Sports

Murray's Mailbag

Published

1 month ago

May 19, 2025

To help my son conquer a fear — riding across a long dirt path near a lake during our Sunday bike ride — I bribed my son by telling him I’d get him some Pokémon cards if he did it. After the ride, we look for said Pokémon cards, which apparently are impossible to find in local stores. So, we ended up getting him two packs of baseball cards. He was hopeful to get an autographed card, which I told him was a low-percentage chance. I’ve personally never opened a pack with an autographed card. Low and behold, he did get an autographed card and was excited. He showed it to me. The player was Janson Junk. At first, I did not think this was a real player. It should like a name from the video game, “Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball.” Alas, Janson Junk is a real player who has appeared in 15 games from 2021-24, posting a 6.75 ERA with three teams. I would have rather had a generic card of a mid-level player. But if you anybody wants a Janson Junk autographed card, I’m your guy.

Onto this week’s Monday Mailbag. Thanks, as always, for the questions.

Here are the top-10 sports I’d like to see the Nevada Wolf Pack add, knowing full well none of these are likely to happen due to the increased expenses associated with adding sports.

10. Women’s triathlon: This is listed as an “emerging” sport that is not full-fledged Division I, although Reno-Tahoe’s location would be perfect for Nevada to get on the triathlon train.

9. Men’s lacrosse: This is mostly an East Coast sport, but Denver, for example, added this sport in 1999, put money into it and has reached six Final Fours since 2011, including the 2015 national title.

8. Men’s swimming and diving: Despite having an excellent women’s swimming and diving program, Nevada has never had a men’s swimming and diving program. UNLV does sponsor that sport.

7. Men’s wrestling: The Wolf Pack has no history in wrestling, but it is a popular sport in Northern Nevada with the Pac-12 having a wrestling conference Nevada could join.

6. Rifle: Nevada had a rifle program until it was cut in 2018 while cross country was added. It’s a low-expense sport that shouldn’t have been cut in the first place.

5. Men’s soccer: Nevada started a women’s soccer program in 2000 and has had almost no success. But if the Wolf Pack got a soccer-only stadium built, adding a men’s team (UNLV has one) would be great.

4. Women’s gymnastics: Gymnastics is popular in Nevada with the MW adding it as a sport in 2024. The conference will lose two members in 2026 (Boise State, Utah State), so Nevada adding gymnastics would help. Hire two-time Olympian Jake Dalton to run the program.

3. Men’s track and field: Nevada had an elite cross country/track and field program until the programs were cut in a Title IX move in 1994. Men’s cross country returned in 2019. Neither UNLV nor Nevada has a men’s track program.

2. Women’s beach volleyball: I’ve long felt this would be a good fit with a potential NCAA Championship at Sand Harbor. All four incoming MW schools (Grand Canyon, UC Davis, Hawaii, UTEP) have beach volleyball, as does retained member SJSU.

1. Men’s hockey: Nevada added a club hockey team this season, has some boosters with drive and capital helping run the program and the incoming hockey-ready GSR Arena (Reno Ice also could be used). This is an expensive sport (at least a $1.1 million annual budget), but things are lining up for this to at least be a possibility. I would still guess it’s more unlikely to happen than likely to happen in the next decade, but there’s now an actual chance.

I wouldn’t rule it out, but the cost of doing business at the Division I level is getting higher and higher, so I would guess Nevada State University does not make the jump to D-I in the next 25 years. It would be nice to see one of the junior colleges in Nevada — CSN, NSU, TMCC, WNC, GBC — add a football program.

If we’re limiting ourselves to the 2024-25 Wolf Pack athletic season, here would be my top-10 stories:

HM. Angels finish second in Washoe Little League’s Triple-A regular season (only team to beat the Diamondbacks); playoffs looming

10. Nevada women’s tennis nearly wins Mountain West

9. $5 million Reno-Tahoe Indoor track opens

8. Nevada athletics approved for student fee to build indoor FieldHouse

7. Wolf Pack football loses 10 games for third straight season

6. Nevada men’s basketball underachieves in 17-16 season

5. Wolf Pack volleyball’s SJSU boycott goes national

4. Nevada baseball wins Mountain West regular-season title

3. Nevada softball snap’s Wolf Pack’s three-year title drought

2. GSR Arena passed, ready to broke ground

1. Pac-12, Mountain West realignment

This isn’t going to happen, but I would implode Lawlor Events Center and put money into the Virginia Street Gym to make that the home of Nevada women’s basketball and volleyball. VSG holds 1,800 fans, which is not the ideal size for a women’s basketball program, but UNLV women’s basketball plays at Cox Pavilion (capacity 2,454). VSG would be a much better environment for women’s basketball games than Lawlor. And Nevada could play 50 percent of its games there and 50 percent at GSR Arena. But if I was on the city council that approved GSR Arena’s approval, I also would have wanted an agreed-upon lease between the GSR and Wolf Pack with a minimum number of women’s basketball games at the GSR Arena (let’s say four) was part of the deal. GSR owner Alex Meruelo said during the approval meeting that he loves women’s basketball and wants them to play games in the arena. I would have gotten that in writing. There’s a reason the team wasn’t included. But a combo between an upgraded VSG and the state-of-the-art GSR would be nice. And then Lawlor’s land gets turned into a new dorm or something. The indoor fieldhouse already has a home between Mackay Stadium and Wolf Pack Park.

I wrote more extensively about it in last week’s Monday Mailbag, but it should get approval from the Nevada Board of Regents soon (probably June’s meeting) and break ground shortly thereafter.

In April, I wrote a story titled, “Did Oregon State, Washington State build a Pac-12 they’re not good enough to compete in?” That ended up being the most-read story in NevadaSportsNet.com’s history with a lot of angry Beavers and Cougars. But the results are the results. Those two schools were mid-level (at best) while competing in the Mountain West and West Coast Conference this season. And that’s despite getting Pac-12 revenue this year, and having the advantage of Pac-12 revenue for multiple decades previously. Now that they money is going to be even, I don’t see Oregon State or Washington State being superpowers in the new Pac-12. They’re MW-level schools that didn’t want to join the MW and built a conference it’s not going to be super competitive in.

(Also, Washington State will be in the MW in baseball next season, too, so it’s not the Cougars’ one and only season in the league.)

Yes, this is the first season Nevada baseball and softball won a regular-season title in the same season. And the only way a Mountain West baseball team get into the NCAA Tournament is by winning this week’s conference tournament. No MW team has an at-large case. This will be a one-bid MW yet again (the last time MW baseball got two teams in the NCAA Tournament was 2014). The top RPI in the league this season is Fresno State at 124; Nevada is 152. You need a top-40 RPI to have any shot of an at-large bid out of a mid-major conference.

There’s been some recruiting adjustment as Nevada added NAIA (Kaleb Lowery) and junior-college (Vaughn Weems) players in addition to plenty of Division I transfers (Elijah Price, Tayshawn Comer, Corey Camper Jr., Joel Armotrading). The Wolf Pack had to add a full rotation of players this offseason with just one for-sure returning rotation player in Tyler Rolison, so it had to spread out its NIL money differently than years past when it had a base of returning talent. Price was a big-name addition who could have gone to a power conference. That was about it. I saw the Wolf Pack’s name attached to plenty of bigger names, but the NIL landscape continues to get richer at the top end, meaning Nevada can’t afford those players. The Wolf Pack landed most of the players it hosted on official visits out of the transfer portal, so it mostly got its guys.

I imagine Nevada has a much bigger NIL budget than James Madison, which is where former Wolf Pack player Justin McBride landed last week. Here’s a feature story on JMU’s approach to NIL from a year ago.

The Pac-12 could go the waiver route, but I think it will add Texas State as the eighth member at some point. It’s the only realistic option.

Nevada infielder Junhyuk Kwon sprained his calf running out a groundout in the first game of the Wolf Pack’s series against Fresno State three weeks ago. He hasn’t played since then, and it appeared as if he was trending toward playing this week but won’t be available for Nevada at the Mountain West Tournament. He leads Nevada in average (.346) with eight homers, 11 doubles and a 1.012 OPS, so that’s a big loss. He could be available if the Wolf Pack makes an NCAA Regional.

The Giants are responsible for the A’s moving to Las Vegas since they blocked the team’s move to San Jose using their territorial rights. The Giants only got those rights with the A’s blessing. Former San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo once said, “If it were not for the Giants’ vehement and combative opposition a decade ago, I have zero doubt — and I share this view with many people most deeply engaged in bringing an MLB team to San Jose — that the A’s would be playing in downtown San Jose today in a stadium built at no taxpayer expense. The Giants hired and paid attorneys to sue the city, they organized an opposition group, and most importantly, they pressured the commissioner to keep San Jose a minor-league baseball city.” Baseball would be better off with two teams in the Bay Area and an expansion franchise in Las Vegas (if a team must be in the city). The Giants stood in the way of that because the team didn’t want the A’s 50 miles away in San Jose.

Three biggest positive surprises (teams): 1. Giants, 2. Tigers, 3. Mariners (offense mostly)

Three biggest negative surprises (teams): 1. Orioles, 2. Rockies (no team should be this bad), 3. Red Sox

Three biggest positive surprises (players): 1. Cubs OF Pete Crow-Armstrong, 2. Royals LHP Kris Bubic, 3. Dodgers OF Andy Pages

Three biggest negative surprises (teams): 1. Rangers 2B Marcus Semien, 2. Dodgers OF Michael Conforto, 3. Blue Jays OF Anthony Santander

World Series prediction: Giants over Yankees (4-0); the Giants will not lose a game in the playoffs (a perfect 11-0)

A Canadian team winning the Stanley Cup would be the better story. That’s their national sport, and that hasn’t happened since the Montreal Canadiens won in 1993. All hopes are pinned on the Edmonton Oilers.

I’m pretty simple — mustard, ketchup and relish. I’ll do diced onions, if available. And I’m fine without ketchup, as I know people have issues with that. I’ll also go the Sonic the Hedgehog route with chili and cheese. But it’s a minimal gussing up for me. Nothing too crazy.

See y’all in two weeks! (No Mailbag next Monday as we’ll celebrate Memorial Day, potentially with hot dogs!)

Sports columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. He writes a weekly Monday Mailbag despite it giving him a headache and it taking several hours to write. But people seem to like it, so he does it anyway. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.

Sports

Lion volleyball team adds three newcomers

The East Texas A&M University Volleyball Team has announced the additions of three new players for the 2025 season. The new players are (from left) Courtney Green, Katelyn Pritchard and Zoe Ruskofsky Lion Athletics Photos The East Texas A&M University Volleyball Team has announced the additions of three new players for the 2025 season. The […]

Published

9 minutes ago

June 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The East Texas A&M University Volleyball Team has announced the additions of three new players for the 2025 season. The new players are (from left) Courtney Green, Katelyn Pritchard and Zoe Ruskofsky Lion Athletics Photos

The East Texas A&M University Volleyball Team has announced the additions of three new players for the 2025 season. The new players are (from left) Courtney Green, Katelyn Pritchard and Zoe Ruskofsky Lion Athletics Photos

COMMERCE — The East Texas A&M University volleyball program has announced three additions to the 2025 roster.Third year coach Joe Morales has added two transfers and an incoming freshman to the squad in 2025. The transfers are Courtney Green from Oregon Tech and Zoe Ruskofsky from Coalinga College. Katelyn Pritchard joins the Lions as a freshman from McAllen.’I am excited ab…

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State Games of Mississippi continue in the Queen City

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) – Several State Games of Mississippi events were held in the Queen City on Saturday. Cycling/Time Trials kicked things off at 7 AM on Saturday, as several riders were out and about competing in the heat and humidity. For the first time, Chess was added as a competition, and multiple competitors showed […]

Published

13 minutes ago

June 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) – Several State Games of Mississippi events were held in the Queen City on Saturday.

Cycling/Time Trials kicked things off at 7 AM on Saturday, as several riders were out and about competing in the heat and humidity.

For the first time, Chess was added as a competition, and multiple competitors showed up.

“A lot of people don’t consider chess to be a sport. They see you sitting there and just moving pieces, but there have been biometrics measured. They’ve measured the heart rate, pulse rate, and respiration rate of Grand Masters at chess tournaments, and they’ve found that they burn as many calories as tennis players. While some people don’t consider chess a sport, it indeed is physically draining. All the thought process and everything behind it. We’re excited to add chess to the State Games today,” Tournament Director Lizabeth Thrasher said.

The Beach Volleyball Competitions were moved due to all the rain our area has experienced, but the competition was still fierce.

“You know, a lot of the guys that are on the lower net down there have played Men’s Open at some point in their life, traveled around a lot. Judd Smith is here. He’s the owner of Bulldog Beach, so we’re happy to have him back from Florida. So there’s a lot of talent on that lower court right now. And then the co-ed teams and the women’s teams, we’ve got two college players right now that are playing on the co-ed net… college female players, a beach player and an indoor player, so there’s a lot of talent out here today,” Beach Volleyball Commissioner Doug Everett said.

Out at the Northeast Park Soccer Complex, teams from all over the Magnolia State came and competed in the 7v7 High School Soccer Event.

“State Games 7v7 has been running for a long time, and we’re glad to have all the team support. We’ve got teams from Picayune, Moss Point, and some local teams [such as] West Lauderdale Boys and Girls, and Meridian High are here. It’s just a great opportunity for the local teams to play some teams that don’t normally play,” 7v7 High School Soccer Commissioner Matt Castleberry said.

The Lauderdale County Agricultural Center held the State Games Equestrian events on Saturday, and riders of all ages competed in the events!

“It means everybody’s interested in it again. It’s growing again. It had slacked off for a while, but now it’s coming back. It means more money from Meridian, more shows here, more money for them, more money for us, and a greater diversity of horses,” Equestrian Events Commissioner Scott Thomas said.

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ALMONT VOLLEYBALL YOUTH CAMP – The County Press

ALMONT — The Almont varsity volleyball team and coaches ended a week of fun Thursday capping off their annual youth volleyball camp that ran Monday-Thursday at the high school. New varsity coach Michelle Wangler, along with assistant coach Cortney Kendall, stressed not hitting the ball as hard as you can, rather, hitting it up, out […]

Published

25 minutes ago

June 22, 2025

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Sports on TV for Sunday, June 22 -newspressnow.com

By The Associated Press (All times Eastern)Schedule subject to change and/or blackoutsSunday, June 22AUTO RACING 7:30 a.m. FS1 — FIM MotoGP: The Brembo Grand Prix of Italy, Tuscany, Italy 10 a.m. FS1 — NTT IndyCar Series: Warmup, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis. 11 a.m. FS1 — NXT IndyCar Series: The Grand Prix at Road America, […]

Published

29 minutes ago

June 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

By The Associated Press

(All times Eastern)
Schedule subject to change and/or blackouts
Sunday, June 22
AUTO RACING

7:30 a.m.

FS1 — FIM MotoGP: The Brembo Grand Prix of Italy, Tuscany, Italy

10 a.m.

FS1 — NTT IndyCar Series: Warmup, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.

11 a.m.

FS1 — NXT IndyCar Series: The Grand Prix at Road America, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Noon

CBS — ABB FIA Formula-E: The Jakarta Grand Prix – Round 12, North Jakarta, Indonesia (Taped)

NBC — IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: The Saleh’s Six Hours of Glen, Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, N.Y.

1:30 p.m.

FOX — NTT IndyCar Series: The Xpel Grand Prix at Road America, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.

2 p.m.

FS1 — NHRA: Qualifying, Virginia Motorsports Park, North Dinwiddie, Va. (Taped)

PRIME VIDEO — NASCAR Cup Series: The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM, Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa.

4 p.m.

CBSSN — FIM Motocross: The MX2, Matterly Basin, Great Britain (Taped)

FOX — NHRA: The Virginia NHRA Nationals, Virginia Motorsports Park, North Dinwiddie, Va.

5 p.m.

CBSSN — FIM Motocross: The MXGP, Matterly Basin, Great Britain (Taped)

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

1 p.m.

CBSSN — AVP League: Week 4 – Day 2, East Hampton, N.Y.

3 p.m.

CW — AVP League: Week 4 – Day 2, East Hampton, N.Y.

BIG3 BASKETBALL

1 p.m.

CBS — Week 2: Detroit Amps vs. Miami 305, Boston Ball Hogs vs. DMV Trilogy, Houston Rig Hands vs. Chicago Triplets, L.A. Riot vs. Dallas Power, Baltimore

COLLEGE BASEBALL

2:30 p.m.

ABC — Men’s College World Series – Final: LSU vs. Coastal Carolina, Game 2, Omaha, Neb.

ESPNU — Men’s College World Series – Final: LSU vs. Coastal Carolina, Game 2, Omaha, Neb. (UmpCast)

GOLF

1 p.m.

GOLF — PGA Tour: The Travelers Championship, Final Round, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.

3 p.m.

CBS — PGA Tour: The Travelers Championship, Final Round, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.

GOLF — PGA Tour Champions: The Kaulig Companies Championship, Final Round, Firestone Country Club South Course, Akron, Ohio

NBC — LPGA Tour: The 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: Final Round, Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, Frisco, Texas

HORSE RACING

12:30 p.m.

FS1 — NYRA: America’s Day at the Races

2 p.m.

FS2 — NYRA: America’s Day at the Races

4 p.m.

FS1 — NYRA: America’s Day at the Races

LACROSSE (MEN’S)

Noon

ABC — PLL: Utah vs. Denver, Baltimore

MLB BASEBALL

1:30 p.m.

MLBN — Regional Coverage: Texas at Pittsburgh (1:35 p.m.) OR Atlanta at Miami (1:40 p.m.)

4:30 p.m.

MLBN — Regional Coverage: Kansas City at San Diego (4:10 p.m.) OR Boston at San Francisco (4:05 p.m.)

7 p.m.

ESPN — N.Y. Mets at Philadelphia

ESPN2 — N.Y. Mets at Philadelphia (StatCast)

NBA BASKETBALL

8 p.m.

ABC — NBA Finals: Indiana at Oklahoma City, Game 7

SOCCER (MEN’S)

3 p.m.

TNT — FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage: Real Madrid vs. CF Pachuca, Group H, Charlotte, N.C.

TRUTV — FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage: Real Madrid vs. CF Pachuca, Group H, Charlotte, N.C.

7 p.m.

FOX — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: U.S. vs. Haiti, Group D, Arlington, Texas

FS1 — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: Saudi Arabia vs. Trinidad and Tobago, Group D, Las Vegas

9 p.m.

TNT — FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage: Manchester City vs. Al Ain FC, Group G, Atlanta

TRUTV — FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage: Manchester City vs. Al Ain FC, Group G, Atlanta

10 p.m.

FS1 — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: Mexico vs. Costa Rica, Group A, Las Vegas

FS2 — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: Dominican Republic vs. Suriname, Group A, Arlington, Texas

SOCCER (WOMEN’S)

10 p.m.

CBSSN — NWSL: Washington at San Diego

SOFTBALL

7 p.m.

ESPNU — Athletes Unlimited: Talons vs. Volts, Norman, Okla.

TENNIS

6 a.m.

TENNIS — London-ATP, Halle-ATP, Berlin-WTA, Nottingham-WTA Finals

11:30 a.m.

TENNIS — Bad Hoburg-WTA Early Rounds

5:30 a.m. (Monday)

TENNIS — Eastbourne-ATP/WTA, Mallorca-ATP, Bad Homburg-WTA Early Rounds

6 a.m. (Monday)

TENNIS — Eastbourne-ATP/WTA, Mallorca-ATP, Bad Homburg-WTA Early Rounds

VOLLEYBALL (WOMEN’S)

10:30 a.m.

CBSSN — FIVB Nations League Pool Play: France vs. U.S., Pool 6, Belgrade, Serbia

WNBA BASKETBALL

3 p.m.

ESPN — Indiana at Las Vegas

7 p.m.

NBATV — New York at Seattle

_____

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Carcarey Earns Silver Medal with Team USA at U20 Water Polo World Championships

Published

33 minutes ago

June 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Jon Carcarey, a rising junior at Pepperdine University, secured a silver medal with Team USA at the U20 Water Polo World Championships in Croatia, marking the nation’s best finish ever at this level. The team advanced to the championship match after a dramatic penalty shootout win against Serbia and a tight semifinal victory over Hungary, with Carcarey contributing four goals throughout the tournament. The U.S. began the competition with losses against Croatia and Hungary but rebounded by defeating Montenegro and Iran in knockout stages. In the final match, they faced Spain but were edged out 14-11. This achievement marks only the second medal for the U.S. in the tournament’s history.

By the Numbers

The U.S. finished with a silver medal, the highest-ever at a Junior World Championship.
Carcarey scored four goals during the tournament, including three against Hungary.

State of Play

Team USA started the tournament with a 19-10 loss to Croatia and a 13-12 defeat to Hungary.
They rebounded by defeating Montenegro (16-10) and Iran (23-5), leading to a quarterfinal win over Serbia.

What’s Next

Carcarey will return to Pepperdine, where he has a total of 60 goals over two previous seasons. The Waves are set to begin their next season at the Triton Invite in San Diego from August 30-31.

Bottom Line

Carcarey’s performance at the U20 World Championships not only highlights his personal achievements but also signals a rising trajectory for U.S. water polo on the international stage, making it a pivotal moment for future competitions.

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Smoky Mountain’s Ella Gamble and her Team USA Deaf Volleyball Journey

SYLVA, N.C. — (WLOS) – The 2025 Deaflympics in Tokyo, Japan in November will have a WNC native as a member of its USA deaf volleyball team. “As you can tell, I can talk completely normal, I can interact completely normal. Growing up, a lot of people didn’t know I was deaf unless I told […]

Published

45 minutes ago

June 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

SYLVA, N.C. — (WLOS) – The 2025 Deaflympics in Tokyo, Japan in November will have a WNC native as a member of its USA deaf volleyball team.

“As you can tell, I can talk completely normal, I can interact completely normal. Growing up, a lot of people didn’t know I was deaf unless I told them, or they saw the implant,” said Ella Gamble.

Gamble, who attends Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. is home in Sylva for just a little bit as she prepares for another season, teaching, playing, and studying.

“We are in the middle of the city, on campus it’s nice because it’s kind of secluded. It’s fenced in so you kind of have your own world. But then you go out and have so many people and so many things, it’s definitely different. But I’m getting used to it, when I come back home, it’s definitely a breath of fresh air.”

First attending Carson-Newman out of high school, Gamble transferred to Gallaudet, a school that specializes in deaf and hard-of-hearing. Before her time in D.C., sign language wasn’t an essential part of her daily life. Though being born deaf, her life was most predicated by her implants, as the sign language community in Western North Carolina isn’t too large of a community.

“Whenever I transferred to Gallaudet, they had all signed there. So when I got there, I didn’t really know anything except the absolute basics. I’ve become fluent in sign since being there. Obviously I don’t really use it here because there’s nobody to talk to. I will with my sister every once in awhile, she knows a little bit. When I go back up there, sometimes I won’t even wear my implants just because that’s the language, and that’s what I feel more natural doing, even though spoken English is my first language.”

Volleyball has been Ella’s whole life, something she saw her mom doing and coaching, and a path she seeks to follow.

“I’ve thankfully had a lot of opportunities because I want to coach in the future. That’s my dream job right now, my goal. I’ve been helping my mom for years, her club team, and now she’s coaching the middle school District team here. I’ve been helping her out with practices and stuff. This past year, Gallaudet started men’s volleyball, I coached their club team the year before that through an internship as an assistant. This past year, I’ve been able to be a student assistant, and that’s been a lot of fun. It’s weird because all the guys are my age, or older and younger you know. It’s a little bit weird because we’re the same age, because I’m friends with some of them.”

Teaching, coach, learning, clearly a passion of hers. Ella is the eldest of four in her family, with two brothers between her and the youngest, her sister.

“She’s been in the gym since she was four. Her experience is very different from mine. I started playing in maybe fifth grade and I wasn’t really good until my sophomore year of school. While she’s been in the gym and she’s been going at it for awhile. The stuff I was doing when I was older, seeing her doing it now, and seeing her be as good as she is, it’s really cool.”

Volleyball has already taken Ella to one Deaflympics, and world championship, and to-be another Deaflympics this fall. Seeing the world because of her lack of ability to hear, something she never could have foreseen.

“It’s been really cool to see where I started here, in little Cullowhee, Sylva. And playing for Smoky Mountain, to going to do this. I never would have imagined, my little high school self would never imagined – ,my little high school self would never have thought I’d be doing this one day.”

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