WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - After ending her collegiate career as a first-team All-American for the Purdue Boilermakers in 2018, outside hitter Sherridan Atkinson set her sights on conquering the next level of volleyball.
Signing to play with the Galatasaray in Turkey after her December graduation, Atkinson joined former Purdue alumnae Danielle Cuttino, Annie Drews, Ashley Evans, Valerie Nichol and Azariah Stahl at the professional level.
"My initial reaction was relief more than anything," Atkinson said. "You don't learn much about this process at all until your eligibility is done, so I had a lot of questions. I had a smaller window of opportunity since I was coming in the half of the season and was a rookie. So when my agent emailed my first contract over, I finally had a sigh of relief. Like OK, you're really doing this, now you can focus on competing at the next level."
Following a stellar senior season, Atkinson wrapped up her career with her second All-America honor in a first-team selection. A unanimous 2018 All-Big Ten first-team selection this season, she topped the conference with 546 kills on the year, registering a career-best 4.20 kills per set average on 1,388 swings to earn a .296 hitting percentage. Her kill total ranks ninth in the NCAA and is the best performance by a Boilermaker in the last six years.
Pacing Atkinson's offensive effort were nine 20-plus kill performances, including a career-high 32 kills against then-No. 4 Penn State. She also posted double-digit kill tallies in all but two of 31 matches this season and was the 17th Boilermaker in Purdue program history to notch 1,000 career kills. In Big Ten action, Atkinson averaged 4.26 kills per set, third most in the league, while hitting at a .302 clip and adding 22 aces.
"It is exciting for Sherridan to experience the opportunity to compete for Galatasaray in the very competitive Turkish Professional League," head coach Dave Shondell said. "Sherridan has worked diligently to reach a skill level that allows her to be successful at such a high level in our sport. Few athletes have developed at such a fast pace in our program and I believe Sherridan has much more room for growth. Competing in one of the world's toughest pro leagues will be a major challenge – physically and emotionally, but Sherridan is well-equipped for such a battle. I can promise that Sherridan will be a crowd favorite in Turkey. I know the fans at Purdue are looking forward to following her journey."
"Overall, I don't feel like I've skipped a beat, or have come to this level of play unprepared," Atkinson said. "I really believe playing in the Big Ten night after night really prepared me for tough matches and strong competition back to back. I wouldn't have traded my time at Purdue for anywhere else."
Already a month and half into her first professional season, Atkinson has guided Galatasaray to a fourth-place standing in the Vestel Venus Sultans League, including seven sweeps and five extra-set match wins.
Signing to play with the Galatasaray in Turkey after her December graduation, Atkinson joined former Purdue alumnae Danielle Cuttino, Annie Drews, Ashley Evans, Valerie Nichol and Azariah Stahl at the professional level.
"My initial reaction was relief more than anything," Atkinson said. "You don't learn much about this process at all until your eligibility is done, so I had a lot of questions. I had a smaller window of opportunity since I was coming in the half of the season and was a rookie. So when my agent emailed my first contract over, I finally had a sigh of relief. Like OK, you're really doing this, now you can focus on competing at the next level."
Following a stellar senior season, Atkinson wrapped up her career with her second All-America honor in a first-team selection. A unanimous 2018 All-Big Ten first-team selection this season, she topped the conference with 546 kills on the year, registering a career-best 4.20 kills per set average on 1,388 swings to earn a .296 hitting percentage. Her kill total ranks ninth in the NCAA and is the best performance by a Boilermaker in the last six years.
Pacing Atkinson's offensive effort were nine 20-plus kill performances, including a career-high 32 kills against then-No. 4 Penn State. She also posted double-digit kill tallies in all but two of 31 matches this season and was the 17th Boilermaker in Purdue program history to notch 1,000 career kills. In Big Ten action, Atkinson averaged 4.26 kills per set, third most in the league, while hitting at a .302 clip and adding 22 aces.
"It is exciting for Sherridan to experience the opportunity to compete for Galatasaray in the very competitive Turkish Professional League," head coach Dave Shondell said. "Sherridan has worked diligently to reach a skill level that allows her to be successful at such a high level in our sport. Few athletes have developed at such a fast pace in our program and I believe Sherridan has much more room for growth. Competing in one of the world's toughest pro leagues will be a major challenge – physically and emotionally, but Sherridan is well-equipped for such a battle. I can promise that Sherridan will be a crowd favorite in Turkey. I know the fans at Purdue are looking forward to following her journey."
"Overall, I don't feel like I've skipped a beat, or have come to this level of play unprepared," Atkinson said. "I really believe playing in the Big Ten night after night really prepared me for tough matches and strong competition back to back. I wouldn't have traded my time at Purdue for anywhere else."
Already a month and half into her first professional season, Atkinson has guided Galatasaray to a fourth-place standing in the Vestel Venus Sultans League, including seven sweeps and five extra-set match wins.