Purdue Men's Club Volleyball roster

Purdue Men's Club Volleyball won the 2024 NCVF Division 1AA national championship, capping a season that also delivered Big Ten hardware and Club of the Year recognition on campus.

Three competitive teams kept pushing across the MIVA conference and into nationals. The program carried that standard into the seasons that followed.

A historic number of players tried out after the shortened 2020-21 season, and both teams folded in a wave of new faces through a strong fall. The A team worked through a rough spring stretch, then put it together at nationals and finished in the top 25.

The B team won the MIVA tournament and carried that momentum straight through nationals to a third place finish in the country.

Both teams entered the spring nationally ranked, Purdue A at #16 and Purdue B at #11. At the Big Ten Championship the A team took down #5 Ohio State 25-23, 23-25, 15-11 in its best match of the season before falling to Indiana in the semifinals. Dave Hancock made All-Conference First Team.

Seeded 30th of 48 at NCVF Nationals in Kansas City, Purdue opened by beating #6 Arizona State in three sets and taking their seed, then held it with wins over Florida, UNLV, and Virginia Tech. On Championship Saturday the Boilermakers upset 2016 runners-up Penn State 25-20, 23-25, 15-9, then dismantled Illinois 25-15, 25-16.

The run ended against San Diego State in the semifinals after Purdue took the first set 25-21. Third place was the club's highest finish ever at the time. Dave Hancock and Rob St. Claire were named First and Second Team All-Americans, and Purdue B beat eventual champion Cal Poly on its way to the gold bracket.

Twenty-nine players across two teams made it the biggest roster in club history to that point, and both entered the spring ranked, A at #12 and B at #8. At the Big Ten Round Robin the A team went 8-1, closing with a winner-take-all 26-24, 21-25, 16-14 defeat of Wisconsin for the regular season title, a first against the Badgers for every senior on the roster.

Purdue B delivered the club's first ever MIVA Championship, beating Wisconsin 25-23, 25-21 in the final of the Purdue-hosted tournament.

At NCVF Nationals in Louisville both teams reached the gold bracket and finished tied for ninth in their divisions. Chris Bulava and Connor Wright earned All-American honorable mentions.

The A team defended its Big Ten title, surviving Northwestern and Ohio State in three-set thrillers before beating Minnesota 18-25, 25-18, 15-12 in the final for a second straight championship.

At NCVF Nationals in Kansas City, Purdue authored the comeback of the year: down 14-6 in the third set against San Diego State, Kyle Obernesser went back to serve and the team clawed all the way to a 19-17 win that made the rounds nationally.

Purdue beat West Virginia to reach the gold bracket and finished tied for fifth in the nation, the club's best finish ever at the time. The B team matched it, tying for fifth in Division 3. Chris Bulava and Mike Noyes earned All-American honorable mentions.

Purdue ended Illinois's eight-year reign in the Big Ten semifinals, then beat nationally third ranked Ohio State 28-26, 29-27 in the final for the club's first Big Ten Championship. Kyle Schwede was named Most Outstanding Player and Caio Santos Best Defensive Player.

The B team upset #2 overall Cal Poly in pool play at nationals in Reno and won a tiebreaker over Ohio State B to reach the Division 3 gold bracket, earning All-American honorable mentions for Andrew Birky, Zach Kroeger, and Sean O'Connor.

The season closed with an invitation from former USA National Team setter Lloy Ball to his professional tournament in Fort Wayne, where Purdue won the silver bracket.

One of the most talented freshman classes in club history arrived in the fall, and a third place finish at the Michigan State Hardwood Classic had Purdue ranked #21 entering the spring. The team took third at both the Big Ten Championships and the MIVA Championships.

In Dallas, Purdue handed eventual national champion Fresno State its only loss of the entire tournament on the way to a ninth place national finish. Kyle Schwede earned All-American honorable mention.