GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 3 77
BY KYLE CHARTERS
KCharters@GoldandBlack.com
B
y the second weekend of November, Purdue was
rolling.
The Boilermakers swept No. 10 Wisconsin a day
after beating No. 4 Minnesota, becoming the first Purdue
team to beat top-10 opponents on back-to-back nights in
program history.
But Purdue peaked about three weeks too early, as the
Boilermakers were .500 the rest of the way, including a
second-round NCAA Tournament loss at Utah. And so a
season that included tremendous highs — Purdue was
23-10, including wins over top-10 Creighton, Minnesota,
Wisconsin and Michigan State — ended on a low. The
veteran-laden Boilermakers had sought a trip back to the
second week of the tournament for the first time since
2013, its last Elite Eight, but lost 3-1 on the No. 13 Utes'
home court.
"I haven't had many teams I've liked as much as this
team," said Dave Shondell, a couple weeks after finishing
his 15th season as Purdue's head coach, "just because
they made a lot of sacrifices, made a lot of changes to be-
come better at just being more unselfish, more team-ori-
ented; they worked harder and opened arms up to each
other more than we have the last few years. It'll be one I
remember for a long time, which is why it hurt so much
to lose."
The loss concludes a chapter in Purdue volleyball his-
tory, as well, as the Boilermakers graduate three pieces
critical to the last four years, including one of the best
to play in West Lafayette. Left-side hitter Danielle Cutti-
no departs after an impressive career highlighted by her
first-team All-America honor following the season, only
Highs And Lows
Purdue reclaims identity in
2017, but can't escape NCAA
second round
Photos
by
Charles
Joschke
