Purdue volleyball riding ups and downs of youthful roster
WEST LAFAYETTE — The highs, they are amazing.
But with a youthful roster, Purdue volleyball also has experienced the lows.
Dave Shondell has coached long enough to know that sometimes you take the bad with the good.
When he landed a nationally touted recruiting class and coupled that with what he had coming back, Shondell knew the Boilermakers could compete with anyone on the schedule.
He also was aware there'd be days like Sunday, when Purdue cruised to wins in the first two sets against Northwestern, fell into a funk in sets three and four, and watched an 11-8 lead whittle away as the Wildcats scored seven of the next eight points to beat the Boilermakers at Holloway Gymnasium.
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"You don't want to expect it, but when it happens, I've been around the game a long time, so when it happens, you recognize that we have a young team like that," Shondell said Monday. "I don't have an excuse for why we kind of went bad on Sunday, because we really played seven really good sets in a row before then.
"I think fatigue. I think emotion. A lot of different things watching our team play the first three sets (against Northwestern) was not anything like watching them play the first seven (against Nebraska and Northwestern last weekend). ... I don't want to forget all the things we did well on Friday and Sunday just because the last three we got punched in the mouth by Northwestern."
Purdue returned sophomore Eva Hudson, one of the best freshmen outside hitters in the country a year ago, and kept libero Maddie Schermerhorn for a fifth year. Raven Colvin returned after two solid seasons as a freshman and sophomore.
Those were good staples to add around.
Taylor Anderson has been the preferred setter, a true freshman, but Purdue has also leaned on grad transfer Lorrin Poulter's experience at the position.
Chloe Chicoine has been a machine digging balls, serving and bombing away on the left side, but also has had a few off nights. Grace Heaney almost lifted Purdue to victory in the fifth set Sunday with her left-handed swings from the right side. She, too, is a freshman, as is Kenna Wollard, who also filled a need on the right side this season.
Not to point fingers and make an excuse, because Purdue still should've been able to close out Northwestern on Sunday only to be the victim of grad transfer Julia Sangiacomo's 33 kills, but Purdue still looks like a team in learning mode at times.
That said, wins over Kansas, Marquette and Kentucky, even a five-set loss to No. 2 Nebraska, show how talented the Boilermakers are.
"We have work to do, but we're still the same team that won seven out of eight coming into this weekend, beating some pretty good teams," Shondell said.
Illinois comes to Purdue at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
It will again be a challenge at a place where Purdue hasn't played its best this season. All five of Purdue's losses are at Holloway Gymnasium.
"As a coach, you want your fans to be happy," Shondell said. "You know those fans. I don't know the fans on the road very well. Our players and staff and marketing has worked really hard to create the situation we have here and I know our fans love this team."
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue volleyball riding ups and downs of youthful roster
