Long before freshman setter Elle Mottola sprayed passes in front of the net in Tempe, she was a little girl watching it happen on TV. Volleyball games played on repeat in the Mottola household in Orlando, Florida.
Those memories resurfaced in Milwaukee.
She was actually on the court of Fiserv Forum, the burnt orange of Texas on the other side of the net.
A little girl's dream rarely changes.
She opened up her freshman season with the Sun Devils against one of the best programs in the nation. In the AVCA First Serve showcase. Mottola shone in her collegiate debut with 31 assists and four kills.
"That's what you dream of as a little girl, and it's like I can't believe this is happening right now," Mottola said. "Sometimes, I even think back and I'm like, 'wait, we played Stanford and Texas. Wait, these are huge programs and they've built amazing resumes.'"
Now, everyone in the NCAA knows the name Mottola, again.
The Sun Devil freshman arrived in Tempe with a legacy strapped to her back.
But for some, the path forward means stepping away from the one already paved. A pursuit free from the shadow of home.
Mottola had one carved by her parents. Both of them are hall of famers.
Her father, Chad, starred in baseball for UCF before going pro. Her mother, Emily, played setter for the school's best era in women's volleyball.
"Obviously she gets the athleticism from both of us," her father said. "But she gets the competitive nature from my wife… they are always wanting to win whatever family competition we have."
Even her brother, Luke, followed the family tradition and plays outfield at UCF. Her roots are well established in Orlando.
But Mottola wanted to find her own path. As the youngest, she wondered what hers would look like if she veered her own way.
She started her journey about 2,000 miles away from everything she knew. Everything that built her into a Division I athlete. Her home will always be in Central Florida, but her dreams of growing into herself as an athlete are starting out in Arizona.
"From the beginning, I don't know why, I was just set to go," Mottola said. "I was looking on the East Coast for a little bit... but over here was a big pull for me and creating my own name for myself."
Her parents said she was free to choose her own journey and after looking at other schools such as Utah, she decided on ASU. She translated her mother's court instincts and her father's professional discipline into her own rhythm when she arrived in Tempe.
She could've chosen anywhere. She could've stayed home. She could've played beach volleyball. Instead, she's a freshman leading coach J.J. Van Niel's offense, using the attributes poured into her throughout her life.
Mottola was one of the country's top young setters at William R. Boone High School, named 7A District Player of the Year as a senior and gained All-American honors before capturing the 2025 AAU 17u Open national championship. Later that year, she collected All-American honors at USA Volleyball.
Fortunately for Mottola, she wasn't alone when she arrived in Tempe.
"Me and her have known each other since we were so little," freshman libero Paige Lehman, who played club volleyball with Mottola, said. "Coming here knowing I can bring a piece of home here with me was so awesome."
But Mottola was banking on the tools ingrained in her by her parents, who taught her what it meant to chase her dreams. Her parents provided two examples of what it takes to build success.
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Her father debuted for the Cincinnati Reds in 1996 after being drafted fifth overall. He spent 5 years in Major League Baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays, Florida Marlins and the Baltimore Orioles. He is now a hitting coach for the Tampa Bay Rays, currently in the playoffs.
Competitiveness flowed through their veins, but Mottola's future was always hers to define.
"He never forced us into sports or forced my brother into baseball," she said of her dad. "He always just supported us in what we wanted to do."
Emily Mottola was a conference Player of the Year at UCF, helping lead the Knights to four consecutive conference titles from 1992 to 1995 and back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament. Decades later, she still holds the program record with 5,923 career assists.
Her mom was always Mottola's first coach. She was also always the first to comment on her game.
"There's definitely the car rides after her high school or club volleyball where I'm just trying to be supportive, where they're arguing about the different plays they need to run or different sets she had," her father said. "I step in every once in a while and remind both of them that this is part of growth."
Mottola had what many other freshmen players didn't — professional perspective and elite guidance. She's been groomed for the success she is experiencing. Her mother starred in her sport. Her father trains professionals. She competed with her brother all of her childhood.
But even nurturing nests are meant to be left.
"It was harder on us than she recognized," her father said. "But she always said she wanted to go to the West Coast for volleyball. She was just set on that. Once she gets convicted on something, there's no talking her out of it, so we just want to support her."
After nearly a decade of hearing from both mom and coach, they found a balance. A way to relate to each other's journey without the pressure of replication.
Because Mottola's journey is hers alone, she didn't leave what her family had built. She chose to take what they gave her — the competitive drive, the discipline and understanding of what it takes to succeed — and carry it to ASU.
"I just wanted to make my own life over here and not really be influenced by everyone around me," she said. "My mom holds a bunch of records there, so let her keep those records. I'll try to make my own."
"We'll compare the numbers later," Mottola said.
Edited by Alex Swift, Alan Deutschendorf III and Sophia Keeling.
Reach the reporter at cfleduc@asu.edu.
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Camille LeDuc is a part-time sports reporter at The State Press. She has worked previously with The Express Newspaper at Las Positas College. This is her first semester with The State Press.
