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Boilers to face two ranked
teams
 By
Laura Pelner
and Paul Trembacki
Purdue's volleyball team will face two ranked teams
at home this weekend with a new lineup and a stronger offense.
The team, which will host No. 11 Penn State Friday
and No. 10 Ohio State Saturday — both matches commence at 7 p.m.
— has been focusing on its competitive skills to improve.
The Boilers (3-17, 1-11 Big Ten) aren't in contention
for the conference crown or and NCAA Tournament berth, but the team
knows that on any given weekend it can spoil someone else's bid for
one of the aforementioned achievements.
"The team is not where we'd of course like it to
be," said coach Jeff Hulsmeyer. "But, the good part of it is, it really
frees you up, you don’t have to worry so much about what's going
to happen as far as your final position, whether you're competing for
a championship or not."
Husmeyer said the Boilers aren't intimidated by
the third-place Nittany Lions (16-5, 9-4) or second-place Buckeyes (19-2,
11-2).
"I feel like the team is looking forward to this
weekend … and it's a tough weekend," Hulsmeyer said. "I think the
team is looking forward to it because again, with that kind of freedom
to take some risks and take some chances out there, they feel like they
can compete and do very well."
The team's new lineup includes Joanna Lowry, who's
back on the left side, and Maegan Petersen, who's back on the right.
That lineup helped Purdue take Michigan to the maximum of five games
on the road.
"It's really paying off for us offensively right
now," Hulsmeyer said. "I think with those changes and a little bit more
consistency in what we're doing it's allowing our team to gel together
a little bit more."
This week Purdue is back home, where its attendance
ranks 25th in the nation. The Boilers won't play at home again until
Nov. 23.
Lowry is returning after a tough summer, in which
she lost "quite a bit of weight and a little off her jump," said Hulsmeyer.
But he stressed that Lowry has trained hard and is coming back well.
The member of the inaugural Big Ten all-freshman
team had stellar year last year and was the only player to appear in
all of Purdue's games.
"She lost a little bit of confidence in the early
part of the season and has spent this first half getting back to where
she knows she's capable of playing at," Hulsmeyer said, and added she's
in a place now where she can really start to excel.
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Pass
offense to face tough defense in Illinois
Boilers
begin preseason Sunday
Keady
opens practice, fits team with helmets
Boilers
to face two ranked teams
Swimmers
lose in new pool, prepare to face Miami of Ohio
SPORTS DESK PHONE:
(765) 743-1111
ext. 251
Sports editor:
Paul Trembacki
Assistant sports
editor:
Doug Healey
To
send a letter to the editor, please email sports@purdueexponent.org
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