Purdue volleyball will get an early turn in the spotlight at Big Ten Volleyball Media Day on Monday, with Dave Shondell and the Boilermakers set to help kick off a packed day in Chicago.
The Big Ten is condensing what had been a two-day event in previous years into one long session this time around, and Purdue is slated to go early as the conference rolls out its teams for the 2026 season. The Boilermakers will be among all 18 league programs taking part in the event.
There are a couple of ways to catch Purdue during the day. The Boilermakers will be on SiriusXM from 11:47 a.m.
ET through 12:07 p.m. ET, and their studio segment on Big Ten Network begins at 1:27 p.m.
ET.
Shondell, along with Charles and Heaney, will answer questions and talk through the upcoming season throughout the day. It serves as a first look at a 2026 campaign that begins later this month.
The Big Ten also released its preseason poll and preseason All-Big Ten teams for 2026, and Purdue landed fourth in the conference projection. Nebraska was picked first, followed by Wisconsin and Penn State.
Three Boilermakers also earned preseason recognition: outside hitter Kenna Wollard, setter Taylor Anderson and opposite hitter Grace Heaney were all named to the All-Big Ten team and included on the AVCA Preseason National Player of the Year Watch List.
Last week, the Big Ten published the full Media Day schedule for anyone looking to follow the rest of Monday’s podium lineup in Chicago.
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Tommy McClelland has spent his career in that lane, with stops at Vanderbilt, McNeese State and Louisiana Tech before his current role at Rice. For Purdue, the appeal is obvious: experience, institutional knowledge and a track record that suggests he could step into a demanding job without much ramp-up time. The only real question now is how quickly the school will finish the process and make the move official. [Read more 🡒]
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Robbie Hummel's Injury Still Haunts Purdue's Biggest Tournament What If
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Hummel and others have long wondered whether the injury changed Purdues tournament path before the bracket even opened, from seeding to how far that group could realistically go. More than a decade later, it is still the kind of loss that refuses to fade, because Purdue had the rsum of a contender and just enough momentum to make the absence feel even bigger. [Read more 🡒]
