Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/744300
VOLUME 27, ISSUE 2 101 ow does an athlete define success? Is it measured in wins and losses? Is it based on postseason accomplishments? Does it depend on certain rankings or statistics? Is it tied to individual or team honors and recognition? When it comes to Faye Adelaja, the Purdue senior doesn't plan to evaluate the 2016 season strictly on any of those criteria. Her focus is different, and striking in its simplicity: Make people better. It's something that's easy to say, but not always easy to do — and yet, that doesn't deter Adelaja in the slight- est. "My one goal this year was to make sure that my teammates ended the sea- son better than they start- ed," Adelaja says. "I want- ed to make sure everybody on our team got better, not only as players in their po- sition, but as people, as leaders, as teammates. So in my opinion, the mea- surement of my success my senior season is: How well is Azariah Stahl play- ing at the end of the year? ... How well is Danielle Cuttino leading the team?" You get the point. It might seem like that lofty ambition is a goal Adela- ja really can't control the outcome of, but she would beg to differ. "I feel like I can affect that as a role model, being someone that they can watch," Adelaja said. "The things I want them to do? I can be a better friend to them than anybody else has, so they can be better friends to anybody else. I can be the best teammate to them, so that they can be the best teammate to everybody else. I can work hard in practice and show them how to work hard so they can work hard in practice. They can see me as a role model and I can model to them what being a better person is. From the beginning to the end it's all about just getting better." Adelaja is the lone se- nior on Coach Dave Shon- dell's 2016 roster, and she works in tandem with her head coach to help encour- age and motivate their team during the grueling Big Ten season. Despite a prolonged October losing streak (coinciding with a string of matches against top-10 foes), both Adela- ja and Shondell hope the Boilers' best volleyball is still in front of them, which goes along with the emphasis on continual im- provement. "Dave is really harping on us just working on get- ting better every day, every point, every game," Ade- laja said. "He knows that we're good. When we're Faye's Ways P Owns the No. 2 spot on Purdue's season hitting percentage list with a .397 effort in 2015. P Will graduate as a four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree (2013-2016). P No. 9 on Purdue's season block assists list with 127 in 2013. P Posted 16 double-digit kill matches 2013-15. P Ranked 26th nationally and third in the Big Ten in hitting percentage in 2015 (.397) en route to honorable-mention All- America honors P Hit an .800 clip (12 kills, 0 errors, 15 attempts) vs. Maryland, Oct. 3, 2015, marking the best hitting percentage with 15-of-19 attempts in a four-set match in program history