Volleyball to break Big Ten attendance record twice in upcoming Mackey games

Mackey Arena is slated to be packed with fans this weekend and next, but not for Boiler Basketball.

The volleyball team’s upcoming matchups with Indiana University and Wisconsin in Mackey are set to break the Big Ten attendance record, according to a Purdue Athletics press release.

There was some hesitancy hosting volleyball matches in the arena due to the concerns of not meeting the 3,500 attendance minimum needed to break even, the press release said.

The capacity of Purdue volleyball’s home, Holloway Gymnasium, is just over 2,400 people, much less than the crowd Mackey can host.

However, days after the announcement that two volleyball matches would be held at Mackey, 12,000 tickets were sold for each.

“The time was right to return to Mackey this year,” said Chris Peludat, associate athletic director for marketing and fan experience. “We always want to expose the sport to more fans and kids.”

The final tally for the games is 14,876 people, beating the Big Ten record for volleyball games by almost 4,000.

The Boilermakers take the court in Mackey to face off against IU at 7 p.m. on Saturday, and Wisconsin at 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 26.