WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Guiding the team to a pair of wins over the weekend at Michigan State and Michigan, Maddie Schermerhorn and Eva Hudson received Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week accolades, respectively.
The honors mark the second of the season for Schermerhorn, becoming the sixth Boilermaker in program history to earn two Defensive Player of the Week honors in the same season. Meanwhile, Hudson’s weekly award is ninth of the season (three Player of the Weeks, six Freshman of the Weeks) – marking the second-most combined accolades by a freshman in league history (record: 10 by Wisconsin’s Dana Rettke in 2017). Furthermore, her sixth Freshman of the Week honor ties for the second-most Freshman of the Week honors in Big Ten history (ties Minnesota’s Samantha Seliger-Swenson six in 2015; record is nine by Rettke).
Anchoring the team as libero, Schermerhorn averaged 5.00 digs per set over the weekend. Playing the best volleyball of her career, the senior set a career-high Sunday at Michigan, a team receiving votes in the AVCA poll. Notching 28 digs in the match (previous best: 26 vs. Utah, 9/2/22), Schermerhorn became the third player in the Big Ten this season to produce as many in a match.
Last week, Hudson averaged 4.31 points per set, the most among Big Ten freshmen. The Fort Wayne, Indiana native led the team at Michigan State and Michigan with 27 total kills (3.38 per set) while averaging 1.88 digs per set. Hudson had a career-best performance behind the service line at Michigan State, serving up four aces against the Spartans while coming two digs shy of a double-double.
Purdue’s 13 awards sets a program-best, marking the third consecutive season the team has set or matched a program-best (previous-high: nine first set in 2020).
Purdue returns to Holloway this weekend for a pair of matches vs. top-16 ranked foes. First, Purdue will face No. 6 Ohio State on Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET on B1G+. Then on Saturday night, Purdue will take on No. 16 Penn State at 8 p.m. ET. Fans can catch the match on Big Ten Network.
Purdue in the Big Ten Weekly Awards
Week 1 | August 29
Player of the Week: Eva Hudson
Freshman of the Week: Eva Hudson
Week 2 | September 5
Defensive Player of the Week: Maddie Schermerhorn
Freshman of the Week: Eva Hudson
Week 4 | September 19
Freshman of the…
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