Ball State University Athletics
Women?s Volleyball Coach Steve Shondell Retires
March 28, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - After six seasons at the helm of the Ball State women's volleyball program, head coach Steve Shondell has announced his retirement from the program, effective immediately.
“The past six years coaching the Ball State women's volleyball team have been six of the best years of my life,” Shondell said. “I believe each Ball State team I had the privilege of coaching represented our university in a first class way and I am extremely proud of every team. I will forever cherish the relationships I had with my players, assistant coaches, trainers, managers and administrators. I will deeply miss coaching at Ball State, but will always be grateful and humbled for the opportunity I had to follow in my father's footsteps as we both graduated, coached and retired from Ball State University.”
Shondell guided the Cardinals to a 119-68 (64-32 MAC) record in his six seasons as the head coach at his alma mater. He also helped the program return to championship form, as Ball State won the 2010 Mid-American Conference regular season title, earned an at-large bid into the 2011 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship and captured a share of the 2013 MAC West Division title.
“Steve has done a wonderful job elevating the Ball State women's volleyball program,” Ball State Director of Athletics Mark Sandy said. “I know all of our fans wish him well. Ball State and Muncie are woven into the very fabric of volleyball in the United States. With our practice facility coming in two years and the improvements to Worthen Arena this year, we expect to have an excellent program for many seasons to come.”
The 2010 MAC Coach of the Year, Shondell helped his student-athletes rank third in the MAC with 15 All-MAC first team selections during his tenure. In addition, his players earned five All-MAC second team honors and three MAC All-Freshman team accolades.
In his first season as the program's head coach, Shondell helped libero Alyssa Rio earn 2010 Collegiate Volleyball Update (CVU.com) National Libero of the Year honors after she ranked second nationally with a 5.86 digs-per-set average. A four-time MAC Defensive Player of the Week honoree as a senior, Rio was also named the CVU.com National Player of the Week (Nov. 2).
Prior to being named the head coach at Ball State, Shondell guided Burris Laboratory School (Muncie, Indiana) to a 1183-95 record over his 34-year career from 1976-2009. A two-time National High School Coach of the Year (2007 & 2009), Shondell coached the Owls to 21 state championships, including 13 straight titles at the Indiana Class 2A level. In his final season with the program, he led Burris to a perfect 40-0 record and finished the season as the national runner-up.
Under his guidance, the Owls won four national championships (1990, 1992, 1997 and 2004), and finished undefeated seven times (1985, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1997, 2004 and 2009). His teams also finished as national runners-up four times and as the third-ranked team three times.
A 2007 inductee to the American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and a member of the Ball State Athletics Hall of Fame (2005), Shondell has also been inducted into the Delaware County Athletic Hall of Fame and the Indiana Volleyball Hall of Fame. He has also earned numerous Ball State Alumni Coach of the Year and Indiana High School Coach of the Year awards.
Shondell was a founding member of the Munciana Volleyball Club in 1974, and has served as a club coach ever since. He was also a volunteer assistant for the Ball State men's volleyball team from 1991-1997 and again in 2008.
In his original seven-year stint as a volunteer assistant for his father, Dr. Don Shondell, with the Ball State men's volleyball team, Shondell helped coach the Cardinals to the NCAA Tournament three times (1994, 1995 and 1997). The 1995 Cardinals finished the year ranked fifth in the country, despite posting wins over all four teams ranked ahead of them in the final poll – No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Hawaii, No. 3 Penn State and No. 4 UC Santa Barbara.
A four-year letterwinner and three-year starter for the Ball State men's volleyball team from 1974-77, Shondell was a two-time All-Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association selection for the Cardinals. The team tallied an 88-13-1 record during his career, won three MIVA championships and finished third at the 1974 NCAA Championship. He was named Ball State's Co-Most Valuable Player in 1977. The team's .913 (21-2) winning percentage in 1976 stands as the best in program history.
The search for Ball State's next women's volleyball head coach will begin immediately.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateWVB on Twitter.
