Call it "Family Feud" for the Shondells.
A matchup between the Ball State and Purdue women's volleyball teams for the 2011 fall season was confirmed this week with the release of Purdue's fall schedule.
The match will feature three brothers from the Shondell family as coaches – Steve Shondell as the head coach of Ball State, and Dave and John Shondell as the head coach and assistant coach of Purdue, respectively.
"I think we're both excited that our teams have the opportunity to play against each other," Steve said of himself and Dave. "It's Purdue vs. Ball State. It's not two brothers trying to beat each other."
Both coaches tried to arrange a match between Purdue and Ball State in the 2010 season, but were unable do so.
The match will be a part of the Purdue Active Ankle challenge, with Purdue scheduled to play Jacksonville State and Western Carolina as well as Ball State.
Purdue is coming off a 24-11 season with a loss to Texas in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. Ball State underwent a comeback year in Steve Shondell's first season as coach, finishing 24-5 overall and 14-3 in the Mid-American Conference.
Steve Shondell said the chance to play against Purdue should greatly benefit Ball State's program.
"It's an exciting feeling because Purdue is a team that feels like they can contend for a national championship this coming season," the Ball State coach said. "We're looking to this as an early season opportunity to find out where we stand against one of the premier teams in the nation."
The second-year Ball State coach said Ball State's fall schedule is finished and should be released in the near future once all contracts have been signed.
Ball State currently has 12 players on its roster for the fall season. Five seniors recently graduated, including Alyssa Rio, the 2010 CVU.com Libero of the Year.
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