Volleyball scrimmage to display conditioning

By Paul Trembacki
Sports Editor

This summer, the members of the Purdue volleyball team that stayed in West Lafayette played matches just about anywhere they could — in the gym, in the pool, on the beach, pretty much anywhere there was a net and a ball.

Saturday, for one last time before the season starts, the team will split up and play an organized scrimmage — the Black and Gold Scrimmage.

The match starts at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility and it will be the only match in the facility until Sept. 14 when Purdue plays its home opener in the Purdue Mortar Board Premier against Tulane.

The team will have played seven matches by then. The Boilers open their season against Texas Aug. 31 in the Husky Opener in Seattle on the campus of the University of Washington.

After a solid few weeks of training camp, Purdue coach Jeff Hulsmeyer hopes to see some positive things Saturday.

"It'll be a good opportunity to see our team in a game setting," Hulsmeyer said. "We're looking forward to seeing what people will show us in a match setting."

The Black and Gold Scrimmage will be the second instance in which Purdue uses the new rules that were passed by the NCAA last spring.

Matches will now be played until 30 points rather than 15 and matches will have rally scoring, which eliminates side-outs in favor of a point-per-play format. Also, serves that touch the net are considered in play, instead of service errors. Several other minor changes are in effect.

The first time the Boilers dealt with these changes was during their spring tournament.

Sophomore Jen Bova said she hopes the team has everything put together in terms of communication, competitiveness and togetherness. Bova will be participating in her first Black and Gold Scrimmage because there wasn't one last year. Instead, Purdue celebrated its 25-year anniversary with a scrimmage that pitted alumnae from the last 25 years against the 2000 squad.

Saturday's match will also mark the first action that freshmen Leah Wischmeier, Lyndsey Phillips and Kim McConaha will see in a Purdue uniform.

"Hopefully, the newcomers will work out those first-match jitters," Hulsmeyer said.

Purdue will also get to display its conditioning. The Boilers have been doing a fair amount of weightlifting in the middle of some of their practices. The exercises the team has been doing are meant to build strength and endurance in the muscles. For example, players do squats to build strength in their legs and immediately after they finish, they'll jump up and down for a few minutes to build endurance.

"Because volleyball is a sport that requires both power and speed, it's not enough just to be strong," Hulsmeyer said.

Volleyball scrimmage to display conditioning

Athletics Hall of Fame to applaud inductees

Freshmen prepare for season

Wisconsin must deal with players' departures

SPORTS DESK PHONE:
(765) 743-1111 ext. 251

Sports editor:
Paul Trembacki

Assistant sports editor:

To send a letter to the editor, please email opinions@purdueexponent.org