Russ Rose Then (1990): “JoAnn had an exceptional year last season. I think this year will be her best yet. She has the offensive ability to dominate matches. If JoAnn improves her blocking skills, she can be one of the most dominant offensive players in the country.”
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.”
1990 Season (RS Senior) Highlights and Awards: Atlantic 10 All-Academic … AVCA Second-Team All-American … Volleyball Monthly Second Team All-American … First-Team All-Atlantic 10 and All-Mideast Region … led the nation with a .4833 hitting %, the fourth-highest all-time … led the Atlantic 10 in blocks/set … set school record for career hitting percentage with a .385 mark … selected most valuable player of the Penn State Preview and LSU Tiger Classic … Penn State Invitational, Sportmart Classic, and Whataburger Classic all-tournament teams … twice voted Atlantic 10 Player-of-the-Week … Honored by Volleyball Monthly as Player-of-the-Month for September 1990.
Season Recap: Played in all 45 matches and in 134 of 140 sets … led the team with 483 kills (3.60 kills/set) and a .480 hitting % … led team in solo blocks (54) and total blocks (165 — one ahead of Leanne Kling’s 164 total blocks).
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.
