? Purdue has had a total of 54 Academic All-Big Ten honors starting in 1983. In 1996, the school record of seven Boilermakers selected for Academic All- Big Ten was tied by Lauri Grimes, Sarina Harris, Sue Jurkonis, Kelli Kerkhoff, Connie Paul, Linda Menconi, and Brooke White.
? Former head coach Carol Dewey retired in December of 1994 after 20 years at the helm. Purdue's first volleyball coach, Dewey is the winningest single-sport coach in school history with a 469-256 record, and outstanding .647 winning percentage. Four of her Purdue squads won Big Ten championships- 1979, '80, '82, and '85.
? Each year Purdue and intrastate rival Indiana play one of their two matches for the Monon Spike, a traveling trophy created by Donna Hardesty and Anne McMenamy (seniors on the 1981 team) from a spike from the old Monon Railroad. The Spike serves as a fitting reminder of the intense competition that takes place on the court and also is rich with the tradition of the state of Indiana. Purdue leads the Spike portion of the all-time series 16-8 and holds a 38-25 advantage overall.
? Debbie McDonald (1986-1989) was a three-time All-American and is Purdue's all-time career kills leader with 2,108. McDonald was selected as the 1986 Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year. She was also voted to the Big Ten All-Decade team in 1991-92.
? Jane Neff (1979-82) was Purdue's first All-American and Academic All-American, both in 1982. Neff was a member of three Big Ten championship teams and was named Flora Roberts Outstanding Senior Woman. In 1984, Neff received the Southland Olympia Award in Pursuit of Excellence. She was an inaugural member of the Purdue Athletic Department Hall of Fame in 1994.
? Marianne Smith (1982-1985) was an All-American and the Big Ten Player-of-the-Year in 1984 and '85. Smith was selected to the World University Student Games Team in 1985. She was also voted to the Big Ten All-Decade team in 1991-92.
? Former Boilermaker Mary Fischl Wise (1977-80) has been the head volleyball coach at the University of Florida since the 1991 season. Fischl was named the AVCA/Tachikara Coach-of-the-Year for NCAA Division I in 1992, when she led the Gators to the national semifinals. Under her leadership, the Gators also went to the national semifinals in 1996.
? Current head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer joined the Purdue volleyball program May 25, 1999, with six years of head coaching experience. He was head coach at Western Kentucky and Arkansas State and assistant coach the past three seasons at the University of Illinois. He was twice named Sun-Belt Conference Coach-of-the-Year and won three Sun Belt Conference championships.
? Purdue set the NCAA single-match attendance record with a crowd of 10,645 in Mackey Arena against Western Michigan on October 29, 1985.
? Perhaps Purdue's most exciting run at a volleyball national championship was the 1982 season. The Boilermakers won all 29 regular-season matches going into the Big Ten Championship. There, the Old Gold and Black defeated Minnesota and Northwestern for the Big Ten title. Then Purdue opened the NCAA Tournament with a victory over Rutgers. National powerhouse Nebraska waited for the Boilermakers in the Mideast Regional semifinals. Purdue came from two games down to top the Cornhuskers and remain undefeated. However, Southern Cal then defeated Purdue in the Mideast Regional finals. The Boilermakers finished the season 33-1.