Russ Rose Then (1989): “JoAnn has as much potential as any player at Penn State. If she focuses all her energies toward volleyball, she could be an All-American, which is one of her goals. We need her to have an exceptional year if we’re going to make it to the final eight.”
Russ Rose Now (2026): “Joanne was a very talented left-handed attacker who could have been an excellent setter. She had long arms, big hands, and back then we would run her on a slide — a left-handed slide — going away from the setter. This was long before people were hitting off one foot, but she was such a unique player at that point in time. She was great under stressful situations. And very bright. She continues to play in various age-specific events around the country.”
1989 Season (RS Junior) Highlights and Awards: AVCA All-America Team … Volleyball Magazine All-America team … Atlantic 10 Player-of-the-Year … First-Team All-Atlantic 10 … Atlantic 10 Player-of-the-Week 3 times … named to the Atlantic 10, Baden Invitational, and Purdue Premier All Tournament teams … MVP of the Penn State Preview … ranked 6th nationally with a .396 hitting % … led the Atlantic 10 in hitting efficiency and blocks/set and ranked 2nd in kills/set …
Season Recap: Started all 41 matches … led the team with 477 kills and 166 blocks (34 solos, 132 assists) … posted 153 digs (6th on the team) … broke the school record for kills with 25 in a 3-game match against Duke … season-highs: 29 kills vs. Texas Arlington; 9 blocks vs. San Jose State and Texas-Arlington; 9 digs (4 times) … registered 15 or more kills 14 times.
Before Penn State: Elwell participated in the 1986 Keystone State Games in both volleyball and basketball … led the Conneaut Lake HS volleyball team to the state tournament 3 times.
