Player Bio: Elissa Ross - University of Washington Official Athletic Site
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Elissa Ross is one of the team's primary defensive
specialists each of the past three seasons ... has good game sense and is a reliable passer ... working on her on-court aggressiveness.
At Washington:
2001 (Junior): Played in all 27 matches and all 97 games ... started just eight times, but was one of the first players to come off the bench ... averaged 1.94 assists per game and 0.15 aces per game ... 2.14 digs per game in Pac-10 matches ... reached double-digits in digs eight times, with three coming in the last four matches ... seven digs and an assist in the final match of the Pt. Huskies Invitational with Texas ... two service aces in a three-game win over Illinois-Chicago ... career high three aces at Air Force on September 8 ... reached double-digits in digs for the first time on September 21, in a hard fought match with Stanford ... six digs and two aces in a non-conference victory against Idaho ... 10 digs in back-to-back matches on October 5 and October 8 ... also had 10 digs in the five-game marathon at Arizona on October 13 ... 11 digs and two aces in another five-game match, this time with Oregon State ... her 13-dig performance at UCLA on November 3, began a string of great defensive performances ... combined for 24 digs in the series with the Arizona schools in Seattle, including a season-high 14 digs in a loss to ASU ... earned Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention honors for the second straight year.
2000 (Sophomore): Played in 23 of the team's 27 matches and 74 games ... eight aces and 101 digs (1.36/g) ... had at least one dig in 22 of 23 matches and had at least five digs 12 times ... Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention selection ... saw first action of the year versus New Mexico, tallying four digs and one ace ... seven digs in the team's loss to Idaho ... played a few rotations in the front row during the Huskies' win over Oregon, tallying one kill on five attempts to go with four assists, two aces and seven digs ... career-best five assists a day later versus Oregon State ... had seven digs versus Washington State ... season-best eight digs at Oregon.
1999 (Freshman): One of the regulars in the UW rotation, saw action in 87 of the Huskies' 90 games, primarily as a back row player ... fourth on the team with her 153 digs, an average of 1.76 per game ... 16 service aces were third most on the team ... also managed eight kills and 32 attacks despite playing almost always as a defensive specialist ... top game was perhaps the last of the season, when she posted a season-high 17 digs and one kill in two tries at California ... had 15 digs and a season-high two service aces two weeks earlier at home vs. Arizona ... posted 16 digs in her second-ever match, Sept. 4 vs. Wisconsin ... other double-digit digs match came at Oregon on Sept. 24 ... saw longest stretch of front-row play vs. Arizona State late in the season, recording three kills and no errors in five attacks.
At Ferris High School:
Earned three letters under coach Stacey Ward ... team MVP, all-city and all-state as a senior ... also team MVP as a junior ... team won league, districts and regionals and finished second in state as a senior ... team went 40-1 in 1998 ... team won state in 1997 ... team posted a perfect league record for all three seasons ... played club volleyball for the Spokane Splash ... earned two track letters ... class valedictorian and winner of numerous academic awards and scholarships ... graduated with a 4.0 GPA.
Personal:
Born June 4, 1981, in Spokane, Wash. ... parents are Betsy and Tom Newman ... has a brother, Michael, who works for the United Space Alliance in Houston ... majoring in pre-med and psychology.
ELISSA ROSS'S CAREER UW STATISTICS
YEAR MP/GP K Avg. E TA PCT. A AVG. BHE SA AVG. SE DIG AVG. RE BS BA AVG. BE PTS 1999 25/87 8 0.09 6 32 .063 8 0.09 0 16 0.18 16 153 1.76 17 0 0 0.00 0 N/A 2000 23/74 1 0.01 4 15 -.200 16 0.22 0 8 0.11 16 101 1.36 18 0 0 0.00 0 N/A 2001 27/97 0 0.00 3 15 -.200 15 0.15 0 15 0.15 36 188 1.94 30 0 0 0.00 0 15.0 Tot 75/258 9 0.03 13 62 -.065 39 0.15 0 39 0.15 68 442 1.71 65 0 0 0.00 0 N/A
Q & A
The UW player who will surprise people most this year: Egan Metcalf, because she's been working so hard all season, and I think it will be her turn this year.
If I could play another sport at UW, it would be: Soccer. I played soccer for eight years when I was younger and I still miss it. I had to give it up for volleyball.
One thing that most people don't know about our team: How hard we've been working - winter, spring and summer - to make this season a success.
Being at Washington has taught me: The value of dedication and hard work.
Earliest memory as a Husky fan: Telling my (Washington State) Cougar parents that they were going to be cheering for the Huskies (which they did - even at the Apple Cup!).
What I want to accomplish this volleyball season: To challenge my teammates and myself. I want to be the best passer and defensive player I can be.
The best volleyball advice I've ever received: Wrist and hands and simple is better than complex. It will be echoing in my head forever. Thanks, Jim!
The most stimulating class I ever took at Washington: All of my science classes - biology, chemistry, organic chemistry and physics.
If I could tell my incoming teammates one thing it would be: Work hard from the start. The first impression you make is huge and can be hard to change.
