Ellie Sampson has been a key leader for our Green Level volleyball team and a huge part of the program’s success.  She continues to dominate, having a total of 532 kills so far in her high school career. She has received many impressive accolades, including being MVP of the state championship game this past year. Ellie Sampson is unstoppable.

In July of 2021, Sampson committed to continuing her academic and athletic career at Stanford University.  She didn’t announce it until November and officially got accepted into the school this July.  Stanford is located south of San Francisco, in the heart of Northern California–which is a convenient 42-hour drive. 

I got the chance to talk with Ellie about her commitment:

What was your recruitment process like? – “My recruitment process was pretty short. I visited lots of schools over spring break in my sophomore year and I started talking to coaches in the summer. I didn’t really know where I wanted to go or who would give me an offer, so I talked to 20+ coaches and sometimes multiple coaches every day. I went to camp at Stanford and the coaches were interested in me, so they came to watch me at a tournament and gave me an offer at the end of July! I accepted the offer about a week later.”

What were your top 3 schools and what made you choose Stanford? – “My top 3 schools, I would say, were Stanford, South Carolina, and UCLA. I chose Stanford because of the amazing academics and because I felt like I could see myself on the campus and on the team.”

What excites you the most about getting to play at Stanford? – “I’m most excited about playing with and against some of the best competition in the country at Stanford and in the pac12. My coach is doing a good job with recruiting top players and training players to become better, and I feel like we will have a shot at a national championship soon, so I’m very excited about that.”

How has Green Level influenced you as a volleyball player? – “GLVB has helped me learn more about being a leader on a team and representing your school. I hope I can transfer that to Stanford.”

Congratulations Ellie! We’re looking forward to seeing all that you accomplish at Stanford. Go Trees!