After a fifth-place finish in Big Ten league play, 14-6, the Boilers (22-7) earned the program’s 21st NCAA Tournament berth, 14th under head coach Dave Shondell.
The Boilermakers will get to host for the first time since 2011. They’ll face Wright State, the Horizon League regular season champs in the first round Friday. The other matchup will be Marquette vs Dayton. Purdue is playing in top seed #1 Baylor’s regional.
Purdue’s RPI apparently was high enough to earn hosting privileges; Purdue was 23rd in last week’s RPI rankings and 16th in AVCA poll. Purdue posted two upsets this season besting Kentucky (RPI 7, AVCA 14) in five sets on the road and beating Nebraska (6, 6) at home.