Purdue’s Cuttino, Atkinson Earn National Awards

by | Nov 14, 2017 | RRSN News | 0 comments

 

Cuttino, Atkinson Earn National Awards

 

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Danielle Cuttino and Sherridan Atkinson each earned national player of the week honors following Purdue’s upsets of No. 5 Minnesota and No. 10 Wisconsin. Cuttino was named ESPNW Player of the Week for the second time in her career while VolleyMob.com awarded Atkinson with her first National Player of the Week honor.

The duo led Purdue to historical efforts as for the first time in program history, Purdue defeated top-10 opponents on back-to-back days, both of which were in front of sell-out crowds at Holloway Gymnasium. The victory over Minnesota snapped an 11-match winning streak while the win against Wisconsin was the Badgers’ first three-set loss of the season. Purdue now has 55 ranked wins under head coach Dave Shondell and of those wins, 40 were upsets. Of Purdue’s 32 wins over ranked opponents in West Lafayette, Indiana, since 2003 when Shondell took over, the Boilermakers were the lesser-ranked team in 24 of them.

Playing in an offensive system in which she’s hitting on the pins, in the middle and out of the back row, Cuttino led Purdue’s efforts in which it out-hit and out-defended two of the top teams in the nation. She accounted for 10 of Purdue’s 15 blocks on the weekend in which the Boilermakers out-blocked its opponents 15-13 while averaging four kills per set with 28 total kills and a .312 hitting percentage. She’s now hitting .358, averaging 3.81 kills per set and 1.06 blocks per set since she moved to the middle back on October 20 against Penn State.​

Atkinson led Purdue hitters with 31 kills on the weekend and averaged 4.43 kills per set while also registering a .364 hitting percentage. The right side was a factor defensively as well, totaling nine blocks and 13 digs to average 1.29 blocks per set and 1.86 digs per set. She has torched opposing defenses in her last seven matches with hitting percentages north of .400 in five of them with at least 10 kills or more. She’s hitting .418 in that stretch, averaging 3.85 kills per set with 104 total kills.

The honorees led an offense that picked apart two of the best defensive units in the Big Ten entering the weekend. Wisconsin and Minnesota were ranked two and three in the league, holding opponents to hitting percentages of .163 and .180 respectively this season. The Badgers averaged 2.71 blocks per set to rank third while the Gophers blocked 2.62 balls per set to own the league’s fourth best average. Minnesota also began Friday night’s match with the conference’s top digs per set average of 16.51.

The duo also led a defense that neutralized two of the top offensive teams in the conference as the Badgers’ .298 hitting percentage ranked third in the Big Ten and the Gophers’ 14.57 kills per set was good for best in the league entering the weekend.

 

Related Stories

Andy Waddle Brings More Than Just Football to Valpo

When Valparaiso University hired Andy Waddle in December, it got more than simply a head football coach. Waddle won a lot of games over the last 12 seasons at Marietta College, but he’s far prouder of the lives that he has saved than the games that he has won. Waddle...

Crossroads League in the NAIA National Polls | April 7-13

JACKSON, Mich. – The NAIA recently announced its Top-25 Polls for the sports of men’s and women’s tennis and women’s golf. The Crossroads League had 13 teams ranked or receiving votes in those polls and now has 39 teams ranked inside the Top-25 for the 2024-2025 year....

Bethel Softball surrenders doubleheader to Mount Vernon Cougars

MISHAWAKA, Ind.--The Bethel Pilots (8-26, 3-17) fell to the Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars (17-12, 10-10) on Thursday evening at Gardner Field. GAME ONE In the opening inning, the Cougars posted two runs on the board with a single to center by Skylar Zimmerman and a...

IUSB Baseball Completes Season Sweep of CCSJ

WHITING, Ind. - The Indiana University South Bend Baseball (13-23, 9-11 CCAC) team concluded their CCAC season series with Calumet College of St. Joseph (6-19, 3-13) Tuesday, winning both games of the doubleheader and and sweeping the series. IUSB won game one 10-6...

UCLA and Oregon Collect Big Ten Softball Weekly Awards

Bruins’ Grant and Ducks’ Sokolsky and Ma’ake receive weekly recognition Player of the Week Megan Grant, UCLA Jr. – UTL – San Bruno, Calif. – Aragon High School – Major: Sociology Led UCLA to a 4-0 week, including a top-25 sweep of No. 21 Ohio State, with a team-best...

Purdue MBB 2024-25 Final Release

Final Game Notes attached in PDF format. THE FINAL TALLY: Purdue ended the season with a 24-12 record and a spot in the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in the last eight years. The Boilermakers lost a heartbreaker to eventual national runner-up Houston in the Sweet 16,...

A LETTER FROM THE IHSAA COMMISSIONER- Paul Neidig

A LETTER FROM THE IHSAA  COMMISSIONER- Paul Neidig I may be showing my age with this reference, but Bob Dylan once wrote and sang “the times, they are a-changin.” In February, the IHSAA Executive Committee approved changes to the Association’s bylaws that will...