In the finals of the 2001 Nike Challenge volleyball tournamentin Chicago, Julie Purcell nailed four consecutive kills to bringthe game to a 13-13 deadlock. On the following point, the Kentuckynative’s shot sailed out of bounds — giving the opposing team anopportunity to win the match.
Purcell then pointed to her team’s setter and demanded the ball.Confused, the setter looked toward the bench for direction.
“She wondered if she should set up Julie,” coach Ron Kordessaid. “I said ‘Hell yeah.'”
Purcell’s kill on the next play tied the game at 14, and herteam went on to score the next two points en route to a 16-14win.
“I don’t like to leave it to other people,” Purcell said. “Maybeit’s the Kentucky in me.”
It’s no surprise that Kordes, asked to describe Purcell in oneword, chose “aggressive.” Purcell will bring her confidence to theimproving Northwestern volleyball program next season. Afterconsidering schools like Penn State and Virginia, Purcell ended hercollege selection process in late September by signing with NU andcoach Keylor Chan.
“It was a perfect fit,” Purcell said. “I was sitting in thelocker room, and it felt right. There were good academics, I lovethe coaches and the Big Ten is great.”
As a junior, Purcell’s 319 kills led Assumption High School toan undefeated season and a national championship. Gatorade namedPurcell its Kentucky volleyball player of the year and VolleyballMagazine placed her on its All-American team. But most notably,Student Sports named the middle blocker its National Player of theYear.
But team success has been the top priority for Purcell.Assumption has won the Kentucky state championship each of the pasteight years and 10 of the last 11. Since Purcell’s sophomoreseason, the Rockets have gone 133-5.
“She came into a successful program, no doubt,” Kordes said.”But Julie is definitely the go-to person on our team.”
Purcell’s next step will be entering a completely differentsituation. She will join a Wildcats squad that hasn’t beenassociated with winning until very recently. Three years ago theCats went 5-25 with only two conference wins. But NU has improvedevery year since, and last season’s 17-16 mark was good enough toearn the Cats their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1984.
One factor that may hinder Purcell is her size. The Big Ten is atough conference, and at 6-foot-1 she may not be tall enough toplay in the middle. Purcell will either have to step up her game atcenter or learn to play an outside position.
Even after all her high school success, Purcell is used todealing with adversity. During her sophomore year, Purcellshattered a joint in her right ring finger, forcing her to thesidelines for seven weeks at the beginning of the season.
“That taught me I didn’t want to be a ball girl,” Purcellsaid.
Kordes bills Purcell as a tough player with a strong work ethic.In addition to the finger injury, Purcell has played throughtendinitis. In the 2000 state championships, Purcell came off thebench and played hurt, recording six kills as her team staved offelimination.
Purcell’s toughness drew immediate comparisons to DrewRobertson, NU’s junior setter. Robertson raised eyebrows when shecalled out older teammates as a freshman in 2001.
“I’m not quiet,” Purcell said. “The team said I’m just likeDrew.”
If Purcell can match Robertson’s achievements — she set schoolthe single-season assist record last year — then Purcell mayreplicate her high school success at the college level.
