Boilermakers set for premier on Friday

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - The 22nd-annual Mortar Board Premier, a four-team, round robin tournament, will be played on Belin Court in Holloway Gymnasium on Aug. 24-25. The six-match event will feature George Washington, No. 21 Northern Iowa, Pittsburgh and No. 9 Purdue.

Purdue finished (29-5, 16-4 Big Ten) a season ago and made its 14th NCAA Tournament appearance while knocking off seven ranked opponents in 2011. The Boilermakers finished tied for second in the Big Ten and went on to advance to the Sweet 16 before falling to No. 21 Florida State.

“We were pretty good last year, we won our first 14 matches of the year last year. Our non-conference schedule is tougher this year then it was a year ago and it will be very difficult for us to win our first 14 this year,” said Purdue head coach Dave Shondell.

The ninth-ranked Boilermakers return 12 players, including five starters, from the 2011 team which advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. Head coach Dave Shondell is in his 10th season with the team, which was picked to finish third in the 2012 Big Ten preseason poll.

 “I think we are at least as far along as we were a year ago. We have five out of seven starters back and then we have Drewry and Kramer who started the year before but did start last year also back so in theory you have seven starters back. There are really no excuses for why this team shouldn't be very far along,” said Shondell.

Of the 18 players on the 2012 roster, eight are entering their fourth or fifth year with the team. Redshirt senior Amanda Miller is going into her fifth year, while seniors Anna Drewry, Courtney Gosewisch and Ariel Turner and redshirt juniors Carly Cramer, Rachel Davis, Katie Griffin and Catherine Rebarchak are entering the fourth season as Boilermakers.

On the other end of the spectrum, Purdue has added six newcomers to the mix in 2012. Freshmen Faye Adelaja, Annie Drews, Sam Epenesa, Amanda Neill, Bridget Powell and Kate Workman make up the group, which was ranked as the 13th-best recruiting class in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com.

The Boilermakers have posted a 191-108 record in nine seasons under head coach Dave Shondell. Under his watch, the program has become part of an elite group nationally.

Purdue is one of 12 schools nationally to make seven NCAA appearances in the last eight seasons, advancing to at least the second round each time. In addition, the Boilermakers have made five Sweet 16 berths in the lat seven seasons, making the program one of just nine in the nation that can boast the accomplishment.