Ella Snyder Transfers To Penn State Volleyball

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

[Editor’s Note: On January 24, 2023 (after this article was posted) we learned that Ella Snyder has withdrawn from Penn State and is no longer with the Penn State Women’s Volleyball team.  We wish her the best in her future endeavors.]

Ella Snyder, a rising senior setter with two years of eligibility remaining, transferred from Arizona State to Penn State women’s volleyball ahead of the 2023 season, the program announced Thursday.

Snyder’s twin brother, Luke, who’s also a setter, is a junior on the Penn State men’s volleyball team. They both attended Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, California, and were members of the 2020 recruiting class. Ella represented Tstreet Volleyball Club and was a multi-year team captain before arriving in Tempe.

Her mother, Janiece, played volleyball for Loyola Marymount University, and her sister, Samantha, played for American University before transferring to Maryland for her final three seasons. She led the Terrapins in assists with 482 as a senior in 2019, while running a 6-2 system with Nicole Alford.

Ella is listed at 6-foot and brings plenty of experience to the Nittany Lions, playing in 76 matches, including 51 starts, during her time at Arizona State. Snyder recorded 1,962 assists, 548 digs, 74 kills, 58 total blocks, and 51 aces as a Sun Devil. Her 1,029 assists as a sophomore in 2021 were the most by an Arizona State setter since 2014.

In the second match of her collegiate career on January 23, 2021, during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Snyder tallied 29 digs in a 3-1 road loss to Washington. Her career high is 51 assists, accomplishing the feat twice in 2021. She had five aces in a 3-2 win over Dayton on September 2, 2022.

Arizona State and head coach Sanja Tomašević mutually agreed to part ways on December 9, but news of Snyder entering the transfer portal had already broken earlier in the month. Snyder will enroll in classes at Penn State this January and will participate in spring practice with the Nittany Lions.

Snyder’s addition to the Penn State program follows the departure of graduate transfer Seleisa Elisaia, who had an outstanding 2022 season leading the Nittany Lions to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. Elisaia had 1,335 assists and was selected to the All-Big Ten second team. Elisaia and fellow Penn State standout Kashauna Williams recently signed pro contracts with Puerto Rican club Las Criollas de Caguas.

Snyder will compete for the vacant starting setter job this offseason, as the Nittany Lions hope to build on an excellent debut campaign for Katie Schumacher-Cawley, who was the only first-year head coach to lead their program to the Sweet 16. Penn State finished the 2022 season 26-8 following a 3-2 loss to No. 1 seed Wisconsin in Madison.