She’s a golden girl. Not just because of her long blonde hair, but Wisconsin’s starting left side hitter, senior Ellen Chapman, has grown to become the team’s most reliable offensive weapon this season.
Since last season, the senior has already decreased her hitting error percentage and currently ranks eighth in the Big Ten with an average of 3.36 kills per set. Earlier this season, Chapman had a career-high 19 kills against Northern Colorado.
Head coach Kelly Sheffield describes Chapman as a quiet learner who is consistently improving. He mentioned her as a “silent assassin.”
“Ellen’s come into this season very determined, very driven to have a very good year individually and team-wise,” Sheffield said. “I see much more urgency with everything that she is doing.”
Last week, Chapman contributed 13 kills during the Badgers’ loss to Penn State and nine kills during their win against Ohio State. Many of Chapman’s kills came at opportune rallies during the match, including game-winning points and pivotal plays, which gave her team momentum. Chapman always seems to come through when her team needs her the most.
“She’s our Melvin Gordon,” Sheffield said. “She’s getting the most carries for us. She puts us on her back, and she carries us an awful lot.”
As a confident and reliable player, Chapman said that she is always hungry for the ball, especially in a clutch situation.
“I always want the ball,” Chapman said. “I love matches that go to five sets. I’m always screaming for the ball in those situations.”
Although she is one of Wisconsin’s key offensive components, Chapman’s current state of talent, leadership and reliability developed over time. Her road to success was a gradual process. It all started with Chapman’s realization of how much taller she was than the rest of her classmates, combined with the encouragement of a friend in junior high school.
After enduring her first couple years playing volleyball and mastering the art of hand-eye coordination, Chapman entered high school with a goal-oriented mindset.
When high school began, Chapman wanted to improve and play for a competitive club volleyball team. Beginning her freshman year, Chapman commuted an hour and a half from her hometown of Glenview, Illinois, to Crystal Lake, Illinois, just to attend practices.
“It was worth it, because they had the best coaches,” Chapman said. “It was the best competition, and that’s really what I needed at that time.”
It was there, at Sunshine Volleyball Club, where her talent blossomed and volleyball became more of a commitment than just a pick-up sport for Chapman.
“When I got to that club, I had a couple talks with my coach, and he asked me what I wanted to do with volleyball,” Chapman said. “And that’s when I realized I could play in college. That’s really when I started believing that it was a reality.”
Even though Chapman was recruited to a Division I team, she is constantly pushing herself to progress towards being a better athlete. For Chapman, there is no stopping point, there is always something to work on or tweak.
“She’s wanting to be in the gym,” Sheffield said. “She’s going to try to find ways to get better, and I always want to be working with those types of kids.”
As noted by her coaches and even by Chapman herself, she seeks to correct any mistakes that she may have made, no matter how a match turned out.
“Whether we lose or win, there’s always something to learn from,” Chapman stated. “Whether we sweep a team or get swept by a team, we always come back on Monday and watch film of what we did wrong. That’s one way we can get better.”
One gap that Chapman says she needs to close is her conflicting mindsets between practice and game situations.
“During practice I don’t overthink, and when I don’t overthink, that’s when I perform the best,” Chapman said. “And I know that I have to do that more often in matches, and it’s something that I’m really trying to work on.”
It has taken Chapman eight years to make the transition from her humble beginnings as just a tall 13-year-old girl into the starting outside hitter for the Division I Wisconsin Badgers. Now, with only two months remaining in her collegiate career, Chapman looks to attain the crowning achievement of her eight years: a national championship.
