-12 Big Ten) look to snap an eight-match losing streak when they face Purdue and Indiana this week. Iowa returns 10 letterwinners, including four starters from the 2011 team which went 11-22 and finished 11th in the Big Ten. Iowa is coached by former Purdue player Sharon Dingman, who is in her fifth year with the team.

Last Time Out:The Hawkeyes fell to Michigan and Michigan State in sweeps last weekend.

Statistically Speaking:Outside hitter Alex Lovell leads the Hawkeye offense with 3.14 kills per set, while also adding 2.08 digs per set and 16 aces to the team's totals. Outside hitters Rachael Bedell (3.00) and Erin Radke (2.31) also add more than two kills per set. Middle blockers Chante Thompson and Alessandra Dietz add 1.97 and 1.76 kills per set respectively. Dietz is hitting at a team-best .242 clip, has served up 20 aces and leads the team at the net with 0.77 blocks per set.

Defensively, libero Bethany Yeager leads the team with 4.53 digs per set. Setter Nikki Daily (2.73), Lovell (2.08) and defensive specialist Allison Straumann (2.00) also add more than two digs per set. Dailey also dishes out 9.47 assists per set and has served up a team-leading 22 aces. As a team, Iowa is hitting .168 and has served up 101 aces.

Notes About Nebraska
At First Glance:The No. 9 Nebraska Cornhuskers (18-5, 10-4 Big Ten) have dropped three of their last four matches heading into Friday's match with Indiana. Nebraska returns eight letterwinners, including six starters, from the 2011 squad which posted a 25-5 record, won the Big Ten title and advanced to the NCAA second round. The Huskers are coached by John Cook, who is in his 12th year with the team.

Last Time Out:The Huskers dropped five-set road matches to Michigan and Michigan State last weekend.

Statistically Speaking:Outside hitter Gina Mancuso leads a group of trio players averaging more than two kills per set. Mancuso has put down 3.47 kills per set, followed by outside hitters Morgan Broekhuis (2.89) and Hannah Werth (2.88). Middle blocker Meghan Haggerty leads all hitters with a .367 hitting percentage, while averaging 1.96 kills and 1.00 blocks per set. Middle blocker Hayley Thramer paces the team at the net with 1.14 blocks per set. Mancuso has served up a team-best 26 aces, while Broekhuis has added 18 aces.

Werth paces the defense with 3.37 digs per set, while libero Lara Dykstra (3.05), setter Lauren Cook (2.84) and Mancuso (2.35) follow. Cook also averages 11.06 assists per set and adds 19 aces. As a team, Nebraska is hitting .286 and has served up 100 aces

In The Records Book
Senior outside hitter Ariel Turner is climbing the all-time statistical rankings. She moved ahead of Debbie McDonald's second place spot on the hitting attempts list (4,783) with 48 against Indiana on Oct. 16. The Highlands Ranch, Colo., native has now taken 5,091 swings as a Boilermaker. She ranks second behind Danita Merlau'srecord of 5,247 from 2005-08.

Turner moved into second place on the career kills list, passing Merlau's second place listing of 1729 with a 16-kill effort against Northwestern, Nov. 3. Turner has put down 1,731 kills.

Redshirt junior libero Carly Cramermoved into ninth place on the career digs list with 20 against Illinois, Oct. 31. Cramer upped her tally to 1,152, passing Kim Corwin (1,145). The Martinsville, Ind., native has pulled up 1,169 digs as a Boilermaker, 74 out of eighth place.

Redshirt junior setter Rachel Davisrecorded her 2,000th career assist on Oct. 13. She ranks 10th on Purdue's all-time list in the category with 2,270.

Among The Nation
The Boilermakers rank among the nation's top 50 in hitting percentage (46th with .246) and winning percentage (48th with .720). Individually, Kiki Jones ranks 21st in hitting percentage (.384), while Ariel Turnerranks 23rd in points per set (4.91) and 34th in kills per set (4.22).

Poll Position
The Boilermakers moved up one spot to No. 21 in the AVCA Coaches Poll after spending last week at No. 22. Purdue has been ranked in the Top 25 throughout the 2012 season.

On August 27, the team was ranked seventh, a listing which tied the highest ranking in program history, matching the No. 7 listing from Nov. 14, 1983. Purdue was ranked No. 9 in the 2012 Preseason AVCA Coaches Poll, marking their highest starting listing in program history.

This week's ranking is Purdue's 126th all-time since the AVCA polls began in 1982, including preseason and postseason listings.

Purdue was listed among the Top 10 in six straight polls from Nov. 7, 2011 to Aug. 27, 2012 ¬¬- its longest stay there since 1983 (eight straight polls: Sept. 26 to Nov. 28).

Going The Distance
The Boilermakers have won 13 straight five-set matches dating to an Oct. 29, 2010, win at Ohio State. Purdue went 4-3 in long matches in 2010, but won its last three, beginning against the Buckeyes. The team went 4-0 in five setters in 2011. Purdue is 6-0 in five-set matches in 2012. The Boilermakers are 42-28 all-time in five-setters under head coach Dave Shondell.

Turner Named Senior CLASS Award Finalist
A leader on the court and in the classroom, senior outside hitter Ariel Turner was named as one of 10 finalists for the 2012 Senior CLASS Award, which honors student-athletes for their achievements in community, classroom, character and competition. The winner will be decided by media members and Division I coaches (2/3) as well as a fan vote component (1/3), and will be announced at the NCAA Final Four in Louisville. Fans can vote once daily per device here.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their community.

The 2012 candidate class of 30 included 16 AVCA All-Americans from last season, including Turner, who garnered first team accolades. Turner was the lone member of the candidate pool that received Capital One Academic All-America honors in 2011, although 24 of them boasted a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better.