LYNNFIELD — For four years, Ella Gizmunt delighted and entertained Lynnfield High volleyball fans. She helped lead the Pioneers to the Division 4 Final Four in 2021 and 2022 and the 2019 North Division 2 championship match. A four-year varsity starter at outside hitter, she finished her Lynnfield career with more than 1,000 kills.
These days, she is hoping to pick up where she left off, playing for the Division 1 Merrimack College Warriors. She moved into her dorm on the North Andover campus and started practicing with the team last week.
“It’s been good so far and I love our team. I love our coach Ray Lewis. They’ve gone through a lot of changes between coaching and the culture and dynamics, and Coach Lewis is already doing a great job,” Gizmunt said. “Based on the team meetings we’ve had the last couple of days, our focus is on turning it around and building a real D1 culture, it’s about respect.”
Gizmunt said she knows many of the local players on the team and “having a familiar face coming in and leading up to the season is great. Everyone’s been making sure that we help if we need it. I think I will be really strong in the future. We’re going to have a very good team and I think we will surprise a lot of people.”
Gizmunt was also recruited by Marist University and the University of Rhode Island. A big factor in choosing Merrimack was the school’s willingness to accommodate the rigorous academic demands that come with a nursing major. It also helped that the campus is just 15 minutes from home.
“I love the location and knowing the school will do whatever it can to help me academically. That was a big factor as for me the nursing was questionable at URI and Marist didn’t feel right for me,” she said. “Because of the level they play at, even if they allowed me to play, I didn’t know if I could handle it. Obviously, Merrimack is a smaller school and being just 15 minutes away, this really is the best of all worlds.”
Gizmunt is following in her mother’s footsteps; Jennifer Creighton Gizmunt also played volleyball at Merrimack. Ella said, in another interesting coincidence, her mother played at Marist her freshman year, then, after missing her sophomore year with injuries, she transferred to Merrimack where she played her junior year.
“She was commuting and had a job at home so decided not to play after that because she wanted to focus on her future career and where she was going,” Ella said.
When it comes to honors and awards, you name it and Ella Gizmunt has won it. She is a four-year Cape Ann League First Year All-Star, winning the league’s Player of the Year award in 2021 and 2022. She was named to the Boston Globe All-Scholastic team in 2020, 2021 and 2022 and was the 2021 Boston Globe Player of the Year. She was also named to the Boston Herald All-Scholastic team in 2021 and 2022. A 2022 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American Region 1 selection and recipient of a Best and Brightest Award, Gizmunt was also named to the 2021 and 2022 AVCA Phenom Watch List and the 2021 and 2022 Massachusetts All-State team.
Gizmunt said she has been playing as long as she can remember.
“It started with my mom in the front yard playing with a beach ball learning to pass,” Gizmunt said.
Ella said she will always treasure her days at Lynnfield High, where her academic career included AP Statistics, Language and Composition, Spanish and Psychology. She intends to study nursing.
“Lynnfield is honestly a small town. Everybody knows each other,” she said. “For me, it was such a positive thing to have volleyball in that setting. The teams I’ve been on all four years, we just all cared about each other so much. I can’t thank Coach (Brent) Ashley enough. Having him as a coach was such a blessing because he cared about me and everybody else as a family.”
Later this month, Merrimack heads to Binghamton University in New York for a play day with Duquesne University and St. Peter’s University. The Warriors’ first Northeast Conference match is scheduled for Sept. 22 at home against St. Francis University.
Gizmunt said the team’s strongest asset is its dedication and work ethic.
“We are in the gym before any other team and we are working so hard. That is what is really going to get ahead,” Gizmunt said. “We want to win and know we can and will kill ourselves to do it.”
When asked what the strength of her game is, Gizmunt said, “It’s my IQ, how much I know. I’ve been playing the game for so long. For me it’s not just hitting; with all the skills I’ve learned, I’ve been taught how to score. Any ball you give me, I am going to find a way to score. If we’re struggling, I am that person who wants the ball because I’m going to get us [to] that point to get us back into the game.”
