WEST LAFAYETTE – Purdue volleyball’s Emma Ellis is set to play professionally in Finland after signing with LiigaPloki, located in Pihtipudas.
“I am excited to continue my playing career in Finland,” Ellis said, “It’s been my dream to play professionally and I’m thankful to my family, teammates and the coaching staff to help prepare me for it. I have loved my time at Purdue; the level of play here and in the Big Ten has helped prepare me for what’s to come. I’ll always be grateful that from the moment I stepped on campus, I was welcomed. Purdue has been such a special place to play and will always be a big part of my heart.”
Ellis closed out her collegiate career with 522 kills over 93 matches and 128 career blocks, including a breakout performance in 2021, where she racked up 15 kills to lead the team to victory at Maryland. Ellis was the catalyst in Purdue’s NCAA First Round victory vs. Tennessee in December, coming off the bench for the first time in Set 4, immediately posting five kills on a .444 hitting % to push the match to a fifth set.
“Emma has worked incredibly hard for this opportunity to compete at the professional level,” Art and Connie Euler women’s volleyball head coach Dave Shondell said. “Even after her college career ended, she has been in our gym every day to prepare for this moment. In 20 seasons of coaching at Purdue, few players in our program have been more popular with our fans than Emma. The fans in Finland will love her.”
During her time as a Boilermaker, Ellis helped guide Purdue to 21 wins against top-25 opponents and 10 wins against top-10 teams. The Cary, North Carolina native led the way to an NCAA tournament appearance all four years, including the program’s first back-to-back Elite Eight appearances.
Ellis will be graduating Purdue with an Animal Sciences degree on the Pre-Veterinary track with minors in Spanish and Biology.
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