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Purdue University Athletics

Dave Shondell

Shondell Ushers in Nation's #3 Recruiting Class

11/9/2022 3:40:00 PM | Volleyball

Dig City Podcast on Recruits

By: Rachel Coe

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Head coach Dave Shondell welcomed in the 2023 signing class today, featuring six players: Taylor Anderson, Chloe Chicoine, Grace Heaney, Julia Kane, Rachel Williams and Kenna Wollard. The class ranks No. 3 in the nation according to PrepVolleyball.com, which ties the 2014 Signing Day as the highest ranked class in program history.

The class is made up of one setter (Anderson), two outside hitters (Chicoine and Wollard), one opposite/right side (Heaney) and two defensive specialists (Kane and Williams).

"It's an athletic group," Shondell said on the 2023 recruiting class. "It's a group that has great experience from playing a high-level of club volleyball to advancing deep into state championship play with their high school teams. I think one of the most impressive things is just the leadership ability that this group possesses. Whether they're ranked third, first, or nineteenth it really doesn't matter. I know what we're getting and we're getting some players that are going to make us better." 

The incoming class includes four players ranked among the top 63 in the nation, including the program's first No. 1 overall-ranked recruit in Chicoine. Heaney checks in at No. 17 overall, followed by Anderson at No. 38 and Wollard at No. 63.
 
Taylor Anderson
Uniform #: 5
Height: 6'1"
Position: Setter
Hometown: San Antonio, Texas
High School: Cornerstone Christian
Club Team: Alamo
Career Plans: Physical Therapy

Quick Hits:
  • Ranked the No. 1 setter and No. 6 overall by PrepDig
  • PrepVolleyball No. 6 ranked Setter
  • Ranked the No. 38 overall recruit by PrepVolleyball
  • Helped her team win four championship titles including: 2022 Nike Tournament of Champions Southwest
  • As a senior, posted 794 assists and 267 digs
  • Named MVP Nike Tournament of Champions Southwest All Tournament.
  • As a junior, posted 748 assists and 314 digs
  • Named San Antonio Express News all Area.
  • As a sophomore, she was named San Antonio Express News All Area
  • As a freshman, she was named 28-6A Unanimous Newcomer of the Year
  • Received the Prep Volleyball Frosh 59 Highest Honorable Mention
  • With her club team, she placed fifth at the 2019 USAV Open

Shondell on Anderson: "Taylor is kind of a typical recruit in the setting position for us as far as being long and athletic. She's played both positions growing up at both outside hitter and setter which is what a lot of our setting recruits have done. She's every bit as athletic as anyone we've ever recruited. She's a very smooth athlete, makes things look easy. I think her strength right now would be the ability to play above the net. She's a great blocker. She can score points offensively from the setting position."

 
Chloe Chicoine
Uniform #: 2
Height: 5'10"
Position: Outside Hitter
Hometown: West Lafayette, Ind.
High School: McCutcheon
Club Team: Circle City
Intended Major: Business Management and Kinesiology
 
Quick Hits:
  • No. 1 ranked recruit in the nation by PrepVolleyball
  • 2022 AVCA First-Team All-American
  • 2022 Under Armour High School All-American as a senior
  • MaxPrep Player of the Year Watch List
  • Played with Raven Colvin on the 2022 U21 U.S. national team, where she helped the team win gold
  • Named Best Spiker of the 2022 Pan Am Games
  • 2021 U18 National Team World Championship gold junior
  • 2021 USAV Nationals All-American as a junior
  • Helped the U18 U.S. girl's national team win bronze at the U18 World Championships
  • Guided McCutcheon High School to four consecutive NCC Conference Championship titles and three Sectional titles
  • Named Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior
  • As a junior, was ranked the No. 2 recruit in the 2022 class by Prep Dig.
  • Received PrepVolleyball All-America status as a sophomore
  • 2022 USAV Nationals 5th-place finish Junior Circle City
  • Averaged a .436 attack % during high school
  • Defensively, recorded 271 digs and 25 blocks as a senior for McCutcheon
  • Posted a .469 attack % as a senior, which included 549 kills over 93 sets played in addition to 49 aces
  • Guided McCutcheon to a 2021 4A State Championship title, where she was named an All-State, All-Conference and All-District honors in addition to McCutcheon High School MVP.
  • Two-time Journal & Courier Big School Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior
  • PrepVolleyball Freshman of the Year finalist
  • PrepVolleyball High School All-America Special Mention as a freshman
  • Indiana Player of the Year finalist as a freshman
  • Was teammates at McCutcheon with Purdue transfer Emily Brown
  • Finished High School with a 4.0 and was on track to be a valedictorian, but due to graduating early, she forfeited the title
  • Three-time high school MVP
  • Ranked 27th draft pick in 2020 by Volley High
  • 2020 USA Girls Youth National Training Team (Did not compete covid)
  • 2020 Prep Volleyball class of 2023 9th-ranked recruit by PrepVolleyball (freshman year)
  • National Honor Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes member
  • Mother, Jessica Holloway graduated from Northwestern while her father, Rob attended Purdue and was a member of the wrestling team.
  • Has two younger brothers: Cole and Cooper Chicoine
  • Grandmother, Marcia Holloway also attended Purdue
 
Shondell on Chicoine: "Chloe is unlike any high school player I've ever seen. I've watched a lot of high school players and I've never seen a player get as much done as she has during her career. Chloe is a very dynamic athlete, jumps extremely well and competes as hard as any player can. She competes at this high level with incredible intensity, but at the same time, she motivates and encourages her teammates. We're fortunate to have the first number one-ranked recruit we've ever had select Purdue.I'm looking forward to her continuing to get better."

 
Grace Heaney
Uniform #: 14
Height: 6'2"
Position: Opposite/Right Side
Hometown: Omaha, Neb.
High School: Elkhorn North
Club Team: Premier Volleyball
Career Plans: Engineer
 
Quick Hits:
  • Named a 2023 Player to Watch by VBallRecruiter, along with teammate Chicoine
  • Was a three-sport competitor in high school: volleyball, track & field and basketball
  • Totaled 1,426 kills and 907 digs during her high school career
  • Secured 226 career blocks in high school
  • Averaged 4.67 kills per set over her final three years
  • Posted 28 kills and 27 digs in the 2022 Nebraska state championship match
  • Guided Elkhorn to a state championship appearance
  • As a junior, posted 438 kills, 54 aces, 81 blocks, 268 assists, and a .260% hitting percentage.
  • PrepVolleyball 2023 top 150 No. 14
  • 2021 AVCA Phenom's Watch List
  • As a sophomore, posted 354 kills, 22 aces, 45 blocks, 203 digs, 13 assists, and a .258% hitting percentage.
  • PrepVolleyball 2023 top 150 No. 20
  • 2020 AVCA Phenom's Watch List
  • As a freshman, posted 191 kills, 37 aces, 36 blocks, 144 digs, 308 assists, and a .230% hitting percentage.
  • PrepVolleyball Frosh 59 special mention
  • With her club team, she placed fifth at the 2022, 17 open
 
Shondell on Heaney:  "Grace is the first left hander that we've had since Annie Drews came to play here. She competes, she's at home playing on the right side, which will be really, really good for us. I think as she gets stronger she's going to get better and better. As a top-ranked player out of the state of Nebraska, she's everything we look for when we look for a recruit: she's a quality individual, a good leader, a great teammate, and somebody who understands that to play in the Big Ten you have to get better every day."

 
Julia Kane
Uniform #: 21
Height: 5'11"
Position: Defensive Specialist
Hometown: Windermere, Fla.
High School: Windermere Prep
Club Team: OTVA
Career Plans: Naturalist/Forestry
 
Quick Hits:
  • As a senior, she was named Orange Observer Athlete of the Week (9/7/2022) after leading her team with 21 kills, 23 digs and an 83% positive serve reception. Kane also contributed 11 service points, four aces and five blocks over the two matches
  • Set her school's record for most kills in a match with 24 kills
  • Broke her school's record for most season kills with 299 kills and counting
  • Became her school's record holder for career digs with 814 digs and counting
  • Set her school's record for most aces with 123 aces
  • As a junior, she led her team with 203 kills and 254 digs, setting her school's record for most digs per season
  • As a sophomore, she led her team with 164 digs and 100 kills in a shortened COVID season
  • Led her team in aces
  • Set her school record for digs in a match with 39 digs
  • Named Orange Observer Athlete of the Week
  • FL Athletic Coaches Association All State Team
  • With her beach volleyball team, she was named Citrus League MVP in an undefeated team season
  • As a freshman, she led her team in digs with an average of 10.1 digs per match
  • With her club team, she placed fifth in 17U at AAU
  • Helped her team to a USAV ninth-place finish
  • Guided her 16U team to an AAU second place finish in 2020
  • Both parents attended Purdue. Mother, Caroline Kane, earned her B.S. in Statistics and Math (1992) and a Master's in Logistics (1994). Father, Sean Kane earned his degree in Marketing and a master's in Finance
Shondell on Kane: "Julia is one of the longer defensive specialists in America. She's played outside hitter during her career, like a lot of our backcourt players have before, but she played libero for her club team the past couple of seasons. Her length and experience will make her a really good defender. She plays really, really hard. We're excited to have her."  

   
Rachel Williams
Uniform #: 1
Height: 5'7"
Position: Defensive Specialist
Hometown: West Lafayette, Ind.
High School: West Lafayette
Club Team: Circle City
Intended Major: Selling & Sales Management
 
Quick Hits:
  • Three-time Journal & Courier All-Area honoree
  • Earned IHSVCA All-District Team honors both as a junior and senior
  • Three-time All-Conference selection
  • Named to the 2022 AVCA All-America Watch List
  • Received the Lauren M. Wastl Scholarship Award
  • Posted 511 kills as a senior, hitting .434 % in addition to 270 digs and 26 blocks
  • The strong server racked up 207 aces over her high school career, including 89 as a freshman
  • Totaled more than 700 digs over her high school career
  • The 5'6" player records over a 9'0 jump and has a standing reach of over 7'0"
  • Mother is Charese Williams. Father, Calvin, was a member of the Purdue football team from 1986-89 before going on to play in the NFL. Currently, Calvin is the associate athletics director – sport Administration at Purdue. He was drafted in the fifth round by the Philadelphia Eagles and subsequently played for seven seasons with the Eagles (1990-96) and the Baltimore Ravens (1996).
Shondell on Williams: "Rachel's experience as an outside hitter helps her to really understand the game – I like the fact that many of our defensive specialists have been in that roll before because they understand what hitters are going to do and what they're thinking when going up to attack the ball. Rachel is a strong competitor that I've had the chance to watch. She really competes hard. She rises to the occasion in the biggest matches. We're excited to have her start here in January and watch her develop.
 
 
Kenna Wollard
Uniform #: 4
Height: 6'1"
Position: Outside Hitter
Hometown: Dunlap, Ill.
High School: Illinois Valley Central
Club Team: Illini Elite
Career Plans: Orthodontist
 
Quick Hits:
  • Journal Star Player of the Year
  • Participated in the U.S. national team development program in July 2022 out in Arizona
  • Ranked No. 5 in the state of Illinois by PrepDig
  • Two-time First Team All-State honoree (junior and sophomore year)
  • Two-time First Team All-Conference as a junior and sophomore
  • Second Team All-Conference as a freshman
  • Set the Peoria area record for all-time kills
  • Posted the third-most kills in the state of Illinois as a senior
  • Guided her team to a 2021 IHSA Class 2A elite eight appearance
  • Tallied 526 kills on her way to a .354 hitting % as a junior
  • Defensively, tallied 237 digs and 51 blocks during her junior year campaign
  • Totaled 332 kills as a sophomore
  • Team captain during her senior year
  • Was a competitive swimmer
  • Parents Kristie Warfield and Jason Wollard were both student-athletes at Illinois – mother was a swimmer and father played baseball for the Fighting Illini.
Shondell on Wollard: "Kenna is a terrific volleyball player that does everything you want an outside hitter to do. She can pass, she can play defense, she's a great blocker and has a very good jump. Her desire to get better is one of her most impressive attributes. She wants to become great. She's very likeable and her teammates love her. Kenna has a high ceiling. Nothing will be easy in the Big Ten, but she's coming here for a reason and wants to help Purdue do something we've never done before, like she just did with her high school program. She is going to be a great, complete player."


 
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