This weekend, Purdue women's volleyball team is on the road, and the first order of business for the Boilermakers will be to get a redemptive victory over Ohio State in Columbus.

The two teams met in the first weekend of Big Ten conference play with Ohio State earning the upset over then No. 13-ranked Purdue in four sets.

If Purdue, now ranked No. 18, has ambitions of hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament in December, they can't afford to go 0-2 against Ohio State.

Here's what the Boilermakers will need to do to get the win.

Watch Purdue vs. Ohio State, Friday, October 27, at 7 PM ET.

1. Make defensive plays.

Offense is not a problem for Purdue. With a .321 hitting percentage, the team ranks fourth nationally and second behind Penn State in the Big Ten. Setter Ashley Evans has four hitters contributing at least two kills per set, and Danielle Cuttino boasts an impressive 4.16 kills per set.

Defense, on the other hand, has been more of a pain point, but when the Boilermakers are getting blocks and scooping up digs, they've taken sets off some of the nation's top teams, including Nebraska and Penn State.

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2. Keep Danielle Cuttino in the middle.

For the match with Penn State on October 20, Purdue head coach Dave Shondell moved senior Danielle Cuttino, who had been playing outside for a season and a half, to middle blocker, the position she played as a freshman and sophomore.

Against Ohio State, it seems wise to keep her there. Having Cuttino block out of the middle makes Purdue a much stronger defensive team (to go back to point No. 1). Shondell said earlier this week in practice she was blocking in the middle as well as any player he's ever coached.

"I've just never seen anybody so efficient as she was tonight in one of our practices."

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3. Limit Luisa Schirmer's kills.

The first time Purdue played Ohio State, the Buckeyes' senior outside hitter Luisa Schirmer lead the match with 25 kills and only five errors on 52 swings to hit .385.

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"[Schirmer] has a fast arm and she just goes at the seam and high-hands and that's hurt us," Shondell said. "That's been something that we've been susceptible to defensively."

With Cuttino in the middle, however, Purdue will always have a big physical blocker in the front row (with Blake Mohler playing the second middle blocker position), and that should help. But it's also just a matter of showing up, Shondell says.

"Our game plan was pretty good the last time we played them. We just didn't show up. We didn't execute."

Which leads us to No. 4…

4. Compete.

In the Big Ten, Shondell says, "If you don't compete, you get beat." That was his biggest complaint after the Boilermakers 0-3 loss to Minnesota and subsequent four-set loss to Nebraska.

"You're always trying to find some way to get them to understand they have to play harder," Shondell said. "They have to be more focused. They've gotta be better teammates."

5. Stay patient when you're getting dug.

One big place where that competitive fire, or lack thereof, might show up, is when the Buckeyes are making good defensive plays of their own.

Ohio State libero Hannah Gruensfelder ranks second in the conference in digs per set (and is only a 10th of a dig behind the conference leader), so Ohio State is definitely going to keep rallies going, and if Purdue wants to win this one, the players are going to have to keep swinging.

"I just think [the key is] being patient, believing in yourselves, not getting frustrated, trusting your backcourt people to cover when you really try to hit a shot that you might get blocked on," Shondell said. "You can't be afraid of making a mistake as long as it's a calculated risk."

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6. Take advantage of the small left-side block.

Luisa Schirmer, although listed at 6-1, is in reality probably under six feet, and with Audra Appold injured, 5-11 defensive specialist Bea Franklin has been playing in the OH2 spot for the Buckeyes. That's two pretty undersized blockers holding down the left side of the net for Ohio State, and Purdue will no doubt be looking to capitalize on that.

To do so, Purdue will want to get opposite Sherridan Atkinson more sets than average and Danielle Cuttino and Blake Mohler will likely be running plenty of slides when they're in the front row with setter Ashley Evans.

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7. Get good production out of Caitlyn Newton.

Freshman outside hitter Caitlyn Newton has been the second starting outside hitter (opposite Azariah Stahl) when Shondell puts Cuttino in the middle. Shondell threw Newton into the fire versus Penn State, and he liked a lot of what he saw from 6-1 Indiana native, who he says has an absolute cannon of an arm. She made only one error on 22 swings versus the Nittany Lions, but many of those sets came in out-of-system situations and she only got three kills.

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Having Cuttino in the middle means her offensive contribution is somewhat diminished, so Purdue will need Newton to be more terminal and start to rack up her kill count. They'll also need her to shore up her block, which will be tested early and often versus Ohio State with lefty setter Taylor Hughes and go-to opposite Ashley Wenz swinging away across the net.

The first serve will be launched from St. John Arena in Columbus at 7 PM ET.

Watch the match live right here on FloVolleyball.

Watch Purdue in action again on Sunday versus Maryland at 1 PM ET.