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Turner caps impressive career with individual accolades Tom Campbell Shondell admitted the NCAA match against Minnesota wasn't the team's best, but despite the losses of Turner and Drewry to graduation is optimistic about the team's prospects in 2013. A riel Turner has been one of the Big Ten's most consistent players during the past two seasons and throughout her entire four-year career at Purdue. Her performances haven't gone unnoticed. The middle hitter finished last season as a first-team All-American and Big Ten Player-of-the-Year and has followed that up with nearly as impressive honors in her final year at Purdue. Turner was recently named second-team All-American as well as the Academic All-America Player-of-the-Year, for her combined efforts on the court and in the classroom. "That is really a great honor for me," Turner said. "It takes a lot of focused determination to excel at both, but the demands of playing college sports force you to stay on top of your academics." Turner turned in another statistically impressive season this fall, leading Purdue with 4.48 kills per set and finishing second on the team with 2.75 digs per set. She led the Big Ten for digs per set and was second in the conference with 5.12 points per set. "Having Ariel on your team these past few seasons, you go into matches feeling like you have the best weapon on the court," coach Dave Shondell said. "She is a special player. "There is no better complete player in terms of setting, attacking and defense; she is the cream of the crop and she is the epitome of the term 'student-athlete.' She has done terrific things in her time at Purdue." Turner is set to graduate this upcoming spring and plans to continue her playing career abroad. She has been in communication with several teams in Europe and hopes to find a squad that fits her style of play. "She is one-of-a-kind," teammate Carly Cramer said. "She can do it all. She was a special player that wanted to win more than anyone and brought it every time she was out on the court." — Brandan Alford GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com proud of our team." Turner capped her Purdue career by posting 25 kills and 16 digs against the Seminoles. No other Boiler reached double-figure kills, as Catherine Rebarchak added seven while Anna Drewry, Kierra Jones and Annie Drews all added six. Rachel Davis dished out 50 assists in the four-set defeat and added 10 digs. "Minnesota is a really talented team and they have four of the best arms out there that can put a lot of velocity on the ball," Coach Dave Shondell said. "I really liked the way our team played. We competed and showed toughness. It wasn't one of our best matches, but in the tournament you have to play hard. "Sometimes you can beat a team by outworking them — that is how we do things at Purdue. But when you are going up against teams like Minnesota or Penn State, that is not going to happen." Purdue will lose four seniors to graduation following this season: Turner, Drewry, Courtney Gosewich and Amanda Miller. However, the cupboard will not be bare when the Boilers return to the court in 2013. "We have a good group coming back," Shondell said. "A lot of people are going to look at the fact that we are going to lose Turner and Drewry and question what we can do without those two. "Offensively, we are going to be fine; we have six returning players with significant experience as attackers. I like the fact that it is sort of going to be a new era for our program and there are going to be opportunities for players like Catherine Rebarchak, Drews, Kierra Jones, and Val Nichol to establish themselves." One player who saw her court time fluctuate throughout the season, but could have a significant impact next fall, is junior Katie Griffin. As she enters her final season of eligibility, the athletic outside hitter will be looking to make her mark along Purdue's front line. Shondell and Griffin's teammates are confident she can make that next step. "Katie has to be a guiding force for our team," Shondell said. "She has all the right ideas as a player, and she just needs to be able to find ways to impact a match." Gold & Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 3 • 61