The best laid plans do not always lead to the best path to success. Ask Cal State LA senior volleyball standout Emily Elliott. 

Elliott had dreams of playing for a Division I program, but then COVID-19 hit. The 2021 graduate of Sage Hill High School in Costa Mesa said the pandemic threw everything askew in her final years of high school, and she found herself without a Division I option. 

Luckily, Elliott had established a relationship with Golden Eagles head coach Juan Figueroa, who coached Elliott with the A4 Volley Club in Lake Forest and was well versed in her skills as an outside hitter. She signed on with DII Cal State LA, setting in motion a Plan B that included a transfer to a DI program following her sophomore year. 

But Elliott quickly discarded Plan B as she fell in love with the Golden Eagles program and realized that Cal State LA was where she belonged. Now the 6-foot-2 right-side hitter, who is already considered one of the top all-time DII players, is poised to break the California Collegiate Athletic Association’s career record in kills. Her kills total currently stands at 1,817. 

“The idea of transferring got shut down very quickly,” she said. “I love it here. I really made a home and a name for myself, and I thought I could continue to grow as a player.” 

Elliott is a mere 27 kills away from overtaking Kim Ford’s CCAA career record of 1,843 kills, which the former Cal State Bernardino player established from 2000-03. Elliott, 21, will likely claim the record at home this week against either Cal State East Bay (Friday, Nov. 1 at 5 p.m.) or Cal State Monterey Bay (Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m.). 

“Her physicality sets her apart,” Figueroa said. “She’s strong and she’s a scoring machine. I’ve never seen a player as dominant as her at this level. She’s going to go down as one of the greatest players to go through the CCAA and Division II.” 

Elliott’s career numbers also include 4.3 kills per set, 2,117.5 points, 5.01 points per set and 163 service aces. Pretty impressive for someone who did not take up volleyball until high school. 

Elliott’s first love was basketball, which she had been playing since the age of 6, but she decided to focus on volleyball in college. However, COVID-19 restrictions, coupled with a shoulder injury, limited her playing time her final two years of high school and club, leaving her without enough clips to compile into a highlights video that would have been circulated to DI coaches and recruiters. 

“I found a new love in volleyball,” Elliott said. “It was something new, and I took a leap of faith. It was good to know Juan had my back and allowed me to play here.” 

Figueroa said Elliott’s athleticism and power were unmistakable, but she had plenty to learn about the game, as well as herself. 

“She was really raw,” he said. “Obviously, the talent was there, but there weren’t many people that believed in her. We taught her about her strengths and weaknesses, and we focused on improving those strengths.” 

Elliott tries not to dwell on the record she is about to break. 

“I play best when I have no thoughts in my head other than volleyball,” she said. “I kind of have it in the back of my mind, but I also try to forget that I’m close. I’m very superstitious, so I try not to chase anything.” 

Keeping track of how close Elliott is to the CCAA record is a job that her mother, Tiffaney Cordova, has happily undertaken. Cordova, dad David Elliott, and brothers Eli, 22, and Evan, 19, can often be found in the stands at both home and away games cheering on Emily. A third brother, 22-year-old Ethan, roots for her from his home in Hawaii. 

“They’re my rock,” Emily said. 

This season, Elliott has totaled 429 kills and leads the nation with 5.43 kills per set and 6.39 points per set in leading the Golden Eagles to a 13-6 record (8-4 CCAA). She has also collected 45 aces. 

Statistics aside, Elliott will also be remembered for leading the Golden Eagles to their first ever NCAA volleyball championship in 2023. Unranked Cal State LA caught fire during the playoffs and upset six ranked teams to give the university its first women’s title in the NCAA era. The Golden Eagles became the first team to ever win a national title while not previously appearing on the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Top 25 poll. The title earned them a celebratory visit to the White House. 

“When you play with nothing to lose, it’s dangerous for the other side,” she said. “Nobody knew who we were and that really worked to our advantage because we were able to just play our game, set the tone for the matches. It took a lot of grit and hard work.” 

Elliott was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. She finished with 128 kills in 22 sets (5.82 per set), a .362 hitting percentage, 21 aces and 156 points (7.09 per set) over six games. 

Senior middle blocker Haley Roundtree credits Elliott for elevating the team. 

”She holds a high standard, and she pushes people around her to be at their best and play up to that standard,” said Roundtree, Elliott’s closest friend on the team. “She enforces a certain culture to work hard and play hard, and to sacrifice for your teammates.”  

Elliott, a biology major, says she plans to postpone her goal of a career in the medical field to pursue a professional volleyball career overseas. She is looking to follow in the footsteps of her former Golden Eagles teammate Karla Santos and play in the Liga de Voleibol Superior Feminino in Puerto Rico, and then possibly in Europe. 

But first, Elliott and the Golden Eagles are looking for another deep run in the playoffs. 

“Last year, we had a heavier offense,” she said. “That was our identity–we were an aggressively offensive team. This year, we’re more scrappy and more defensively minded. We are finding our identity as a team. From here, anything is possible.” 

Photo: Emily Elliott (center) celebrates a kill with teammates Haley Roundtree, Alejandra Negron and Karla Santos (left to right) in 2021. (Credit: Robert Huskey/Cal State LA)

Photo: Emily Elliott poses for a photo with Cal State LA volleyball’s 2023 National Championship Trophy. (Credit: Nicole Flennaugh/Cal State LA)

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California State University, Los Angeles is the premier comprehensive public university in the heart of Los Angeles. Cal State LA is ranked number one in the United States for the upward mobility of its students. Cal State LA is dedicated to engagement, service, and the public good, offering nationally recognized programs in science, the arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education, and the humanities. Founded in 1947, the University serves more than 24,000 students and has more than 250,000 distinguished alumni.