WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Senior-to-be outside hitter Annie Drews will be part of a Big Ten foreign tour this summer, which will feature student-athletes from all 14 conference schools and include community service initiatives and touring opportunities in addition to the on-court competition.
The Big Ten Volleyball Foreign Tour team will travel to Slovenia, Croatia and Italy from June 13 to 25.
Northwestern's Keylor Chan will serve as the team's head coach, while Indiana's Paul Koncir and Rutgers's Phuong Louong will travel as assistant coaches.
The team's first stop is Maribor, Slovenia, where matches with four national teams will take place. The squad will then travel to several cities in Croatia to play in two contests against the Istrian Select team. The final leg of the tour will be in Italy, where the team will play the Italian national team on June 23 and 24.
In addition to the competition on the court, the 14 student-athletes will have the opportunity to partake in community service initiatives, study foreign languages with local students and visit some of Europe's most historic cities, including Ljubljana in Slovenia; Istra, Pula, Rovinj and Porec in Croatia; and Padova and Venice in Italy.
Drews was an honorable mention All-America, all-region and All-Big Ten selection in 2014. The Elkhart, Ind., native averaged a team-best 3.92 kills and 4.30 points per set, ranking second and third respectively among Big Ten players and 59th and 72nd nationally. Drews racked up double-digit kill tallies 22 times, including 20 or more on six occasions. She put down 33 kills against Western Kentucky to become the first Purdue player with 30 kills since 2000. The junior led Purdue in kills 21 times, while hitting at a .250 or better clip 16 times.
Drews is not the only Boilermaker that will be getting in some extra competition over the summer. Setter Ashley Evans is competing as part of the USA Volleyball College National Team China tour, while libero Amanda Neill and outside hitter Azariah Stahl will compete in New Orleans, La., as part of the College National Team program.
2015 Big Ten Volleyball Foreign Tour Team
Jocelynn Birks, Illinois, Outside Hitter, Sr.
Megan Tallman, Indiana, Setter, Jr.
Jess Janota, Iowa, Middle Blocker, So.
Hailey Murray, Maryland, Middle Blocker, So.
Adeja Lambert, Michigan, Outside Hitter, So.
Halle Peterson, Michigan State, Setter, Sr.
Alyssa Goehner, Minnesota, Outside Hitter, So.
Justine Wong-Orantes, Nebraska, Libero, Sr.
Maddie Slater, Northwestern, Middle Blocker, Jr.
Taylor Sandbothe, Ohio State, Middle Blocker, Jr.
Aiyana Whitney, Penn State, Outside Hitter, Sr.
Annie Drews, Purdue, Outside Hitter, Sr.
Meme Fletcher, Rutgers, Outside Hitter, So.
Kelli Bates, Wisconsin, Outside Hitter, So.
Head Coach: Keylor Chan, Northwestern
Assistant Coaches: Paul Koncir, Indiana; Phuong Louong, Rutgers
Athletic Trainer: Lianna Hadden, Michigan State