Elli Merchant

Photo by: Ben Murray

Photo by: Gerrit Van Genderen

Photo by: Mary Bess Skinner

Position:
Beach
Height:
5-11
Class:
Senior
High School:
Euless Trinity High School
Hometown:
Bedford, TX

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS:
2018 Academic Honor Roll

2018 (Freshman):

Went 11-7 overall, 9-4 as the fourth seed and 2-3 as the fifth seed.
Performed primarily with partner, Kylie Keeling, going 11-7, ending the season on a two-game win streak.
Went 5-5 during the conference season, defeating North Florida, Coastal Carolina and Jacksonville all in straight-sets.
Split matches during the ASUN tournament, defeating Jacksonville 2-0 but then falling to FGCU 2-0.

High School:

Attended Trinity high school where she played under Amelia Langi for three years as an outside hitter, setter, utility player.
Made the bi-district playoffs two out of three varsity seasons.
Three year Varsity Letterman for Volleyball.
Career Sets Played: 362; Recorded 872 career kills, 165 career blocks, 740 career digs, and 67 career aces.
Granbury Tournament All-Tournament Award (junior year, 2015).
Mansfield Tournament All-Tournament Award (senior year, 2016).
Team Co-Captain in 2015 and in 2016—junior and senior year.
Varsity Rookie of the Year in 2014 (first year on varsity).
Varsity Offensive Player of the Year Award in 2015 and 2016—junior and senior years.
Varsity MVP in 2015 and 2016 –junior and senior year.
Three consecutive years—6A Academic All-District Team as well as three-year All-District Selection (2014, 2015, and 2016) in the district that had Lewisville Hebron High School (nationally ranked, 3-time back-to-back Texas 6A state champions).
Fort Worth Star Telegram All-Area Nominee (2015 and 2016).
All-Area Honorable Mention (2016).
Texas UIL Academic All-State Team (2016).
Named to Under-Armour Players to Watch list.
Named to AVCA Watch List (2015 & 2016).
Played for the 692 Beach Volleyball Club for three years (Member of the National team in 2015), then changed to Beach 10K to play for Daniel Lindsey.
Accumulated several wins and top-five finishes (20+) on the Rox, NVL Rize, AVP, AAU, and USA Volleyball Junior Beach Tour circuits—in local, regional, and national tournaments (2013-2017).
Qualified for the USAV JBT National Championships by winning bids every year since playing beach volleyball (2013, 2014, 2015—finished 5th, 2016—finished 3rd, & 2017).
Qualified for the Rox National Championships (2014, 2015, & 2016).
Qualified for the NVL Rize Junior Championshiops Global Challenge Invitational (2015, 2106, 2017).
Qualified for the AAU Beach Junior Olympics (2015, 2016, 2017).
Won bid to compete in the USAV National Team/High Performance Beach Tournament in Manhattan Beach, CA (2016).
Bronze Medalist (with Kylie Keeling) – 2016 USAV Junior Beach National Championships in Milwaukee, WI (3rd place in 18U Open Division).
5th place in the USAV Junior Beach National Championships in Virginia Beach, VA (2015).
5th place in the AAU Junior Beach National Championships in Hermosa Beach, CA (2015).
2nd place in the NVL Rize Beach Global Challenge Championships in Port Saint Lucie, FL (2015).
1st place AVP/Florida Beach Volleyball Tour event – Women’s AA Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, FL (2015).
1st place in Juniors Regional Tournament (AAU Qualifier) for the Florida Beach Volleyball Tour in Fort Lauderdale, FL (2015).
2nd place in NVL Rize Women’s Open Event in Coppell, TX (2017).
2015 Tournament MVP (“Best All-Around Player” award) for the NVL Rize Beach Global Challenge Championships.