Dave Shondell Shouts Out 'Loud' Purdue Fans Who Watched Boilers Take Down UCLA
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As the clock approached 1 a.m. in the Eastern Time Zone, No. 13 Purdue was finishing off one of the most improbable comebacks it has experienced on the volleyball court. Aiding them to a road victory over No. 24 UCLA was a loud and faithful group of Boilermaker fans inside Pauley Pavilion.
Purdue trailed UCLA 0-2 and fought off four match points in the third set to stay alive Thursday night, ultimately taking the third set 29-27 and escaping Pauley Pavilion with a five-set victory over the Bruins. Head coach Dave Shondell credited his team for the gutsy performance, but also wanted to shout out a group of fans who made their way inside the building to support the Boilermakers.
"One of our coaches told our team that she thought we might have as many Purdue fans as they had UCLA fans," Shondell said in a Facebook post. "Well, that wasn't the case, because UCLA certainly had more than we did. However, ours were louder. As usual, the Purdue fans were louder.
"What a great feeling, to have that kind of contingent in this building, giving us all that we needed."
Purdue needed all the help it could get on Thursday night. UCLA opened up with a 25-17 victory in the first set and took the second set 25-22. Things really changed after the third set, as the Boilers fought off four match points and survived with a 29-27 victory to extend the match.
Shondell's squad then took the fourth set 25-23 and closed out the match with a 15-11 win in set five. The Boilermakers improved to 11-2 on the season and 2-1 in Big Ten play. They have now defeated four ranked opponents this year.
"For us to be able to come in here with a team that is just trying to find itself after an interesting offseason — it has just been remarkable, some of the things this team has done," Shondell said. "We just gutted it out. We felt like if we could hold it together long enough, we would have a chance."
Wollard goes off vs. UCLA
Junior outside hitter Kenna Wollard had a career night for Purdue at Pauley Pavilion, leading the team to a big road win. She ended the match with 33 kills, a career-high. She did that on 65 swings and posted a .369 hitting percentage.
Wollard was a big reason Purdue stayed alive in the third set, recording 11 kills to help the Boilermakers steal it from UCLA. Then, fittingly, Wollard scored Purdue's 15th and final point of the fifth set to secure the road win.
Setter Taylor Anderson also had an impressive performance for the Boilers, recording a double-double. She ended the match with 50 assists and 10 digs.
Purdue will play No. 17 USC on Saturday. First serve is set for 9:30 p.m. ET and the match will air on Big Ten Network.
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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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