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78 IllustrateD volume 25, issue 1 f gone to the Final Four last year and we didn't play a great match against Wisconsin. We didn't put a match together to go to the Final Four, so there's the hunger." The Boilermakers have plenty of it. During Shondell's tenure, Purdue has often found itself peaking at the right time, hitting its stride during the NCAA Tour- nament. That's allowed them seven Sweet 16 berths in the last nine seasons, one of only 11 teams nationally to ac- complish such a feat. And there's the two Elite Eights; it's the next step that's missing. "The University was happy with our Elite Eight appearance but we were a game away from going to the Final Four," Nichol said. "We were right there and we just let it slip away. We had beaten that team before and they outplayed us. … I think about it reg- ularly. We've got it in our mind that we were that close and it lights the fire in all of us." j ing point. Dave Shondell, Kathy Jewell and John Shondell form the longest-tenured staff in the country, entering their 12th season together at Purdue. "There's stability, and families like stability," Dave Shondell said. After experiencing significant coaching staff turnover at her high school, seeing a staff at Purdue who has been together for so long was important to Mohler. "It helps a lot because I've gone through a lot of coach- ing staff changes in the last few years," Mohler said. "It's been really hard on our basketball and volleyball teams. It makes me feel comfortable knowing that not only I have them (coaching) together, but they're probably the best of the best." There's no substitute for winning in recruiting, and Shondell has certainly been able to pitch that. Purdue is one of just five schools in the nation to ap- pear in the last four Sweet Sixteens and has a .717 win- ning percentage in the last four years. "We've been on this mission to be one of, if not the best, programs in the country and we're getting closer," Shondell said. "We've recruited high-caliber people who have very high expectations. They didn't come here to finish in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten. "That's not going to satisfy anyone." Despite all of its success under Shondell, Purdue has never qualified for a Final Four in program history. Mohler envisions helping lead the program there and beyond. "I expect to win a national championship," Mohler said. "I think we definitely have the right girls to do it, especially with the next few years coming up." — Travis Baugh 2014 Volleyball Schedule Date Opponent Time Aug. 29 USF 10 a.m.^ SAN DIEGO 7:30 p.m.^ Aug. 30 LSU 7 p.m.^ Sept. 5 vs. UNC-Asheville 5 p.m* Sept. 6 vs. Elon 10 a.m. at Kennesaw State 7:30 p.m.* Sept. 12 vs. Austin Peay 1 p.m.# at Western Kentucky 7 p.m.# Sept. 13 vs. Western Michigan 1 p.m.# Sept. 19 ST LOUIS 10 a.m.% MOREHEAD STATE 7:30 p.m.% Sept. 20 NOTRE DAME 8 p.m. % Sept. 26 MICHIGAN 7 p.m. Sept. 27 MICHIGAN STATE 7 p.m. Oct. 3 at Rutgers 7 p.m. Oct. 5 at Maryland 1 p.m. Oct. 8 INDIANA 7 p.m. Oct. 11 at Indiana 7 p.m. Oct. 17 PENN STATE 7 p.m. Oct. 18 OHIO STATE 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at Northwestern 8 p.m. Oct. 25 at Illinois 8 p.m. Oct. 29 WISCONSIN 7 p.m. Nov. 1 MINNESOTA 7 p.m. Nov. 5 at Nebraska 8 p.m. Nov. 8 at Iowa 8 p.m. Nov. 12 MARYLAND 7 p.m. Nov. 15 NORTHWESTERN 7 p.m. Nov. 19 RUTGERS 7 p.m. Nov. 22 at Minnesoa 8 p.m. Nov. 26 at Michigan State 7 p.m. Nov. 28 at Wisconsin 8 p.m. ^ Mortar Board Premier, West Lafayette * KSU Owls Invitational, Kennesaw, Ga. # Holiday Inn University Plaza Invitational, Bowling Green, Ky. % Active Ankle Challenge, West Lafayette coming Soon 2015 Commitments Name NR Ht. Pos. Hometown/High school Shavona Cuttino 50 6-1 MB Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis Blake Mohler 27 6-2 MB Ocean Springs, Miss./Ocean Springs Brooke Peters n/a 5-8 DS Avon, Ind./Avon Alexa Smith 9 6-1 OH Monument, Colo./Lewis-Palmer 2016 Commitments Name NR Ht. Pos. Hometown/High school Natalie Haben n/a 5-9 L Edina, Minn./Edina NR = National ranking, according to prepvolleyball.com