Ella Akkerman, a 5-foot, 10-inch outside hitter from Otumoetai, New Zealand, has signed a letter of intent to play for the Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Volleyball team beginning this fall.
Akkerman played both indoor and beach volleyball, reaching the championships in several tournaments the past two years, including a second place finish in the 2017 NZ U19 Beach Championships and the 2017 Indoor U19 Inter Provincial Championships. She was recently selected for the 2018 Beach Volleyball U19 World Championship.
At Tauranga Aquinas College high school, she received most outstanding volleyball player and Aquinas College National Sporting honors and competed in Premier One Netball in 2016 and 2017.
“The more we talked to Ella, the more excited we were about her as a player,” Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paula Wiedemann said. “Her volleyball skills and IQ bring a lot to our team, and her personality is magnetic and high energy.
“She comes from a volleyball family and has been playing both indoor and beach, which is a plus,” the coach added. “She has good ball control, she’s competitive and has leadership qualities that can make an immediate impact on our team. We are very excited to have her join our Grizzly Volleyball family. ”