Volleyball Preview: Setters

Ella May Powell returns for her second season joined by a freshman in-state standout.

By Washington Huskies

August 28^th, 2019

Thrown right into the fire a year ago, running a 5-1 offense from day one of her college career, Ella May Powell never flinched. She played every set in helping the Huskies get back to and advance to the third round in the NCAA Championships, and was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team for her efforts.

That experience, along with a very busy spring and summer spent in numerous gyms and U.S. National Team settings, sets the stage for an exciting year two for Powell and the Huskies as she looks to continue fine-tuning the connections between her and her teammates on and off the court.

Stepping in to join Powell in running the Husky offense is freshman Olivia Mikkelsen from Nine Mile Falls in Eastern Washington. Mikkelsen has shown a readiness to dive straight in and accept whatever she needs to do to make her teammates better.

Head Coach Keegan Cook talked about the skills he's seen develop from Ella May and Olivia.

Ella May Powell

In her first trip around the NCAA, Powell dished out 1317 assists, most by a Husky freshman since 2007. She also ranked second on the team with 33 aces and her 2.31 digs per set were most by a Husky setter since 2006.

The Fayetteville, Ark. native continued to put in work over the summer, taking part in the U.S. Collegiate National Team-Anaheim program before traveling to Mexico with the U.S. Junior National Team for the U20 World Championships, where she helped Team USA take eighth.

"Ella May had to do everything last year with very little time to learn. She had to block, dig, serve, and run a 5-1 offense, and the last eight months have given us a chance to teach her how to do those things at a high level. Her serve is looking a lot more consistent than it was in the first half of last year. Her defense, you can see the effort and the focus to improve in that regard, and as a blocker she’s improved as well. She’s got some experience now, she played on a couple National Team programs, she’s been through a Pac-12 season, so I like where she’s starting off this year."

Olivia Mikkelsen

New to the team this fall is Olivia "Bibs" Mikkelsen who hails from Nine Mile Falls near Spokane, Washington. The 5-10 freshman has a number of tricks up her sleeve, including juggling and a love of Rubik's cubes. She's juggling a lot in the first month of practice, learning the terminology and style of the Husky offense and the preferences of her hitters.

"Every day with her is a pleasant surprise. She makes a play every day that I don’t expect. There is a lot coming at her in a short amount of time. She’s jumped onto a team that’s playing some good volleyball and she’s getting a lot of feedback from me every day. I’m impressed by the volume of coaching that she’s able to receive and still go out there and perform at a high level. There’s no question that she can help us. I’m even more impressed with her than I expected to be considering the injury she’s coming off of."