Dave Shondell Hits Impressive Career Milestone as Purdue Volleyball Sweeps Rutgers
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You can start calling Dave Shondell "Mr. 500." On Sunday afternoon, the Purdue volleyball head coach picked up his 500th career victory, leading the Boilermakers to a 3-0 sweep over Rutgers.
Shondell, now in his 23rd season at Purdue, has guided the Boilermakers to an impressive 15-3 start to the 2025 campaign. The Boilermakers are 6-2 in league play and won both of their matches this past week, defeating Indiana and Rutgers.
Purdue defeated Rutgers in straight sets on Sunday, 25-21, 25-21, and 25-18. The Boilermakers were led by Grace Heaney, who accounted for 18 kills on 31 kills, ending the match with a .581 hitting percentage. Kenna Wollard and Akasha Anderson both had nine kills, and Dior Charles had a team-high six blocks.
Taylor Anderson posted another double-double, finishing the match with 34 assists and 10 digs. She also had four kills.
5⃣0⃣0⃣ and counting. 🥳@DaveShondell x @KJewellPUVB pic.twitter.com/SukK8awSuH
— Purdue Volleyball (@PurdueVB) October 19, 2025
Earlier this week, Purdue defeated rival Indiana 3-1 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, helping Shondell get win No. 499 with the Boilermakers.
Purdue's success under Shondell
Just one season ago, Shondell became Purdue's all-time winningest coach. He passed Carol Dewey for the top spot, as she posted a 469-256 record across 20 seasons with the Boilermakers.
Under Shondell, Purdue has just two losing seasons, one of which was a 14-17 campaign in his first season at the helm. The Boilers have reached the NCAA Tournament 19 teams in Shondell's first 22 seasons. They have also had 16 wins of 20 wins or more, and are well on their way to hitting that total again.
Shondell took over Purdue's volleyball program in 2023. He was previously the head coach at Muncie Central High School (Muncie, Ind.) from 1990 through 2002.
Purdue earns No. 8 spot in NCAA Committee Seed Reveal
On Sunday, the NCAA selection committee revealed its top-16 teams in college volleyball. It should be no surprise that Purdue was in the mix, coming in at No. 8 overall.
With that current ranking, Purdue would a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That would mean the Boilermakers would host the first two rounds of the tournament at Holloway Gymnasium — a huge advantage for Purdue.
The complete top 16 looked like this:
- Nebraska Cornhuskers
- Texas Longhorns
- Pitt Panthers
- Kentucky Wildcats
- SMU Mustangs
- Louisville Cardinals
- Arizona State Sun Devils
- Purdue Boilermakers
- TCU Horned Frogs
- Creighton Bluejays
- Stanford Cardinal
- Wisconsin Badgers
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Indiana Hoosiers
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- Minnesota Golden Gophers
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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