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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 6 • 40 lenge for him and his staff. "You have to study the tape harder," Shondell said. "You don't know some of the intricacies of how these kids play like some of the others. When I was watch- ing Michigan-Michigan State last weekend, I knew the personalities of those kids. I know what players can be broken, what players to stay away from … we miss a little about of that element playing a team we're not as familiar with." The distance from West Lafay- ette to New Jersey and Maryland garners an unconventional week- end schedule for the Boilermakers. Purdue won't hold its usual Thursday practice as it flies to Rutgers during the day. The Boil- ermakers will fly to Maryland im- mediately following Friday's match against Rutgers, practice Saturday and then play Maryland for a rare Sunday match. "Every weekend in our league is a little bit different," Shondell said. "You're never going to have the same scenario break out. We don't preach regularity making sure everything is the same way. It's important to make sure players are uncomfortable so they don't get used to it." OLYMPIC ATHLETE-OF-THE-WEEK: DANIELLE CUTTINO D anielle Cuttino is the best player Dave Shondell has ever recruited in his 20 years at Purdue from a physi- cal talent standpoint, he's said. Purdue fans got to see that poten- tial last weekend as Cuttino was a key cog in Purdue's 2-0 start to open con- ference play. Cuttino collected nine kills and five blocks in Purdue's five-set win over Michigan Friday and had team highs in hitting percentage (.444) and blocks (four) against Michigan State Saturday. "Danielle had a great weekend," Shondell said. "She's coming on strong and is looking even better this week in practice. We have to continue to get her into the mix on the offensive side." Cuttino's performance was a welcome sight for the Boilermakers. Coming into the weekend, she had just 18 kills and six blocks and was seeing the court less than fellow freshmen Lydia Dimke and Azariah Stahl. "When you win two close matches and you have a freshman that has been OK but hasn't been as good as you've expected because she has so much talent, and she snaps out of it, it makes a dif - ference," Shondell said. Outside hitter Annie Drews said she saw a change in Cuttino's body language in last week- end's matches as she continues to grow in her first season at the collegiate level. "With her size and ability and strength, she's go- ing to put balls away and blocks away," Drews said. "To see her do that this weekend with more confidence and stability and with a smile on her face, I think that was the biggest change we've seen from the Danielle we saw six weeks ago during preseason." The physical tools have always been there for the 6-foot-4 Cuttino, who can touch 10 feet, eight inches according to Shondell. Shondell said last weekend when he was watching the opposing teams warm up, all they were doing was watching her. "To have her to where we're not warming her up and then having her on the bench, now we're warming her up and she's playing, now all of a sud - den you have something," Shondell said. "Up until last weekend, she wasn't as valu- able as we needed her to be. Now, I think she's on her way." If last weekend was any indication, Cuttino will give Purdue a fourth capable middle blocker along- side KiKi Jones, Faye Adelaja and Kaisley Fisher — a big change from last season. "Last year, we had two middles and were just praying for good health and good nights from them," Drews said. "It's nice to have that variety and run some different things depending on who we have in." — Travis Baugh Purdue Coach Dave Shondell sees room for improvement from Purdue's backline defense, including libero Amanda Neill. Purdue ranks eighth in the Big Ten with 14.1 digs per set.