I know I’m not the only one counting, but as of today there are 20 days until Purdue Volleyball. That means it’s time for Juan and myself to start player countdowns! Today’s player is Anna Drewry:
Anna Drewry
Hometown: San Antonio, Texas (Tom C. Clark HS)
Middle Blocker
6’3" (and it’s rude to ask a woman’s weight)
2012 Projection: Rotation member at Middle Blocker and perhaps outside hitter
Anna came in as high school Under Armor All-American and got playing time immediately. As a freshman she played in 30 matches and averaged a team-best 0.94 blocks per set. During this period she garnered Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors three times. As a sophomore she played in 29 matches and averaged the third most kills on the team with 2.23 per set. Last year she only played in 15 matches due to a knee injury from landing awkwardly on a hit in 2010.
If I’m not making this clear, Anna is really good. And really really big. She’s a very good athlete for her size and if she’s healthy she’ll definitely be a contributor in the middle, even with the advances Kiki Jones has made to get better. In the past, we’ve seen Anna play some outside hitter, but Coach Shondell talked about keeping her in her comfort zone with her recovery from her knee injury so it appears we’ll be seeing her mostly man the middle this year.
The other thing about Anna is that her nickname is "Boom Boom" and she lives up to it. I know Ariel Turner and Val Nichol can hit the ball hard, but if you asked me to take a volleyball to the face I would take them over Anna in a heartbeat. The ball just comes off her hand like it was shot out of a cannon and as long as she can do that while holding down the middle defensively she has a chance to be something special this year. I’m not predicting All-Big Ten or anything, but she very well could have a handful of games where she leads us to a victory and takes the pressure off of the other hitters.