Draft Prospect Profile: MB Raven Colvin
Colvin is an excellent defender and an intense competitor who is due an offensive explosion in 2024.
Leadership is a word that gets thrown around a lot in athletics. It’s a word coaches sometimes choose because it’s positive in a vague enough way to be used as blanket praise for a player they like without getting technical. Reporters and writers are guilty of this as well, labelling a player who has a kind spirit in the locker room or media scrums as a good leader.
When Boilermakers head coach Dave Shondell calls middle blocker Raven Colvin a leader, he’s not messing around. He described Colvin as a vocal player who gives her best and expects the same from everyone who plays alongside her.
“I think that when we've got people that aren't doing the right thing, she is not afraid to let them know that they need to change what they're doing. In women's athletics, it's difficult sometimes to find that person that's willing to put themselves out there and tell people that's not going to be tolerated, that's not acceptable in this program,” said Shondell.
“She has been that person for us. She's tired of coming up short, and she's not going to accept anybody that's not going to give everything that they have,” he continued. “When you give everything you've got, like she has, people are going to understand that you've earned that right to tell other people what they need to do.”
Colvin explained that as she became a better player, her competitive nature emerged alongside her skill.
“I think in the beginning of my volleyball career, like early years, I would say I was more shy. I wore glasses, like actual frames to practice like in games,” said Colvin. “Eighth grade club season was kind of when I kind of blossomed more into like what I am now. Throughout the years, I think I've developed into becoming more aggressive, my mindset when it comes to like winning games, practice. I feel like, on most teams, I've taken that role of being more of the leader on the team. I think I just am very vocal.”
Colvin has earned the right to take such a commanding presence among her teammates. For one thing, she’s one of the best defensive middle blockers in the Big Ten. She finished the 2023 season with 167 blocks, ranking second in the conference. In fact, she set the single game conference record for blocks at 16 as a sophomore.
Colvin’s dominance at the net is fueled by her hyperathletic gifts. Standing at 6-foot-1, she may seem to be at a vertical disadvantage, but looks are deceiving. She’s a tremendous jumper; Colvin gets off the floor fast and can reach as high as 10-foot-11, according to coach Shondell. Good genes are partially to credit, her father was an NFL wideout, but her work ethic also shines through; she’s put in a lot of effort to be able to jump as high as taller girls.
The mental aspect of blocking has also come along nicely for Colvin. “The more she's played, the more she understands that you can figure things out when you're playing against a certain opposition,” observed Shondell.
“‘Where does the setter like to set the ball? Who are their hitters they want to get the ball to in certain situations? What shots do those people want to hit? What can you do to take those shots away and get blocks instead of relying on your backcourt or just not doing your job?’ The fact that she can get up there and hang and make some adjustments is another thing that makes her a really good blocker.”
Colvin explained that as she’s learned to understand opposing setters at a more granular level, she’s been able to put more trust in herself as a blocker.
“I think once I really focused on the eye work, I applied that to Purdue volleyball. It's just making sure that when I watch the film, I study the setter, different tendencies that the setters may have. I think applying the eye work to my athletic ability allowed me to get those touches or get those blocks this past season. And I think, yeah, just trusting in myself and being relentless at the net, I think that allowed me to really focus on getting those blocks,” said Colvin.
On the other side of the coin, Colvin was consistently fed the ball on offense and converted her 586 attacks into 269 kills. Unfortunately, she was hitting errors at a decent clip as well, and it dragged her hitting percentage down to .280, far less than it could have been. That left Shondell feeling dissatisfied with her performance from an efficiency standpoint. In a moment of surprising transparency, he explained that the biggest issue was a disconnect between Colvin and her setter, then-freshman Taylor Anderson.
“In the fall, it was always the setter's fault. ‘The ball wasn't here. The ball wasn't there. It wasn't high enough. It was not where it needed to be.’ She felt like she was in jeopardy a lot. I told her a couple of times, ‘If you're a great athlete, all the setter has to do is put in a window. And the better the athlete, the bigger the window it can be.’ And eventually, she kind of embraced the fact that some of it was on her and wasn't all on our setter,” said Shondell.
The coach went on to express confidence that his star middle would perform at a higher level during the upcoming season. “What we've seen this spring is an explosion, just an incredible chemistry between her and our starting setter. And so she's going to be a much better offensive player this fall than what people saw from her last year,” he said.
Unsurprisingly, Colvin has utmost confidence in her ability to be an offensive weapon for her team next year.
“I think I'm just pretty good with shot selection. I think because I'm higher than others, I'm able to hit around the block more. I think when I'm in the air, my vision is a lot better because I'm able to see different places on the court. I've been working on my arm swing, like a faster arm swing, but I think my arm, the time I take to get from the ground in the air and to hit the ball is just a lot faster. I think that's my strong points,” said the middle.
Determined to be the best, Colvin has set out to become more comfortable including offspeed attacks in her shot diet. As a player whose game is anchored by her powerful block and quick arm, she embraced the idea of catching opposing middles off balance by adding an extra layer of adaptability to her game.
“Instead of just always hitting the ball, I've been working on tips, rolls, just things like that that I didn't really incorporate in my game. If I've been banging a couple balls and I know that maybe they're deeper, maybe I can just get up one time tip it over the blocks or maybe if I see the set is just a little off, I could just throw it down quick,” explained Colvin.
There’s no doubt in Shondell’s mind that Colvin has a professional future in the sport. She’s a tremendous athlete, she is taking steps to get even better on the skills side, and Shondell also argued in favor of dependability.
“You're going to have the Professional Volleyball Federation. You're going to have LOVB volleyball. And both are going to be good leagues that are going to pay relatively well. So there's no question she's going to play in there, and mostly because of her work ethic. You're going to be able to count on her, that's never going to be in doubt with her. She's going to bring it every day. And she's going to be as athletic as anybody that you're going to play against,” said the coach.
Colvin herself is excited by the idea of challenging herself at the highest level of competition available.
“I've really been trying to think about what I want to do with my pro career,” she said, “but I definitely think that PVF is my priority. I think anyone going to the next level is going to take a little bit of adjusting, but that's where my confidence comes in, knowing that it's going to be hard in the beginning, but eventually it's going to work itself out. Just mentally being strong and not being frustrated or getting down on myself if it doesn't work out the first week that I'm training.”
In my estimation, Colvin is tracking to be a worthwhile selection in the PVF draft. She needs to prove herself a little more as an offensive weapon to be a top pick, but her talents as a blocker and intense competitive drive already make for a great foundation to build on.
Some quotes have been lightly edited for clarity. To read the full transcripts of my interviews with Colvin and Shondell, click here. To watch full Purdue volleyball games, click here and here.