How an Instagram message formed Purdue volleyball's dynamic 1-2 hitting punch

WEST LAFAYETTE − The direct message on Instagram went unread for nearly three months.

But, Eva Hudson got the message just in time.

"She DM'd me on Instagram and was like, 'Hey, I think it'd be really cool if you come to Purdue," Hudson recalled. "At that point, she was committed before me. So that's the story of how Chloe got me to Purdue."

Chicoine and Hudson both originally committed elsewhere, but wound up teammates and the offensive firepower for Purdue volleyball's best NCAA tournament hitting performance in program history Thursday night.

Purdue made the most of freshman Taylor Anderson's 32 assists in a 25-17, 25-13, 25-12 sweep of Fairfield, hitting a Purdue NCAA tournament record .478.

Hudson, the sophomore outside hitter, pummeled 16 kills at a .556 clip, and freshman Chicoine added 15 kills on .448 hitting.

The two are seemingly tied together.

"I've never been on a team with such another powerful hitter and just knowing that I'm going to have to carry my weight, but at the same time, I am going to have more seams in the block because people are paying attention to Eva because, it's Eva," Chicoine said.

Chicoine at one time thought she was bound for Penn State.

Hudson signed a national letter of intent with Notre Dame in November 2021, but the Irish didn't renew then-coach Mike Johnson's contract.

So, Chicoine, who decommitted from Penn State after the retirement of coach Russ Rose, reached out via Instagram.

By then, Chicoine had re-evaluated her recruitment and verbally committed to the Boilermakers.

But she knew there was another big right arm in Fort Wayne that, with Chicoine, could give Purdue an unstoppable 1-2 punch.

This season, they've been Purdue's dynamic duo.

A young Boilermaker team improved to 22-8 and is in the second round of the NCAA tournament Friday against Marquette heavily due to the production of Hudson and Chicoine as six-rotation players, assuring coach Dave Shondell he always has a reliable option on the left side and out of the back row with both on the floor simultaneously.

Hudson would've ended up at Purdue anyway and, as Chicoine found out, isn't a frequent user of social media.

It all worked out.

On Thursday, Chicoine, Hudson and Raven Colvin were named first-team All-Big Ten and senior libero Maddie Schermerhorn was second-team. Chicoine and Anderson were on the Big Ten's All-Freshman team.

Shondell was asked about the All-Big Ten selections after Thursday's match. He noted it's a great reward but also that perhaps the Boilermakers were slighted.

Shondell didn't elaborate on which awards he was referring to, but perhaps Hudson was a contender for Big Ten Player of the Year and statistically speaking, Chicoine looked like the probable Freshman of the Year only for it to go to Nebraska's Harper Murray.

"This is about a team and we have a team and I don't think anybody that did or didn't make that team is going to get caught up in those things," he said. "I would be disappointed if they were because we're trying to win a national championship at Purdue."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue volleyball knocks off Fairfield in NCAA tournament first round