Purdue Claims The Monon Spike Once Again

I have been lucky enough to photograph Purdue claiming the Monon Spike a few times now. I have seen them raise the trophy twice in Bloomington, and a few times in West Lafayette. On Saturday night I was lucky enough to see them raise it once more in Mackey Arena. In 2016 Purdue won a match in Mackey in one that I thought at the time would be hard to top. On Saturday night Purdue rode the emotion of a sell out crowd to a pretty easy victory. I will be honest that when I was photographing the post game celebration that I forgot about the Monon Spike. I was just ready to peel away from the scrum when I heard someone ask if the team wanted something. It was the trophy, and I made my favorite image of the night shortly after that.

A Sold Out Mackey

So far in 2023 it has been a fun time for women’s sports in Mackey Arena. A few sell outs for the women’s team, and now two straight weekends with volleyball sellouts in Mackey. It was really cool to see the support for this team, and the crowd really seemed to help fuel the team.

Photographing The Action

This was a weird match to cover. There were no lower positions on the side, and the positions that we thought we had on the baseline were quickly filled by cheerleaders. We could have packed into a tight corner with the other photographers, but I decided to go up into the stands. Up there I could get more of the players, and more importantly get that higher position that I always want. Here it worked to help me make a photo that I really liked.

Getting The Wide Shot

Lately at Purdue events I haven’t been worried about the wide picture so much. When I am photographing for the wire it doesn’t really move the needle for anyone. This weekend though I made a goal for myself to find a nice wide angle photo at the three events on campus from Thursday to Saturday. The story was the game, but also part of the story was the crowd. I started set up high in the middle with this photo during intros in mind. Mackey is a cool place, and it is always good to show it off.

More Photos From The Match

Below are a few bonus photos from the match. This was a fun match to cover with an amazing atmosphere. I can only imagine that it will get even better this coming Saturday when Wisconsin comes to town and the match is nationally televised. Volleyball is a rough sport to cover. I feel like I am very rusty, and I could have been much better Saturday night. The good news is that I have a chance to redeem myself this week.