Volleyball alum makes her mark as Purdue operations director

Five years ago, Carrie Gurnell was at a crossroads.

She loved her volleyball coaching life at the University of North Texas, just four hours from her childhood residence in Katy, Texas. Life seemed pretty good living in her home state.

But then the call came.

Gurnell saw the name Dave Shondell appear on her phone during a staff meeting. She had kept in touch with her college coach and his forever assistant, Kathy Jewell, since graduating from Purdue in 2010. She was a recruiting coup, of sorts, for Shondell, who was trying to solidify his program’s foundation with the 11th-ranked recruit in the nation and Purdue’s first player from Texas.

But why would he be calling now? It was 2021; COVID was beginning to subside, and Gurnell, despite having recently suffered an illness, was content to be in Denton, Texas, close to her sister, Stephanie, and her nephews, who lived in Houston. Gurnell was establishing her coaching chops as part of the Mean Green program, having spent three seasons there after two years as an assistant coach at Gardner-Webb University.

Well, it turns out the call changed her life. When the dust settled. Shondell offered her the job of Purdue’s supervisor of volleyball operations, but it took a “come to your senses” discussion with her dad, Steven, to get her to return to West Lafayette.

“I called my dad later that day, and he was like, ‘You’re telling me Dave Shondell called you, and you didn’t …’ and I said, ‘Hold up, dad,’” Gurnell says, recalling the seminal moment. “It didn’t take me long to realize that Purdue had all the resources and I had been doing many of the things I would be doing at Purdue at North Texas and coaching, where I wore 17 different hats.”

Twenty-four hours later, she said “yes” to Shondell and accepted his offer, but getting into the rhythm of the new job would take much longer.

Taking time in transition

“After graduating, I remained obsessed with Purdue,” says Gurnell, who knew it was much more than just “staying in touch” with her alma mater. Now, in her sixth season with the Boilermakers, the transition wasn’t always linear or seamless.

“It took me a couple of years to fully buy in that this is what I wanted to do – operations instead of coaching,” Gurnell says. “I had a million questions when I arrived. Once I began to get those questions answered in my mind, I could think more creatively on things I hadn’t had time to spend on in my multiple roles at North Texas. For example, we didn’t have a ton of donors at North Texas, and as a coach I didn’t have the time to sit down and think creatively about how to keep them engaged. At Purdue, that is part of my job. As I got routines down at Purdue, it freed my mind to think creatively and to have more attention to detail in the process.”

It truly has proven to be the best of both worlds for Gurnell. Still as passionate as ever about volleyball, she can lurk on the periphery of coaching, offering a different set of eyes about what is going on the floor. But she also gets to use her artistic talent and next-level organizational skills to do what is needed. Combined with her extremely engaging personality and strong work ethic, she succeeds in doing what her job description truly is: making the lives of the coaching staff and players that much better.

“I love volleyball, and what I see on the court in practice and in matches can be helpful to our coaches because they’re so in it that sometimes they need that outside perspective,” says Gurnell, who recorded 1,045 kills and advanced to two NCAA Regional Semifinals with the Boilermakers while earning a bachelor’s degree in professional writing with a minor in art and design. “I played here, I know the Purdue way and the coaches trust my intentions.”

And the 2026 team, a squad ranked No. 9 nationally preseason with sky-high expectations, has eight new players on it. Gurnell can relate to what it is like for players to have so many new teammates, because she had a similar situation in her senior year.

“I’ve had conversations with the girls on this year’s team,” Gurnell says. “I remember my senior year about having the pressure of thinking I had to perform perfectly or we wouldn’t win. And I didn’t take the time back then to pour myself into those newcomers, and I really regretted that. That is an experience I share with this year’s team.”

Creating a stress-free environment

Gurnell knows how to keep the main thing the main thing. Whether it be the coaching staff or the players, her job is to make it a smooth ride.

“My most important role is to make sure our staff feels great about coaching the team,” Gurnell says. “I don’t want any stress; I want everything to feel organized and flow smoothly because little things not going right can throw people for a loop. I understand that from my experience on the coaching side; I understand how players are.”

And it is obvious the players notice.

“She’s truly everything to this program,” says junior defensive specialist Ryan McAleer. “She has been in our shoes, knows where we’ve been. Sure, she’s great at filling out our schedule and making sure our meals are planned, which is a beast in its own right. But she has played at this level before, which I think is kind of a cheat code to having another coach.”

But being able to anticipate situations before coaches ask for them is also an attribute that Gurnell possesses.

“She is approaching the level of what Elliot Bloom does for Matt Painter,” Shondell says about the men’s basketball director of operations whom he calls “the best in the country” at what he does. “I now have somebody in Carrie that can go to the administrators for things that I don’t have to ask for. She often anticipates things before I have to ask, and that puts her ahead of the game right now.

“She has a soft touch and is sensitive to what people need, but she can also bring the hammer down if needed.”

A recent example of “the hammer” Shondell is referring to was when technicians were working on the Taraflex surface at Holloway Gymnasium. Gurnell was respectful of the work being done, but she also knew what she wanted in the situation to ensure it was installed correctly and wasn’t afraid to say so. After all, getting a state-of-the-art Taraflex surface in Holloway was something Gurnell pushed Purdue to purchase, so like many other things, she was passionate about it.

“She knows how to take control of a situation and work at a really fast pace. That is why Carrie is great at what she does.”

Glitz and glam

When it comes to creativity, Purdue volleyball fans will experience Gurnell’s artistic flair firsthand when they attend matches this fall. The hallway leading to the doors of Holloway has undergone a complete facelift. While it won’t be fully finished until after the season, it is a dramatic and impressive change.

“I pushed to do the hallway — I wanted some of the vibe basketball has downstairs in Mackey brought upstairs to Holloway,” says Gurnell with a gleam in her eye. “The thought process is as we update the hallway we’re also making room and space for upgrades as things progress. I had plenty of ideas for what we could do, and in the end, I wanted it a little more blacked out, almost like a movie‑theater feel. That works in conjunction with the fact that when you leave the hallway, you walk into a bright, welcoming Holloway.

“It’s about showcasing our players, but it’s also about the fan experience and letting people see progress so they get excited.”

The players have noticed.

“If you look great, you play great,” freshman outside hitter Syndi Vice says. “I feel fortunate to be a member of this amazing team, and I think our program deserves something like this. It fits who we are, and what we want to be as a team.”

McAleer concurs with a big smile.

“Carrie truly gets it,” says the 2025 second-team All-Big Ten honoree. “She understands the value that seemingly little things like that can bring to a program. Certain programs would just overlook a detail like what Carrie has helped create and not put in the money (thanks in part to a gift from Art and Connie Euler), but Carrie is persistently pursuing improvement, and this an amazing example.”

Running on emotion and competitiveness

Yet it may be passion and emotion that set Gurnell apart. She admits to “bawling” after a recent camp attended by 600 volleyball players, overcome with feelings of another successful event for the program.

“I texted Dave and Kat and just said how thankful I am to be here,” says Gurnell, who shares an emotional streak with Shondell when the duo thinks about how far things have come.

The feeling is clearly mutual.

“Carrie has a passion for making things flashy,” Shondell says. “But she backs it all up with an unbelievable effort that we not only appreciate, but the entire program benefits from because she is a big part of who we are and what we do.”

Written by Alan Karpick, publisher of GoldandBlack.com.