Ella McAllister: Risk Rewarded

Any college student will tell you that the month of December is synonymous with end of the semester finals. A time of studying, all-nighters, plenty of papers to write, and maybe a little too much coffee.

Yet, while many of her classmates were answering as many questions as they could on tests and papers, Ella McAllister was trying to avoid a question she feared asking in the future: "What if?"

So with that in mind, on December 8, 2024, the sophomore defensive specialist/libero at Lipscomb University in Nashville decided to take "a scary risk" and enter the transfer portal as a mid-year transfer.

362 days later that risk will have paid off as McAllister and the UMBC Volleyball team will take on No.4 Pittsburgh in the NCAA Tournament.

McAllister describes herself as "a family person and honestly kind of a homebody", so the idea of going to school in Nashville was a big step for her. Despite her concerns, the fact that her brother played football at Vanderbilt (located in Nashville) and the connection she felt with the coach during her recruitment, led her to sign on to play for the Bisons.

However, the coach who recruited her left for another job before ever getting the chance to coach her. So after two seasons, McAllister began to wonder if it was time for a change.

"[Transferring] was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make," said McAllister. " I had started building a life in Nashville…so it wasn't something I took lightly at all. But over time, I just didn't feel satisfied or like myself there. I wasn't getting playing time, and I want to be clear: I'm not someone who thinks you should just transfer the second things get hard. I'm really grateful for my coaches there and everything they taught me. But mentally I was in a low place, and deep down I felt like I still had more to give and wasn't getting the opportunity to grow into that…I remember feeling like I had three options: stay and always wonder "what if," walk away from volleyball completely and still wonder "what if," or take the scary risk and go into the portal mid-year and at least know I gave myself a chance. So I chose the risk. Which I am thankful for every day."

The timing of the portal brought its own challenges and even more questions.

"Being in the portal mid-year was honestly a whirlwind," said McAllister. "It happened during final exams, so I was trying to balance school, taking calls with coaches, answering emails, and just processing everything emotionally at the same time. I was juggling the loss of the college life I had known previously, the excitement of what the future could be, and also the fear of what the future could bring. It's a lot, you're trying to be ten places mentally and physically all at once. And in the back of my head, I was battling those normal doubts like, 'Am I good enough? Do I really have what it takes?' It's a wild mix of emotions, but I definitely learned a lot about myself through it."

The day her name appeared in the portal, UMBC assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Jaime Kosiorek reached out, and McAllister soon felt she had found a match.

"The process with UMBC felt really different in a good way, which is crazy because it was such a fast turnaround," she said. "From the first phone call to my visit, everything felt comfortable and genuine. I never felt pressured; I always felt listened to. It was the kind of experience where you can tell right away that the people are real, and that meant a lot to me during a time that was already pretty stressful. Especially in the time frame I decided to transfer, I had less than a week to make a decision.."

11 days after entering the portal with an uncertain future, McAllister committed to the Retrievers.

"Hands down, the biggest reason I chose UMBC was Coach Kasey Crider, along with the rest of this staff. I truly feel like Kasey is the best coach I've ever had. And when I say coaches like him are rare, I really mean it. From the first time we talked, he made me feel believed in, understood, and challenged in the right way. He builds trust, but he also sets a standard and pushes you to reach it. I honestly think he's one of those coaches that other coaches can learn from. When I left my visit, I just knew this was the place where I could grow as a player and as a person."

It truly was a whirlwind, as one month later, on January 25, the Marshall, Michigan native was moving to campus at UMBC.

Her new teammates understood being a mid-year transfer could be difficult, so they sought to ease her transition as much as possible.

"I met Ella for the first time last spring," said Hannah Howard, now one of her closest friends on the team. "I wanted to create a space for her to be comfortable coming to me with any questions, and make sure she knew how happy we were to have her here."

The situation would be tough on anyone, but as McAllister attempted to settle into her new surroundings, life would throw her another curveball.

"When I got here (UMBC) and settled in, it wasn't like everything instantly became perfect. Transferring is a big change, and I was still working through some insecurities mentally, and physically, I think I was just worn out from everything that had happened. Being farther from home and my family was also an adjustment. Then, on top of that, some health issues made everything even more complicated. For a majority of the spring, I wasn't myself, yes, mentally but also physically. I had a lot of just strange symptoms, such as lightheadedness, feeling spaced out, extreme exhaustion, and even some more health-related issues. It was scary for me, mostly because I was feeling all of these things, and no one could tell me exactly what was going on. This uncertainty just became additional stress for me, which definitely did not help."

While she tried to get some medical answers, McAllister not only couldn't practice with her new team, but she wasn't able to spend as much time as she wanted to get acclimated with her new teammates. However, the culture of the program allowed her to focus on herself while also feeling like part of the team.

"I felt really bad for Ella and tried to make sure she knew she had us here for her if she needed anything," said Howard. "I also wanted her to know we weren't mad at her for not practicing. We understood that what she was going through was enough."

"During the spring, instead of gearing up for the season, I was spending the majority of my time trying to figure out what my body was trying to tell me," said McAllister " We still never got, or have, a perfect answer, and being out for my first spring semester at my new school was definitely not at all what I wanted. But what helped me through it was the people here that I am surrounded by every day. My coaches and teammates never made me feel like I was on the outside looking in, even if I was physically absent or dealing with things I barely understood myself. They always checked in on me, reassured me, and even made me feel like I could have space just to be a human while everything felt so uncertain. They always welcomed me right away and made me feel like I belonged from the start. Even while I was still finding my footing, I never felt like an outsider. That support really mattered, and it's a big reason I was able to keep moving forward."

After the spring semester ended, McAllister was able to use the summer to get healthy and re-energize herself. She reported to UMBC in late July for pre-season training, and soon became a vocal leader on the team.

Her presence was so important that Howard, the America East Defensive Player of the Year, simply said, "We need her out there."

"I really believe that work ethic is contagious," said McAllister. "When I see a teammate grinding day in and day out, it inspires me, so I try to lead that way too. I'm big on putting my actions where my mouth is, and if you know me, I definitely have a big mouth and a lot of energy, so I try to use that in a positive way. Even when I wasn't playing as much early on, I felt like I could always bring something, whether that's energy on the bench, encouragement, or just being someone who keeps the group confident. I take pride in being vocal and helping us stay connected, no matter what's happening on the court."

"Ella is extremely vocal, but it's not just during the games," said Howard. "She is the same all the time. Whether it's practice, a game, or in the locker room. She created comfort in all the spaces she was in."

McAllister's leadership became critical as the team struggled out of the gate to a 1-8 start, and McAllister even missed a few games with an injury.

"Starting 1–8 was hard, there's no other way to put it, really. But even during that stretch, we all knew we were capable of more. We didn't feel like a bad team; we felt like a team still figuring out how all the pieces fit together…So as an upperclassman, I tried to lead the way I know how: bringing consistent energy, working hard every day, and being a positive voice. I'm not big on sitting in mistakes…because focusing on the last error doesn't help us win the next point. I wanted everyone to keep trusting the work, trusting each other, and staying together. We were going to fight our way out of it and I think that mindset was huge. I won't forget the locker room at Binghamton after they beat us…I expressed to the group that we are all capable, but we are going to have to bring it up a notch starting in practice, and so we did."

The Binghamton loss on October 3, dropped the Retrievers to 3-9 overall and 1-1 in the America East. Just two days later, UMBC was set to welcome first-place Bryant to The Peake. The Retrievers dropped each of the first two sets by a score of 25-15. They battled in the third, fighting off a match point in the set before taking it 27-25. The Retrievers would roll in the final two sets, picking up a win to kick off a streak of eight wins in nine matches.

"Once we started winning, it was honestly such a great feeling, not just because winning is fun, but because it felt like everything we knew we were building toward was finally clicking," said McAllister. "The way I describe it is like a puzzle: all the pieces were there, we just had to figure out how to fit our gifts and talents together. And once we did, you could see the picture. I'm so proud of this team. We're fighters. We work hard, we have each other's backs, and we don't turn on each other. Everybody matters, whether you play every rotation or you're bringing energy and support from the bench. We really are a team in every sense. And when we started coming back after losing a set, or when we were down big and still found a way to fight through, that's when I knew we had what it takes."

Howard not only credits McAliister and her leadership for the team finally putting it all together, but also for her own strong season despite them playing the same position.

"Everytime Ella is on the court, you can feel her presence," said Howard. "The energy she brings is unheard of. I've never met anyone with energy like her. You never have to worry about bringing energy to the court when she is out there; she just naturally brings it out of people. We can just follow her lead. But to me personally, during the first home game of the season, Ella knew how nervous I was. She came up to me and gave me a pep talk, which sounds corny, but she said the right words at the right time…she doesn't know how much that actually meant to me. Ella and I play the same position, and our relationship is so strong that it doesn't get in the way of that."

The Retrievers won the regular season title and earned the right to host the America East Tournament. UMBC rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the semifinals to defeat Binghamton, a win that Crider and teammate Hannah Dobbs both credited to McAllister's vocal leadership and play, before defeating UAlbany (who won both regular season meetings) in four sets to win the championship the following day.

"That win was one of the best feelings ever," said McAllister. "We worked so hard for it, and we wanted it so badly. We kept calling it our 'revenge tour' because we weren't about to get beaten three times by UAlbany. They are a great team, they're tough, but we all just had this mindset like, We're winning this and there's really no other option. And when it happened, it honestly felt like a dream. It was surreal… but at the same time, I'd already envisioned it so many times that it felt right…this is exactly what we were building toward."

With a national stage on deck as the Retrievers face the fourth-ranked team in the nation in the NCAA Tournament, McAllister is thankful for the "scary risk" she took less than one year ago.

"When I think about where I was a year ago today compared to where I am now, I just feel this huge sense of gratitude. It's an amazing feeling knowing I didn't give up on myself. And there were so many people along the way who played a part in helping me get here , my family, my coaches, my teammates. I'm thankful for all of them. And as a team, the growth from the beginning of the season to now… our mindset, our tenacity, how we fight for each other, it's inspiring, and I am so proud to be a part of it. We're ready for the challenge and really excited to represent UMBC on that stage. If I could share any advice to younger kids or even current players, it would be: don't be afraid to take a chance on yourself. If you're willing to put in the work, I really think anything is possible. I'm honestly blown away when I sit down and think about everything that's happened in the last year."

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