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With the departure of Purdue's four seniors, senior leadership will once again be a focal point in the offseason. Shondell will look to a junior class that includes five players who saw significant time this season. "We are blessed that we have four fourth-year juniors this year that will be in their fifth season in the program next fall," Shondell said. "That should pay dividends for us; those players will be leaders. "A player like Carly Cramer is a natural leader. She is bold, aggressive, and is a good leader that makes the team better. She's the most likely to step into that role. I also think someone like Rachel Davis is a prime candidate as well; she just needs to assert herself and has to change her mentality." Cramer isn't averse to stepping into a leadership role, welcoming the added responsibility that comes with seniority. "The great thing with our team is that people can lead in different ways," Cramer said. "For me, that Tom Campbell comes off as being more vocal and trying to be a leader The Boilermakers enjoyed a great home court advantage in the NCAA Regionals, but Big Ten champ Penn State out on the court, be a coach out there on the floor and survived to advance to the FInal Four. Texas won the national title a week later. do my job on every play." to close the season. Drews started Purdue's first postseason match before giving The Boilers will return to action in the spring, playing several exhibition matches before traveling to Europe for an exhibition tour way to Rebarchak for the majority of the final three matches. "There are two ways we can handle those two," Shondell said. "We could move over the summer. There will be several strategic questions for Shondell to answer during the offseason, and those spring and summer matches may provide the an- Rebarchak to the left side or keep both on the right side and move Val Nichol to be a second setter along the left side." swers he is looking for. Playing two setters is another one of those questions to be answered by next One debate he will undoubtedly address is how to balance the playing time of August. Shondell started this season utilizing Nichol and Davis as setters on the Annie Drews and Catherine Rebarchak. Rebarchak started at right side outside hitter for much of the season before Drews put together several strong performances court at the same time. However, as the team failed to adjust to the different style of play, it was scrapped for a more traditional style throughout the rest of the season. "We really have to improve in that two-setter system," Shondell said. "We need to encourage this group to embrace it. I'm not entirely sure if we shouldn't have just stuck with it this season. It really fit our personnel. "Our upcoming trip to Europe in May where we play five or six matches will be an advantage for us. It will be really important for us to come up with some answers to some of these questions in those matches." A somewhat unexpected bright spot on this year's team was three true freshmen emerging as important pieces to the Boilermakers' attack. Joining Drews in that respect were defensive specialist Amanda Neill and outside hitter Sam Epenesa. Shondell expects each of those three, as well as the three newcomers who redshirted this fall, to take the next step between now and next season. "That is going to happen," Shondell said. "They are three of the hardest working players we have. They are diligent and enthusiastic players and on top of that, they are great people. "Drews can be as good as any player we have had here; Neill had a really great tournament run as a freshman, and I really think Epenesa could crack into the starting lineup this spring." Turner is excited for what could be for the Boilers in 2013. "This team can really do some great things," she said. "They have so many great players returning. Playing alongside these players has been a great experience." As Cramer looks toward her final season as a Boiler, the goals remain the same: to reach a Final Four and compete for a conference title in what is believed to be the nation's best league. "Every night in the Big Ten is a battle," Cramer said. "On any given night any team can win. At points, after you have played an entire Big Ten season, those NCAA Tournament games seem a little easier. "But we have to realize that every match matters throughout the course of a season. When you are playing in August, what is going to happen in three months doesn't matter. We have to take matches one at a time and realize that every conTom Campbell ference match matters. The sky is the limit for this team next year, and I firmly Carly Cramer tries to rally the troops against Minnesota. She will continue as one of believe we deserve success." j the team leaders as a fifth-year senior in 2013. 62 • Gold & Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 3 GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com