No. 14 Purdue's Sweep Over No. 12 Texas A&M Marks Historic Victory for Dave Shondell
In this story:
Dave Shondell is officially Purdue's all-time wins leader across all sports. The longtime leader of the Boilermakers' volleyball program achieved the impressive milestone on Tuesday night inside Mackey Arena.
The 14th-ranked Boilermakers swept No. 12 Texas A&M 3-0 (27-25, 25-23, 25-20) inside the sweltering basketball venue in their first match of the Big Ten-SEC Challenge. It was a huge program win for Purdue, taking down the defending national champions.
With the victory, Shondell now has 513 career wins at Purdue. That's the most wins for any coach in the history of the university in any sport.
Entering the 2026 season, Shondell was tied with legendary men's basketball coach Gene Keady, who won 512 career games with the Boilermakers across 25 seasons in West Lafayette.
The 🐐 pic.twitter.com/JRRgbSjZ2H
— Purdue Volleyball (@PurdueVB) September 2, 2026
How fitting that Shondell accomplished that feat on Keady Court with the icon sitting courtside for the match.
Shondell became the all-time winningest volleyball coach midway through the 2024 season, passing Carol Dewey when he won his 470th match. Last season, the he reached another impressive milestone, winning his 500th match as a head coach.
It's been an impressive 24-year career for Shondell in West Lafayette, leading the program to 20 NCAA Tournament appearances in his first 23 seasons at the helm.
Purdue improved to 1-1 on the season with the victory, falling to No. 10 Creighton in five sets in Sioux Falls on Friday. The Boilermakers are back in action on Wednesday, hosting Georgia on the second night of the Big Ten-SEC Challenge.
Shondell speaks on win No. 513
In his postgame press conference, Shondell was still fired up from an emotional victory. He was asked about passing Keady on Purdue's wins list, and he gave the legendary coach plenty of credit.
"Somebody asked me about Gene Keady, who was an icon — he's an icon, I just happened to win a few more games along the way," Shondell said. "But to be in the same category as Gene Keady is just unbelievable."
Although Shondell deserved a lot o attention for the accomplishment on Tuesday night, he wanted to keep all the focus on his players and sweeping the defending national champions.
"I've been talking about this time quietly to people since last spring about who they are," Shondell said. "You're seeing a team that's full of toughness ... this was about winning a match against one of the best teams in the country."
Boilers get big nights from Tindall, Anderson
Several Boilermakers stepped up to help Purdue take down the reigning national champs. Freshman outside hitter Addy Tindall had another big night, finishing the night with a match-high 16 kills on 28 swings. She only had one error and posted a .536 hitting percentage.
Her lone error came on the 24th point of the third set.
Senior setter Taylor Anderson was tremendous all around, totaling 36 assists, seven blocks and five kills on seven attacks without an error. Several of those kills came in big moments throughout the match.
Purdue also got 12 kills from Mimi Mambu, seven from Kate Hansen and five from Grace Heaney. For the night, the Boilers hit .388 for the night. They also finished and 11 blocks.
Get top Boilermakers stories, expert analysis, and can't-miss moments straight to your inbox for free by signing up for the Purdue Boilermakers on SI newsletter!
Add us as a preferred source on Google
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.
Follow SchutteDustin