Purdue volleyball signs No. 3 recruiting class, No. 1 overall recruit

WEST LAFAYETTE - Dave Shondell has had great teams but he wants championships teams.

So what did Shondell and his Purdue volleyball staff do?

They recruited a 2023 class loaded with players who've won championships.

At the high school level. At the club level. Even international.

"One of the things we feel we might have been missing with these really good teams we've had is that extra competitiveness, that fire, kind of what you see from (Purdue freshman) Eva Hudson," said Shondell, whose team has advanced to consecutive Elite Eights. "There's going to be some of these people who bring that competitive juice to our program.

"Many of these people have been very successful on their teams. Sometimes when you recruit, you're not always fortunate to get players who have won at the schools they've been to."

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Not only are Chloe Chicoine, Grace Heaney, Taylor Anderson, Julia Kane, Kenna Wollard and Rachel Williams winners, they're extremely talented.

Collectively, their letters of intent to Purdue during Wednesday's national signing day delivered the Boilermakers the nation's No. 3 overall recruiting class, according to PrepVolleyball.com, a group which includes the No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2023 in Chicoine.

"We like to recruit athletes. We have some really good ones coming," Shondell said. "These are great athletes that will do nothing but get better when they come here."

The No. 3 overall recruiting class matches Purdue's highest with the 2014 incoming class that included eventual first-team All-American and current member of the United States national team Danielle Cuttino.

Here's a brief of Purdue's freshman class for the 2023 season:

Chloe Chicoine, outside hitter, McCutcheon High School (Lafayette, Indiana)

Locally, Chicoine needs no introduction. She was Indiana's Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior after leading McCutcheon to the program's first state championship. She helped the U.S. national team win a bronze medal in the 2021 at the U18 World Championships and teamed with current Boilermaker Raven Colvin on the U21 gold-medal winning U.S. national team at this year's Pan American Games, where Chicoine received the tournament's best spiker award.

"It is great that of all the places in the country that the No. 1 recruit in the country can go to, she chose Purdue," Shondell said. "No recruit in the country knows our program better than Chloe, so for her to say this is where I want to be, this is who I want to be surrounded with, I think that makes a positive statement about our program and our university."

Grace Heaney, opposite, Elkhorn North High School (Omaha, Nebraska)

A left-handed hitter out of a volleyball hotbed ranked as the nation's No. 14 recruit by PrepVolleyball, Heaney led her high school to this year's Nebraska Class B state championship match where she racked up 28 kills and 27 digs in a five-set loss to powerhouse program Omaha Skutt, which won its eight straight state title. Heaney's Elkhorn North team beat Skutt in last year's girls basketball Class B state championship. Heaney also helped lead Elkhorn North to a state title in track and field last spring by being a part of a winning 1,600 relay and placing third individually in the 400 meters at the state meet.

Taylor Anderson, setter, Cornerstone Christian High School (San Antonio, Texas)

Anderson is the nation's sixth-ranked setter by PrepVolleyball.com and the 38th overall rated recruit. Among her accomplishments, the 6-foot-1 setter received Most Valuable Player at the Nike Tournament of Champions Southwest Tournament.

Julia Kane, defensive specialist, Windermere Prep (Windermere, Florida)

Kane practically rewrote her high school volleyball program's record book, setting school marks in career aces, kills and digs in addition to numerous single-match and single-season records. Kane's natural position is libero and, at 5-11, would be one of Purdue's tallest in that role. Kane's parents both attended Purdue, as did her aunt and uncle, and her grandmother still resides in West Lafayette.

Kenna Wollard, outside hitter, Illinois Valley Central High School (Chillicothe, Illinois)

The No. 5-ranked recruit in the state of Illinois has her high school team competing in its first state finals appearance this weekend after a state quarterfinal appearance a season ago. Wollard was last year's Journal Star Player of the Year. Last summer she traveled to Arizona to participate in Team USA's national team development program. She owns the Peoria area's record for career kills and comes with an athletic pedigree. Wollard's father played baseball for the University of Illinois and her mother was a swimmer for the Illini.

Rachel Williams, defensive specialist, West Lafayette High School (West Lafayette, Indiana)

The Red Devils' standout won't have to travel far to go from her high school home court to her college one. Williams helped lead West Lafayette to a regional championship as a junior. Williams had 1,351 career kills, including 511 as a senior, along with 949 digs and 207 aces in her high school career. Her father, Calvin, was a standout receiver for Purdue before playing in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens.

"A lot of really good players, people who are going to be able to contribute to what we are doing," Shondell said. "Whenever you try to bring in a really great recruiting class, it is all about what you need. We certainly filled a lot of the voids we feel we might have with ball control, with great arms, with a setter that fits exactly what we are looking for."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue volleyball signs No. 3 recruiting class, No. 1 overall recruit