Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/375862
GoldanDBlack express • volume 25, express 2 • 36 BY TRAVIS BAUGH Tbaugh@purdue.edu E ntering the season, Coach Dave Shondell saw as many as five teams on Purdue's non-con- ference schedule he thought were very good. Purdue defeated two of those teams last weekend en route to a 3-0 record and a Mortar Board Pre- mier championship. "To clear those hurdles gives you a good feeling," Shondell said. Purdue, who moved up to seventh in this week's poll to tie the highest mark in program his- tory, started the tournament with a victory in straight sets over South Florida before sweeping then-No. 14 San Diego and LSU, a team projected to finish near the top of the SEC. "We want to win champion- ships and to do that, we have to win the hard games," junior out- side hitter Annie Drews said. "We want to be beat teams we're not picked to beat. To see us showing these signs so early in August as opposed to in two or three weeks, that was great." When the tournament com- mittee asked for three Purdue players to nominate for the all- tournament team, Shondell said he thought of as many as seven or eight players across the board. The Boilermakers received production from their veteran players like Val Nichol (94 assists, 30 digs) and Drews (39 kills) while redshirt freshman Ashley Evans took home MVP honors and true freshmen Lydia Dimke, Danielle Cuttino and Azariah Stahl contrib- uted in all three matches. Shondell said Purdue's other four freshmen are in "redshirt mode," meaning he will try to red- shirt them unless circumstances bring the need to play them. "We feel like an experienced and seasoned team because a lot of the players we're relying on now have been here a long time," Drews said. "At the same time it's nice to have some versatility of having Azariah come in with a big hit, having Danielle Cuttino come in and be able to put up a new block if we need that, or have Lydia come in and run the 6-2 sets if that's what we need to do. The impact of the freshmen has been a really positive one. Although we're not relying on any - one heavily now, it's nice to know we have options to change up the lineup in the future." boilermakers pass opening weekend test Purdue Annie Drews had 39 kills over three matches to help the Boilermakers start the season 3-0 and win the Mortar Board Premier championship. 2014 Volleyball schedule Date Opponent Time/Result Aug. 29 USF W, 3-0^ No. 14 SAN DIEGO W, 3-0^ Aug. 30 LSU W, 3-0^ Sept. 5 vs. UNC-Asheville 5 p.m* Sept. 6 vs. Elon 10 a.m.* at Kennesaw State 7:30 p.m.* Sept. 12 vs. Austin Peay 1 p.m.# at Western Kentucky 7 p.m.# Sept. 13 vs. Western Michigan 1 p.m.# Sept. 19 ST LOUIS 10 a.m.% MOREHEAD STATE 7:30 p.m.% Sept. 20 NOTRE DAME 8 p.m.% Sept. 26 MICHIGAN 7 p.m. Sept. 27 MICHIGAN STATE 7 p.m. Oct. 3 at Rutgers 7 p.m. Oct. 5 at Maryland 1 p.m. Oct. 8 INDIANA 7 p.m. Oct. 11 at Indiana 7 p.m. Oct. 17 PENN STATE 7 p.m. Oct. 18 OHIO STATE 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at Northwestern 8 p.m. Oct. 25 at Illinois 8 p.m. Oct. 29 WISCONSIN 7 p.m. Nov. 1 MINNESOTA 7 p.m. Nov. 5 at Nebraska 8 p.m. Nov. 8 at Iowa 8 p.m. Nov. 12 MARYLAND 7 p.m. Nov. 15 NORTHWESTERN 7 p.m. Nov. 19 RUTGERS 7 p.m. Nov. 22 at Minnesota 8 p.m. Nov. 26 at Michigan State 7 p.m. Nov. 28 at Wisconsin 8 p.m. ^ Mortar Board Premier, West Lafayette * KSU Owls Invitational, Kennesaw, Ga. # Holiday Inn University Plaza Invitational, Bowling Green, Ky. % Active Ankle Challenge, West Lafayette Purdue Coach Dave Shondell's Boilermakers travel to Georgia for three games this weekend, looking to double their win total.