Playing at third-seeded Purdue, which finished tied for third in the Big Ten, the Raiders fell, 25-13, 25-21, 25-19, before 2,414 fans in West Lafayette, Ind., on Thursday.
They ended their season 21-11, making their third NCAA trip in four seasons under coach Travers Green.
“I knew going in it was going to be a tough one. That’s what you get at this stage of the season. It was a really cool environment. They had a sold-out crowd — loud — a good student section. And they were as good as advertised,” he said.
“The first set kind of got away from us. They were just executing at an extremely high level. … But I was really proud of how we responded after that. We played a lot more competitively the next two sets.”
The Raiders had a .212 hitting percentage — not far off their season average of .225. But they hit .430 against Youngstown State in the Horizon League semifinals and .313 against Northern Kentucky in the final.
Purdue (25-6) connected at a .381 clip.
Mya Ayro had 11 kills and Reilly Zegunis 10.
Lauren Yacobucci had 27 of the team’s 28 assists.
“It’s something that’s a motivator the entire season. It’s what every team is aspiring to do,” Green said of making the 64-team field. “We have a lot of players who haven’t done this, and once you get here, you realize how cool and special the experience is.
“Beyond that, it’s critical for the growth of our program. It just carries that legacy on.”
The Raiders appear to be loaded for next season with a batch of players returning,
Juniors Yacobucci and Zegunis were first team all-league picks, while Ayro, another junior, was the HL tourney MVP and a second-team selection along with sophomore outside hitter Katie Sowko.
Junior defender Ella Gaona was one of four Raiders on the all-tourney team.
“I’m very excited for the future. First and foremost, credit goes to our seniors who helped us get to this point. But we return a really strong group. The future is bright,” Green said.
“But there’s never any guarantees. In our conference, some of the teams at the top are in a very similar position. They don’t lose a lot. It’ll make for a very competitive Horizon League.”
The Raiders are 1-5 all-time in the NCAA tourney and recorded the only win in HL history, beating Samford, 3-0, in the 2020 event, which was held in the spring of 2021 due to COVID.
The field was cut from 64 to 48 teams, and the top 16 seeds received byes.
After the first-round win, Wright State lost to eventual national runner-up Texas, 3-0.
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