Raiders set for NCAA debut Friday night at Purdue

The Wright State volleyball team makes its NCAA Championship debut on Friday night when the Raiders take on Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana at 7 p.m. inside Holloway Gymnasium.

WATCH ON BTN+ | FOLLOW LIVE STATS | NCAA NOTES | TICKETS

Friday night's match can be streamed for free on Big Ten Network+ by clicking here. Live Stats can be viewed here. Fans are also encouraged to keep up with the Raiders' trip via their Twitter page.

Fans are reminded that Purdue's Clear Bag Policy will be in place for the NCAA Championship matches held at Holloway Gymnasium. More information on the policy can be found here.

The second opening round matchup being played at Purdue features Marquette taking on Dayton. That matchup will take place on Friday at 4:30 p.m., with the two Friday winners meeting on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in the Round of 32.

NATIONAL CONTENDERS
Wright State enters the 2019 NCAA Championship inside the Top 10 nationally in four different team categories: First nationally: 19.63 digs/set; Third nationally: 39.51 team attacks/set; Fifth nationally: 0.143 opponent hitting percentage; Seventh nationally: 2,120 team digs.

Additionally, sophomore Jenna Story ranks in the top-five individually in two statistics: Second nationally: 6.35 digs/set; Fifth nationally: 686 total digs.

A LARGE SELECTION
Wright State's at-large bid into the 2019 NCAA Championship was the latest in a string of postseason appearances for the athletic department, but maybe the biggest – the Raiders' selection on Sunday night marked the first at-large selection into the NCAA Championship in ANY sport in Wright State athletic department history.

The volleyball program is the second Raider program to play in NCAA Championship action this fall, joining the men's soccer program, who made its first appearance in the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship last month, winning its opening round game at Notre Dame before falling in penalty kicks after two extra periods at national seed Michigan.

Overall, the volleyball program is the sixth Wright State program to advance to its respective NCAA Championship in the last two seasons, joining: men's soccer (2019), women's basketball (2019), men's golf (2018), baseball (2018) and men's basketball (2018).

HI, WE'RE NEW HERE
The 2019 NCAA Championship is the first-ever appearance for Wright State and the latest in a long line of firsts this season for the Raiders. This campaign has featured the program's first Horizon League regular season title, the first time hosting the Horizon League Championship, the first NCAA Championship appearance and the first at-large NCAA bid in Wright State athletic department history.

RPI SEE YOU
Wright State enters the NCAA Championship with the No. 41 RPI in the country, its best in program history. The Raiders are not alone in the RPI, as the Horizon League is one of just six Division I conferences to have five or more teams in the top 100, with Northern Kentucky (No. 44), Green Bay (No. 45), Milwaukee (No. 53) and UIC (No. 95) joining the Raiders.

The Raiders boast four wins against RPI Top 50 teams (Seven wins against RPI Top 100), and all five of their losses have come to RPI Top 100 programs (three losses to RPI Top 55 teams).

#RAIDERUP MEETS BOILER UP
Friday's NCAA Championship first round matchup against Purdue will be the first meeting in program history and the Raiders first matchup against a Big Ten opponent this season. However, the two programs have a few commonalities this season, as both met Ohio, Ball State and Notre Dame.
The Raiders won at Ball State and Notre Dame, while falling to Ohio in an exhibition match in August, while Purdue defeated Ohio to open its regular season and also beat Ball State (at home), but fell at Notre Dame.

GET TO KNOW PURDUE
Purdue enters the NCAA Championship with a 22-7 overall record and finished with a 14-6 mark in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers ended the regular season with a pair of road victories at Michigan and Michigan State last week. Purdue was 13-2 at home inside Holloway Gymnasium, 8-5 on the road and 1-0 in neutral site matches. The Boilermakers had two separate six match winning streaks.

This will be the ninth time that the Boilermakers have hosted NCAA Championship matches. Purdue last hosted the opening rounds at Holloway Gymnasium in 2011, while they played host to the Sweet Sixteen in 2012 at Mackey Arena next door.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Purdue Boilermakers (No. 16 national seed)
22-7 overall record; 14-6 Big Ten
- Purdue is second in the Big Ten and 13th in the country in blocks per set with a 2.77 average, and has three players ranked in the top 15 in blocks per set in the conference: Shavona Cuttino (1.25, fifth), Blake Mohler (1.18, seventh) and Grace Cleveland (1.07, 13th).
- Redshirt senior Blake Mohler is closing on a pair of career milestones. She currently owns 951 career kills, only 49 away from 1,000, while also registering 480 blocks (67 solo / 413 assists), only 20 away from 500.
- Head coach Dave Shondell stands at 370-191 in his 17th season at the helm. He is joined by assistant coaches John Shondell and Kathy Jewell, who also enter their 17th season with the Boilermakers.
- Purdue was picked to finish sixth in the Big Ten in the conference's preseason poll. The Boilermakers finished fifth in the league with a 14-6 mark. Purdue's best conference finish under Shondell was a tie for third place in 2007 with an 11-9 record. Purdue finished with its most Big Ten victories under Shondell at 14. Purdue's best conference finish was 17-1 (1st) in 1985.

Dayton Flyers
22-8 overall record; 13-1 Atlantic 10
- Dayton captured its Atlantic 10-record 13th Championship on Nov. 24 with a 3-1 victory over VCU after making its 20th consecutive and 23rd overall appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship.
- The Flyers are led offensively by Jamie Peterson with a league-leading 4.60 kills/set (17th in the country) and 0.40 aces/set (3rd A-10). The duo of Olivia Dubay (1.15 blocks/set, 5th A-10) and Amelia Moore (1.06 blocks/set, 6th A-10) are the Flyers' front line of defense while Maura Collins passes a team-best 4.36 digs/set (3rd A-10).
- Head coach Tim Horsmon is in his 11th season overall, and sixth since 2007, as head coach of the Flyers in 2019. His record at Dayton is 283-81 and his career win-loss mark sits at 459-245 in 21 seasons as a head coach.
- Jamie Peterson was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and freshman Amelia Moore picked up the program's second-consecutive A-10 Rookie of the Year award. Peterson was also named to the All-Conference First Team while Moore earned mention on both the Second Team and All-Rookie Team.

Marquette Golden Eagles
27-5 overall record; 16-2 Big East
- Senior Allie Barber was tabbed as Big East Player of the Year for the second time in her career. She was a unanimous selection by the Big East coaches and is just the fourth player in 30 years to repeat the honor. Barber was also named to the All-Big East team along with Martha Konovodoff and Hope Werch, while Hannah Vanden Berg was selected to the newly created All-Big East freshman squad.
- At 27-5 overall Marquette is nearing its program-record 28 wins from last season. The Golden Eagles' four losses have come to current No. 1 Baylor, No. 24 Illinois, No. 10 Creighton and St. John's.
- Senior Allie Barber broke the all-time kills record in a 22-kill performance against Georgetown on Nov. 15. Barber passed Marquette Hall of Famer Theresa Coughlin, who played from 2002-05, and had 1,733 career kills. Barber currently has 1,839 kills entering the NCAA Championship.
- The Golden Eagles are No. 12 in the AVCA Coaches' Poll (Nov. 24 poll) marking the 28th consecutive week that Marquette has been ranked, dating back to Sept. 3, 2018.

HISTORY LESSON
- Friday's match against Purdue will be the first meeting between Wright State and the Boilermakers in program history.
- Wright State is 3-1 all-time against potential second round opponent Marquette, with wins in 1981, 1988 and 2002. The Raiders' lone loss in the series was during the 1998 season.
- The Raiders have squared off against Dayton 57 times, with Wright State narrowly trailing in the series 27-30. The first meeting came back in the 1973 season, while the last matchup was during the 2016 campaign.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jenna Story

Footer