Coming off a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten Conference last season, the Boilermakers women’s volleyball team is facing a very different 2025 season.
“As I told them, nobody needs those seven days more than we do. We're going to make those seven days more valuable than anybody else in the country,” head coach Dave Shondell said Monday in Chicago at Big Ten Media Days. “So that's what our approach has to be. We need them. We've got 10 new players on our roster. Nobody thinks we're going to be any good. We need those days, so we're going to try to take advantage of them.”
Purdue finished with a 27-7 (16-4 Big Ten) record last season, but lost four to the transfer portal. The Boilermakers added 10 new athletes as well, including setter Isabelle Bardin, outside hitter Addy Tindall, defensive specialist Aniya Warren and middle blocker Morgan Williams.
“[The transfer portal experience this season] started out not very good, and then it got better is how I would describe it,” Shondell said. “Quite honestly, I was just floored by what happened at Purdue, to be honest. Didn't see it coming. Call me a whatever you want. But we just didn't see it coming. It hit really hard and took a while to recover, but we did. Purdue means a lot to me.”
Shondell will also have a unique opportunity this season as the Boilermakers travel to Butler Sep. 9. The Bulldogs, who finished No. 9 in the Big East Conference last season (7-23, 5-13), are coached by Shondell’s son Kyle.
“My son is trying to build a program there. He's doing a great job. He's working hard. He's got the best team that he's had this year. But we don't plan on holding anything back,” Shondell said. “Every win is so critical. They're all so critical, and they'll be good enough to meet us if we don't play well. So we're going to have to be ready to go, but I'm sure it will be a big family affair.”
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