WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Senior setter Val Nichol and junior outside hitter Annie Drews were named to the All-Big Ten team, while middle blocker Danielle Cuttino garnered All-Freshman Team honors, the conference announced Tuesday morning.
The All-Big Ten selection is the second consecutive for Nichol, making her the 16th Purdue player to be selected twice in her career and just the fifth to garner multiple first team honors. While directing the Boilermaker offense, the Normal, Ill., native posted 10.08 assists per set, 1.24 kills, 2.29 digs and 0.67 blocks per set, while also serving up 25 aces. In Big Ten matches, Nichol posted 9.56 assists, 2.36 digs and 1.38 kills per set, while serving up 13 aces. The Preseason All-Big Ten selection and Sept. 1 Big Ten Setter of the Week posted two triple-doubles (at Iowa and vs. Rutgers) and 10 doubles-doubles. She led the Boilers to a .250 or better hitting effort 17 times, including 12 .300-plus efforts and two .400-plus efforts. Nichol ranks fifth in the Big Ten in assists per set and seventh during conference play. She put down double-digit kills twice, double-digit digs 12 times and five or more blocks four times. The senior led the Boilermakers in kills three times, blocks five times and digs four times. Individually, she hit at a .250 or better clip 20 times, including .400 or better 11 times and .500 or better five times.
All told, the 2013 AVCA All-America and All-Big Ten selection has posted four career triple-doubles, the most in Purdue history, and 32 double-doubles. She posted double-digit kills in 33 matches, 10 or more digs in 19 matches and double-digit assists in 75 contests. Nichol led Purdue in assists each of her last three seasons, while also pacing the team in kills in 2013. She has registered 903 kills, 2149 assists, 623 digs and 259 blocks.
Drews earns her first All-Big Ten selection after being named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team in 2012. The junior averaged 3.92 kills and 4.30 points per set, ranking second and fourth respectively among Big Ten players, while also adding 0.52 blocks per set and 11 aces. In Big Ten play, Drews registered 3.78 kills per set, while hitting .242and adding 55 digs and 36 blocks. She posted 22 double-digit kill efforts, including 20 or more six times. The Elkhart, Ind., native put down 33 kills against Western Kentucky to become the first Purdue players with 30 kills since 2000. The outside hitter led the Boilers in kills 21 times, while hitting at a .250 or better clip 16 times. She managed a .300 or better effort in 13 matches, .400-plus eight times and one .500-plus performance. Drews put up five or more blocks twice in 2014. As a Boilermaker, she has tallied double-digit kills in 39 matches and posted five or more blocks five times, while totaling 855 kills, averaging 2.65 per set, 176 blocks and 162 digs.
Cuttino earned a spot on the All-Big Ten Freshman team after averaging 1.71 kills per set, while hitting at a .291 clip and putting up a team-best 1.01 blocks per set. During conference play, she registered a team-leading 1.18 blocks per set, while adding 1.85 kills per set and hitting .293. The Indianapolis, Ind., native led the team in blocks 10 times and kills once, while posting double-digit putdowns five times and managing five or more stuffs in eight matches. The rookie saw action in 26 matches, starting 18. She hit at a .300 or better clip 13 times, including .400 or better nine times and .500-plus on seven occasions.
Senior KiKi Jones was named as Purdue's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree. Jones averaged 1.93 kills and 1.00 blocks per set, while hitting at a team-leading .353 clip. She put down double-digit kills in five matches, leading the team with 19 at Northwestern, while managed five or more blocks nine times, including a team-best tally 16 times. The Fishers, Ind., native hit at a .250 or better clip 20 times, including .300-plus 19 times, and .400 or better 15 times.
Jones wraps her career as Purdue's all-time hitting percentage leader with a .367 clip. She also ranks second in career block assists (454) and fifth in career total blocks (510). The middle blocker also put down 865 kills, posting double-digit tallies in 19 matches, while adding five or more blocks 46 times.
Purdue has featured at least one All-Big Ten honoree every year since 2003 and 54 in program history. The Boilers also boast 10 all-freshman team selections since 2000, including Cuttino.