DREWS Andrea

General
PURDUE, PUERTO RICO EXPERIENCE
She said her time playing with Purdue University from 2012 to 2015 and the next two seasons she spent playing in Puerto Rico helped prepare her for a call-up to the US national team in 2017. "The biggest thing Purdue really gave me was the chance to get a lot of reps in four years and be depended on. I was also able to play back row at Purdue and develop that a little bit. I don't think that would have been as true if I had gone somewhere else and waited until my junior or senior year to really start playing. I am really thankful for that. The biggest thing has been the adjustment to [Team] USA's speed, both as a blocker and as a hitter, because we run a much faster offense than I was used to hitting both at Purdue and in Puerto Rico. Also a lot of the teams in the world don't run at that speed, they just run higher balls and things like that. So catching up as a blocker was a learning experience, but also as a hitter and adjusting your footwork accordingly. In Puerto Rico the season is short, so there is a sense of urgency. They really want you to perform or they will be bring in someone who they think can perform faster or better than you. I think having playing in that environment before in Puerto Rico was a good step, because it was like, 'Alright, you need to show up quickly, show what you can do and show people you are open to learning', and stuff like that." (volleymob.com, 31 Aug 2017)