Senior 'Brews' success on and off court

Since IU senior middle blocker Melissa Brewer has been dissecting opponents for four years on the court, it is only fitting that after her volleyball career concludes she'll be doing much of the same in medical school.\nBut just because Brewer is hanging up her knee pads at the end of this season doesn't mean the Bloomington native's career has not been filled with consistently solid play.\nLast weekend, Brewer moved into second place on IU's career block assist list when she picked up no. 394 for her career against Penn State. She currently has 395 and trails current IU assistant coach Cydryce Carter by only 10 for the top spot on that list. Brewer is also near the top in two other categories. She is fourth on IU's all-time kills list with 1,351 and ranks third on the school's all-time blocks list with 435.\n"She is a big part of the team," coach Katie Weismiller said. "You look at on court, the hitting, and the stats, she is a great leader. She gets the job done day in and day out and she does a nice job in practice. She's a great practice player. She comes in ready to play and ready to focus all the time."\nBrewer credits her teammates and the coaching staff, especially Weismiller, for pushing her and steering her to success both on and off the court.\n"Katie has been amazing," Brewer said. "She gives me so much confidence in myself. I came in here a skinny little freshman with no plans, and Katie has definitely pushed me in the right direction."\nIn 2002, Brewer earned All-Big Ten honors and was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association Mideast All-Region Team. So far this season, Brewer has been named to three all-tournament teams, second only to junior Christina Archibald's four selections. \nBrewer's successes are not limited to the court, as she also excels in the classroom. Brewer has earned Academic All-Big Ten honors twice. Last season she was named to the Verizon Academic All-District team for the second consecutive season. \n"The academics are so important," Brewer said. "It leads up to what I'm going to do in the future. If you don't have the grades, then you're not going much further."\nBefore Brewer leaves IU, there are still a few goals she would like to accomplish, such as finishing in the top three in the Big Ten conference and making a deep run in the NCAA tournament. But the Hoosiers know the only way to achieve Brewer's lofty goals is to have her on the court and playing like she has her entire career.\n"She is very vital to our team's success," junior Beth Heimann said. "She is a leader on and off the court, and she's such a good volleyball player."\nWeismiller has had the pleasure of coaching Brewer for four years and says that through hard work and determination, Brewer can leave IU knowing her time here was well spent.\n"When you look at her coming in as a freshman, we had high hopes, but she's definitely exceeded those," Weismiller said. "She's All-Big Ten. She's a go-to player. She's great. She's worked hard to achieve what she has." \n-- Contact staff writer Matt Glenesk at mglenesk@indiana.edu.