BIG TEN VOLLEYBALL MEDIA DAYS

August 1, 2023

Dave Shondell

Eva Hudson

Maddie Schermerhorn

Purdue Boilermakers

Press Conference

DAVE SHONDELL: We're really excited, obviously, to be here. We will never lose appreciation for what the Big Ten conference has done for the sport of volleyball and the Big Ten Network, to provide this opportunity for our athletes to communicate about what it's like to play volleyball in this league.

We're excited about this opportunity. We're going to have a really fun team, a really competitive group of athletes, young. I think of our 17 players, 12 are freshmen or sophomores, and we have a couple of fifth-year players that we're going to lean on heavily. But overall it's a very young team that competes really hard, and we think we have a high ceiling.

Thank you.

Q. What are some things that you guys have been honing in on this off-season as a team and then individually? And, Maddie, what made you come back for another year?

DAVE SHONDELL: Well, off-season is two different things. During the school year, we're allowed to be with our athletes for non-traditional season, and we felt like we made great progress, putting in a system that we thought was going to be effective with the personnel we had.

And we feel like our pin attackers are really strong. We felt like we could put two left-side hitters on the floor that will match up with anybody in the league, even though they're just going to be a freshman and a sophomore, but they're pretty special.

We have one experienced middle back, and then we're going to find a really good athlete to put in there with Raven, that experienced player who's also a great competitor, and we'll have to figure out who's going to play in the opposite position.

Our biggest issue is who's going to set because two weeks to go in our non-traditional season, we lost our fifth-year setter to a knee injury. That was really devastating because she had worked so hard and was playing at such a high level. That's why we scheduled the way we did, non-conference-wise, was we put a monster schedule together, and now we're going to have to really develop a setter, spend a lot of time early in getting that cohesiveness together to make that happen.

In the off-season, now, in the summertime, it's been pretty much up to these athletes to get in that gym and make things happen, and I feel like they've got great leadership.

EVA HUDSON: I would say during the summer what we hit on the most is acclimating the new freshmen. We have six really good players coming in, and just getting them comfortable for the upcoming season is a big priority because we are so young. And that's really what is going to make the difference on who's ready to play and who's going to hit the ground running.

MADDIE SCHERMERHORN: Yeah, I would go off of that. We just really focus on, like Dave said, a player-led team, so I think having that in the back of our mind, how we're able to better ourselves not only on the court but off the court is really important, especially over the summer.

So going off of that piggy-back question, one of the reasons I came back kind of ties to that, just the girls, the culture that Dave, Kat and John have all built has been incredible.

And not only is it great there, our fan base, it just feels like home. And it's something that I've always dreamt of as a little girl, and if I had the opportunity to come back, I thought why not take it.

Q. Coach, you have the third best recruiting class with you right now inside the nation. Why was it so important to get those girls on your team, and which players are going to make the bigger splash this year?

DAVE SHONDELL: Your recruiting classes normally go along with how many scholarships that you have. And we had four seniors, scholarship seniors graduate, plus some other players that were fifth-year students. So we had a lot of people leave. So we had to bring in some people that were capable of playing in year number one.

So we were fortunate that we landed some, and we feel really good about probably three or four that will be ready to play this year. We might redshirt a couple of those because we don't need 17 players to be available. But we have 17 on our roster, but we'll work with them.

Was there more to that question?

Obviously with Chloe Chicoine, who's right out of our hometown, Chloe Chicoine is a difference maker. I think even these two right here would recognize when she came into our gym, our culture improved, just like it did when these guys came in the gym.

But she's a workhorse and she's got a cannon of an arm, and it's going to take a lot of pressure of people like Eva Hudson and Raven Colvin to have another player out there that can creat her own points for us. So she's nice to have.

Q. Eva, in terms of all the things you could have thought about in terms of your second off-season or first full as-a-student off-season, what was one or two that really surprised you leading into this past summer?

EVA HUDSON: Well, I'm taking a lot harder classes this summer. Definitely freshman year I kind of had blow-off classes, and that's a big part of the busy schedule.

But I would just say the leadership now. I'm getting used to that role now that I'm a year older and becoming more vocal because I feel like last year it was more action driven.

Just working on my voice has definitely been a difficult but good challenge for this summer.

Q. Coach, lots of success at Purdue. You've had gold medalists come through Purdue. The two athletes sitting on the stage, Chloe Chicoine, you've had lots of great talent. How does Purdue take that next step with what you've done so far and the athletes that you've brought into the school?

DAVE SHONDELL: One step at a time, I guess.

We're young, and I don't want to -- I'm excited about this team, and our fans are super excited about the players we have. But we're young this year, and that doesn't mean we're not going to be really, really good, but you just do things the best you can every year.

Being excited as a head coach helps, and I'm always excited to start a new season.

But we have some special characters. It's one thing to have 6'4" players that can touch 10'7'', that's great, but do they compete, do they play well together, are they committed all the time.

Right now, of course, we haven't played anybody yet and we haven't lost to anybody yet, so everything is going pretty smooth. But at some point in time they're going to meet that adversity.

And in our league, this is an incredible year for Big Ten volleyball. I think there's 15 All-Big Ten first teamers coming back, not necessarily at the same schools, but they're coming back, and almost everybody off the second team. It's going to be as good of a league as I think it's ever been.

I know that's a big statement, but I think it is.

To say how do you get to be where you're going to be better than Nebraska and Wisconsin and Minnesota and Penn State and the people that are ranked ahead of you, you do the best you can every time you go in the gym, and you know your players are going to do that.

They have to have a purpose. There has to be true purpose in what you do every time you come in the gym. And that's what we work towards. With these kind of people here, I think there's a good chance we're going to have a great year.

Q. Coach, I want to specifically ask you about Grace Heaney, from Omaha. What did you see from her out of high school, and what kind of player do you think she can become down the line?

DAVE SHONDELL: Most impressive thing I saw from Grace is she was a terrific three-sport athlete. She played volleyball on teams that played for a state championship, at least the last couple of seasons; her basketball teams were playing for state championships; and then I think they broke the school record in the 400-meter relay, okay, maybe the 1600-meter relay, she ran the 400. So anybody that runs the 400 meters is a pretty tough kid.

There was just a lot of things I liked about her athletically. She's long. She's left-handed. She's the first left-hander we've had since Andrea Drews, and that worked out pretty well. So we want to make sure we've got that option.

She needs to get stronger. She's long. I think she's about 6'2", 6'2½", but she plays longer than that. And she comes from a great family, and she's going to work hard. She loves being at Purdue. She loves what she's doing right now, and I like somebody that walks in the gym with a look on her face.

Q. Tough schedule ahead for you guys. It's your toughest schedule in 20 years. Kind of a question for all of you. Why put together a schedule like this, and how do you feel about your upcoming matches ahead, facing one ranked opponent per week?

DAVE SHONDELL: Well, I'll speak to part of that because they didn't put the schedule together. As I mentioned, we put that together when we thought we had Meg Renner, who was a very experienced setter in our program.

But RPI is a huge part of scheduling. Anybody that's been covering volleyball knows that that's pretty much the formula that is used 95 percent to determine who makes the tournament and who gets seeded and who gets to host.

Even if we drop some of those we don't want to drop in those matches, I don't think it's going to destroy our RPI.

We'll go into every match thinking we've got a chance to win, a good chance to win. But we're going to lose some. I don't think anybody is going to go undefeated in our league this year. You're going to lose some matches.

But the reason we put that together was I have a lot of confidence in our players. You don't schedule that schedule if you don't feel good about who you are as a team.

I think that we'll develop a setter that will be able to come along and make these guys look pretty good.

What do you guys think?

MADDIE SCHERMERHORN: I think having a schedule like this is just setting up for the opponents that we're going to face in the Big Ten. Every game, no matter who it is, it could be the best of the best in the league, you just never know what to expect, and I think that's what's so exciting about it.

But the non-conference I think is like well said by Dave. I think it sets us up for success, but it also challenges us to the point where we've got to show up to play every game.

I think that's what makes it more exciting leading up to it is knowing that you're going to have the best of the best each game, from each team, each school, no matter what place. I know we go to Kansas. That's an environment I've always wanted to see, so it's just really exciting.

EVA HUDSON: I would say it's very, very exciting, especially since, again, we're a very young team. It gives us a chance to see what we're not good at.

That's really important before conference because we can really practice on those little things and really get ready for season.

Q. Eva, have you talked to Chloe about what expectations are coming in as a highly touted recruit, the kind of success you had last year? How can you relate that to her and help prepare her for the road ahead?

EVA HUDSON: Yeah, we've had multiple meetings. It's just exciting during the summer to see her struggle, which sounds very terrible, but especially as a freshman. You're coming in, and I kind of started on a hot streak, and then all of a sudden it's not so hot anymore, and you're getting every set and you're trying to get out of that.

It's just good and exciting to be able to teach her that before she actually has to endure that in a game and get her ready for that because I wouldn't necessarily think anyone told me that before, and I had to figure it out by myself.

Just being able to share that wisdom with her is actually very gratifying.

Q. Dave, you've had one of the more stable assistant coaching, both John and Kathy have been with you for 19 years. To add a third coach, what is the significance of that not only for the program but for the sport of volleyball?

DAVE SHONDELL: Well, it's not a huge difference per se because we've had a volunteer coach. The difference is you have a volunteer coach for about one year and they're gone. They find a real paying job.

This time we have a young man named Michael Bouril who's a genius in analytics and is also a volleyball coach. So he brings two incredible facets to our program, and we'll lean on him a lot, and he's young.

Obviously, if John and Kat have been with me for 20-plus years, they're not considered young anymore. So it's nice to have some young people in your program that can bring a little more energy, a little bit different look.

And Michael is not afraid to tell people what he thinks or how we should go about doing things. I think it's great to have that guy that has an actual job, not a volunteer coach or not the analytics guy, but he's on the staff now.

I'm really happy that we got that coach. I think it will benefit a lot of programs.

Before we get out of here, this is just phenomenal to see all you people here. As I said last year, I've been part of this volleyball thing for a long time, and for us to get to this point where we can walk into a media room like this and see this many people from across the country -- and Nebraska has led the way, okay. You have led the way.

It's neat to have that. I wish everybody in the Big Ten had a guy like you that was promoting and supporting -- not that you're promoting it, but it sure looks like it to me.

It's great what you do. It's great what you do. I'm being serious. We're happy that we get to be part of this.

Q. There's been quite a few new coaches around the Big Ten the last couple years. What sort of changes have you noticed to the league with this influx of new coaches?

DAVE SHONDELL: Still a lot of good teams and a lot of good talent. I think when you get new coaches, there's an infusion of energy and new ideas and more social media presence than what you've seen before from those particular programs.

So it's not like you lose a veteran coach and things are going to get easier because someone else comes in. Those new coaches are very qualified. Everybody wants to coach in this league. There's reasons why our league is the best in the country. We have the best coaches.

You know it's going to be a challenge.

The changes that I see as a volleyball coach have nothing to do with new coaches in the Big Ten. It's with the other things that are going on right now that are making the job more and more challenging.

I was just talking to some people today. The COVID ruling that was put into play that allows these fifth-year athletes like Maddie to play, we love them to play. We know that they add so much to our program. But it certainly adds a little bit of tension to your program because there are always people that are thinking, wait a minute, that was going to be my spot, and now you have to convince them, well, it can be your spot, just be better than she is.

But it's not that easy. All coaches in all sports have been dealing with that now for a long time, and it's draining on both the players and the coaching staffs. Then you have the portal and all those kind of things.

It's just all part of it. Coaching has changed dramatically in the last three or four years.

Q. Eva, you had a huge freshman season. I don't think I need to go through all the accolades. You're you; you know them. But a lot of times when you start out that strong, it can be very easy to get complacent. What have you been doing on the court and mentally to make sure that you're not going to stay complacent at the same place you were last season?

EVA HUDSON: Every day you've just got to give it your all, especially in the beginning even I was kind of surprised I started out that hot. But I think it just goes back to the repetitive training that you do every single day.

And you have to come in loving the game because if you don't love the game, then it's going to get tiring and it's going to get draining. That's one thing I'm very proud of, I've kept that love for the game, and I want to come in all the time.

I think that's just what's going to continue to build our team. And my teammates especially, this one right here, love to get in the gym. I think that's what's really special about this team.

Q. Coach, you talked about the non-conference a lot, but again, it's not just tough non-conference opponents. Your Big East champions, your A-10 champions, and you're trying to develop a new setter. Has the approach changed with how the non-conference is going to look? A lot of times you want to try to find your best pieces before conference play starts, but because it's so important to the RPI, has that sped up the process of how you may be approaching this season?

DAVE SHONDELL: Yes. We have to get into some team -- a lot of team play earlier than what we may have in the past. The college level, you get into it pretty quick. Day one, you're probably doing some kind of team practice. You're playing six on six is what I'm talking about.

I think this year there will be more of that early because those setters have to get comfortable with the tempo and their hitters and running the show and all those kinds of things.

So yes, that's something our staff has already talked about, that we need to move quicker. We don't want to eliminate some of that time. Obviously before school starts you can be in the gym as long as you want, but there's a limit to how that becomes effective after a certain point. But there will probably be a higher percentage of team play going on in our gym than there has been the past several years.

Q. Maddie and Eva, NIL is a big deal right now in college athletics, but there is no NIL without you guys, without the athletes. For both of you, if you could pick any company that you'd want to sponsor you and want you on their product, what would it be?

MADDIE SCHERMERHORN: If you have an idea, you go, because I'm stuck.

Gosh, for me, this sounds so basic, probably Lululemon just because, honestly, it has very good activewear, and I love wearing clothes like that. Or like a Nike or something that I'm able to wear every day. And Purdue is obviously a Nike school, so even them, I think that would be absolutely amazing.

EVA HUDSON: I would fully agree with that, or Chick-fil-A. I really like food. Yeah, Lululemon is really good. They're very trendy right now, too.

Q. Piggy-backing off of that, I know we laugh at the idea of maybe in particular those brands, but have either you on your teammates been getting specific information about how you would go about trying to make that a reality? Have either of you had experience pitching anybody or going out to look for any of these deals, or has that been more of a passive thing?

MADDIE SCHERMERHORN: I think we've been educated really well at Purdue regarding NIL. We had someone that just left recently, Jack Gallagher, who really helped me and Eva out specifically, always just trying to -- I guess they're just open for questions, open to give us that information that we need.

I thought NIL was pretty self-explanatory. It's not. I think he was there to give us those questions and maybe even for him to reach out to a few brands, or, hey, maybe get this app, maybe this will help you with your exposure here.

It's having that guidance. And I know Purdue athletics has really taken a huge step in that, and it's starting to become really cool, and I think I feel more comfortable reaching out to those brands. And if they say no, they say no. That's when you just move on to the next one.

I'd say we're educated really well.

Q. Dave, what is Lorrin's status? I know she hurt her knee. Is she going to be ready to go when fall camp starts, and how does that affect the development at setter?

DAVE SHONDELL: Yeah, she's been released to play. Again, be in the gym, we're not basketball or football, so we can't be in the gym during the summer with the athletes. Actually we did get a waiver for her that allows us to toss some balls to her. It's more of a medical recovery rehab-type thing, and we were out one day doing that.

But I think she's going to be fine physically. She's a bulldog. Her sister is Jordyn Poulter that plays on the Olympic team, and she's as tough as they come, and she's not far from that. I don't know her well enough to say she's as tough or tougher, but the mentality she has fits in really well with the team we have right now. They want to win, and they're not going to be happy if they don't win, and whatever it takes, that's what they're going to do.

We'll have to monitor her situation because we can't treat her like she wasn't hurt. We'll have to keep a close eye on the swelling and not give her a ton of reps, but with two other setters, they'll need some net experience, as well.

Q. What are those summer workouts look like with you guys running the team? Who's the most vocal? Do you guys plan what you're going to do together? How do those things go down?

MADDIE SCHERMERHORN: It's pretty, I guess, challenging, at least for me coming back as a fifth year. I know I have to take a lot of those responsibilities.

I would say for me, my role is to lead by example and just kind of set the tone for the practice, whereas Eva's is probably more of the actual vocal leading us on the floor.

For us we kind of discuss what we need to work on, maybe at the beginning it's a little more skill work and then we just want to play. Like you talked about earlier, we tried to play a lot this summer. That's been different from past summers.

It was the most competitive summer I have been a part of because you're on your own. You have leaders that may just want to play like scrimmage -- queens or something the whole time, and that's not what you're going to do to set yourself up for success.

And I think this past summer we did a really good job of picking out our weaknesses and trying to exploit them before we reach preseason with Dave, Kat and John so that we were able to level up from there.

EVA HUDSON: I would say during the summers, especially since it's optional, you get to see who wants to be there, and especially since there's no coaches, you get to see like the true work ethic of people.

It's really exciting for this team because I think everyone -- well, most everyone is on the same page this year, and that's really exciting going forward.

MADDIE SCHERMERHORN: Also going off of that, she talked about work ethic, and I think that's something our team has extremely well this year. We had some of these freshmen, for example, Chloe Chicoine, one of the hardest-working people that me and Eva have ever met. She's the one that's always wanting to go in. And I think that's carried on to our culture, as well.

So I think this past summer we had more people in the gym on their own than we've ever had, and I think that's not only saying a lot about you when the coaches aren't around, but how will that exploit into the school year. So I think that's pretty special.