WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue volleyball team is slated to send six Boilermakers to the U.S. Women's National Team Open Tryouts taking place Feb. 21-23 at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Slated to make the trip is Hayley Bush, Grace Cleveland, Marissa Hornung, Jael Johnson, Caitlyn Newton and Jena Otec.
Fans can watch the tryouts beginning Friday at 4 p.m. ET HERE.
The Boilermakers will be competing for spots on the U.S. Women's National Team and one of 56 spots on the U.S. Collegiate National team programs. Each athlete will have one tryout session on Friday, one morning and one afternoon session on Saturday, as well as one morning session on Sunday.
Cleveland and Newton are coming off All-America recognition after Cleveland was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) third-team, while Newton received honorable mention status.
Cleveland dominated at the net for Purdue with 1.08 blocks per set and a team-best 127 assisted. Offensively, she was second on the squad with 3394 kills and 3.23 kills per set. The first-team All-Big Ten honoree was also second on the team with 43 service aces, including a league-best 33 aces through Big Ten play. Overall, Cleveland tallied 22 matches with double-digit kills, 10 contests with five or more blocks and 10 matches with at least two aces.
A six-rotation player, Newton closed out the season with a second-team All-Big Ten honor and a match-high 19 kills against No.1 Baylor in the NCAA regional round at Waco, Texas. Overall, she led the Boilermakers in kills (445), kills per set (3.90) and points (529.5). The Terra Haute, Ind. native had 26 matches with double-digit kills and eight matches in which she hit over .300. The outside hitter also guided the Big Ten with 0.46 aces per set. Defensively, Newton finished second on the team with 15 solo blocks, while adding 165 digs and 41 aces on the year.
Defensive specialists Hornung and Otec will both try-out as liberoes. On the season, Hornung produced 446 digs while Otec tallied 411. Otec is the first Boilermaker since 1993 to notch 50 aces in a single season and ranked T-24 in the nation to close the 2019 season.
Bush produced at least 55 assists in a game on two occasions: at Indiana (10/9) and at Ohio State (10/19). The setter led Purdue to its third consecutive 20-win season after playing in a total of 122 sets. The redshirt sophomore added 1,311 of the team's 1,481 total assists to average 10.75 per set.
A sparkplug in Purdue's 3-1 victory over Marquette in the NCAA Second Round, Johnson produced a career-high seven block assists. Entering the U.S. tryouts as a middle, Johnson played in 53 sets and tallied 44 total blocks during her second season as a Boilermaker.
More information on the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team Open Tryout can be found HERE.
Slated to make the trip is Hayley Bush, Grace Cleveland, Marissa Hornung, Jael Johnson, Caitlyn Newton and Jena Otec.
Fans can watch the tryouts beginning Friday at 4 p.m. ET HERE.
The Boilermakers will be competing for spots on the U.S. Women's National Team and one of 56 spots on the U.S. Collegiate National team programs. Each athlete will have one tryout session on Friday, one morning and one afternoon session on Saturday, as well as one morning session on Sunday.
Cleveland and Newton are coming off All-America recognition after Cleveland was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) third-team, while Newton received honorable mention status.
Cleveland dominated at the net for Purdue with 1.08 blocks per set and a team-best 127 assisted. Offensively, she was second on the squad with 3394 kills and 3.23 kills per set. The first-team All-Big Ten honoree was also second on the team with 43 service aces, including a league-best 33 aces through Big Ten play. Overall, Cleveland tallied 22 matches with double-digit kills, 10 contests with five or more blocks and 10 matches with at least two aces.
A six-rotation player, Newton closed out the season with a second-team All-Big Ten honor and a match-high 19 kills against No.1 Baylor in the NCAA regional round at Waco, Texas. Overall, she led the Boilermakers in kills (445), kills per set (3.90) and points (529.5). The Terra Haute, Ind. native had 26 matches with double-digit kills and eight matches in which she hit over .300. The outside hitter also guided the Big Ten with 0.46 aces per set. Defensively, Newton finished second on the team with 15 solo blocks, while adding 165 digs and 41 aces on the year.
Defensive specialists Hornung and Otec will both try-out as liberoes. On the season, Hornung produced 446 digs while Otec tallied 411. Otec is the first Boilermaker since 1993 to notch 50 aces in a single season and ranked T-24 in the nation to close the 2019 season.
Bush produced at least 55 assists in a game on two occasions: at Indiana (10/9) and at Ohio State (10/19). The setter led Purdue to its third consecutive 20-win season after playing in a total of 122 sets. The redshirt sophomore added 1,311 of the team's 1,481 total assists to average 10.75 per set.
A sparkplug in Purdue's 3-1 victory over Marquette in the NCAA Second Round, Johnson produced a career-high seven block assists. Entering the U.S. tryouts as a middle, Johnson played in 53 sets and tallied 44 total blocks during her second season as a Boilermaker.
More information on the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team Open Tryout can be found HERE.