5 things to note as Purdue volleyball ends non-conference schedule

WEST LAFAYETTE - Purdue's volleyball program suffered its first loss last Friday.

It wasn't a surprise as the previously undefeated Boilermakers were swept by Louisville, a top-five team that was the NCAA tournament's No. 1 overall seed last season.

Now 7-1, the Boilermakers have two matches remaining before Big Ten play begins. Here's five things to note as Purdue wraps up non-conference play.

Bouncing back

What the Boilermakers did on Saturday following their first loss says a lot about the team.

Purdue was without some key players and bounced back to sweep Xavier and head back to West Lafayette with a split from the Louisville Invitational.

But the Boilers need to double down on it with wins over Northern Kentucky and Ball State in this weekend's Stacey Clark Classic. Both were put on Purdue's schedule with the expectation they'd win a lot of matches and boost Purdue's RPI to pad its NCAA tournament resume at season's end.

Ball State has held up its end, with its only loss to Mississippi State. Northern Kentucky has just one win, but has a loaded schedule that's already included two matches against Western Kentucky, as well as Louisville, Missouri and Bowling Green among others.

Purdue should win two this weekend and finish the non-conference portion of the schedule 9-1.

Muncie ties

Anytime Purdue and Ball State mix up in volleyball, it's ceremonious with head coach Dave Shondell and associate head coach John Shondell and their ties to the Cardinal volleyball program.

Add in the additional factor the Cardinals are coached by Kelli Miller Phillips, one of Purdue's all-time bests and one of the instrumental pieces in the early years of this coaching staff. Kelli Miller played two seasons at Muncie Central High School for Dave Shondell before he was hired at Purdue, then became one of the first players to commit to the Boilermakers after he moved to the college ranks.

"She was the first person I fully knew was going to come to Purdue, it was just she wasn’t able to come until she graduated from Central High School," Dave Shondell said. "She is one of the all-time best competitors I have ever coached. She was all business. Never took a play off, never took a day off. Always wanted to learn all the time and wanted to get better and compete."

Miller got her coaching start as a student assistant with Purdue after her playing career ended following the 2008 season. Miller was last season's American Volleyball Coaches Association Midwest Region Coach of the Year.

Developing depth

Once conference play begins, coaches hope to have sawed off the lineup to have a solidified group that hopefully can bring it every night.

But, that's not always the case and having reliable options deep on the bench is important.

Purdue may have found that last weekend, unfortunately due to health scenarios keeping Maddie Koch and Maddy Chinn out. Emily Rastovski earned her first start and had four kills on .375 hitting against Xavier. Emma Ellis had 10 kills against Louisville after having been a sparkplug off the bench the first two weekends.

While Meg Renner has solidified the setter role, Grace Balensiefer proved herself capable in the season-opening weekend by leading a win over Tennessee. Purdue has options moving forward, but needs to be at full strength come next week.

"Emma Ellis had a tremendous weekend and it was great to see her break out of what I considered to be kind of a funk," Shondell said. "To see her compete when she knew she had to for our team, we didn’t have a full roster. Maddie Koch was out with a health issue. As we go into Saturday’s game, Maddy Chinn had been injured in that match against Louisville in the start of the third set.

"We were without two of our better pin hitters. It has taken a different look this week because we are not sure where we are with those people until we get a little bit later in the week. I was happy that Rastovski came in and played really well in the first start of her career. She plays with a lot of enthusiasm and has a high ceiling. Also, Lourdes Meyers filled one of those spots for the third set. I think she will continue to get better as we go."

Right time

While you can't exactly say Purdue's non-conference schedule until last Friday was easy, the Boilers were certainly the favorite in most, if not all, matches they played until that point.

Sometimes you learn more from the losses and what Louisville did was had a few runs in each set that put away a Purdue team that did compete for the most part against one of the nation's best.

It may have been exactly what the Boilermakers needed at that point in the season.

"We’ve been tested some, but obviously haven’t played anyone with that kind of ability ... " Shondell said. "I felt good about the way we competed against Louisville. In each set, the three sets we lost, there was a spurt where we got outscored maybe 5-0 or 6-1 and we just have to figure out as we grow as a team how to eliminate the good teams from taking advantage of you for those spurts."

Home sweet home

For just the second weekend of the season, Purdue will be in Holloway Gymnasium for matches.

Last time, though the venue was packed, came during Labor Day weekend and some of the student section was noticeably absent. That won't be the case Thursday and Saturday.

"You learn and grow a little bit more on the road sometimes than you will at home because it is a more comfortable culture and environment, but we have one of the best places to play in the country in Holloway Gym," Shondell said. "I know we will have great crowds. Our students will be back. Last time we were at home, it was Labor Day weekend. We’ll be rocking the students this weekend. They have a pretty good product to support."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

Stacey Clark Classic

Northern Kentucky (1-8) at Purdue (7-1), 7 p.m. Thursday

Northern Kentucky vs. Ball State, 4 p.m. Friday

Ball State (8-1) at Purdue, 4 p.m. Saturday

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: 5 things to note as Purdue volleyball ends non-conference schedule