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Annie Drews triumphs at international scene
LAUSANNE,
Switzerland, April 6, 2020 - From the heart of USA's Midwest to
international stardom, the story of Andrea 'Annie' Drews is what
dreams are made of.
It took Drews a fairly long time to venture far from her
hometown of Elkhart, Indiana - attending High School in
Mishawaka and continuing her studies at Purdue University, from
where she graduated in Hospitality and Tourism Management in
2015.
She had started out in volleyball at the age of 15 and it was
with Penn High School that she became a two-time volleyball
state champion, before being selected an AVCA High School
American as a senior.
Drews followed a rising career through college, making the USA
Collegiate National Team in 2013.
She debuted with the USA National Team in 2017, at the Pan
American Cup of that year. But once she was beyond the confines
of USA, the 26-year-old took the world by storm.
Her performance at the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League has
already made the history books, as she led USA to their second
consecutive gold in the competition. The cherry on the top of
the cake was her 33-point outburst in the five-set final against
Brazil - a deciding factor in her earning the highest individual
honour of MVP of the competition.
She is only the second USA player to make the list of players
who have scored 30 points or more in a single match during the
two-year history of the VNL (teammate Jordan Thompson had also
bagged 33 points against Brazil, two days earlier in Final Round
pool play).
She followed up the VNL MVP honour with a Best Opposite
individual award as USA finished runners up to China in the 2019
FIVB World Cup.
Her overall breakout performances and the individual awards led
USA Volleyball in naming Drews female indoor 2019 'Player of the
Year'.
Following college Drews had enjoyed a couple of seasons in the
Puerto Rico League with Indias de Mayaguez and Caguas Criollas
and was named MVP of the season with the latter, in 2016, before
moving across the Atlantic to play in Italy briefly for SAB
Volley Legnano and Pomi Casalmaggiore.
Drews moved ever eastward, joining Kameroglu Beylikduzu Voleybol
Ihtisas in the Turkish League emerging the third-best scorer
overall for the 2018-19 season.
Continuing the eastward trend, Drews' latest stop was in the Far
East, when she signed on with JT Marvelous in the Japan V.League.
She was immediately a hit.
Drews led her club to the title in the 2019-20 season
championship title in the Japan V.League Division 1, sweeping
the individual awards on the way and consistently topping the
stats throughout the season.
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