The Orlando Valkyries have announced the signings of Elli McKissock and Emmy Klika, as both will be assigned to the team’s practice squad. These signings will round out the finishing touches to a Valkyries roster that now stands with 14 active roster spots and two practice squad spots filled.
McKissock, from Windermere, Fla., comes to Orlando after an exceptional five-year career at the University of Florida (2020-2024). She holds a program record for career digs (2,147) and career sets played (534), along with being selected to participate with the Team USA Collegiate National Training Team in 2022. McKissock also was named to the SEC All-Second Team in 2024.
Before beginning her collegiate career, McKissock played at The First Academy, where she was named Dairy Farmer’s Florida 4A Player of the Year (2018), PrepVolleyball.com High School All-State team (2018 & 2019), and Under Armour First Team All-America (2019).
Klika, from Novelty, Ohio, played at the University of Pittsburgh from 2021-2024, where she won numerous awards such as All-ACC Second Team and AVCA East Coast Region Team (2023 & 2024), with an AVCA All-American Honorable mention in 2023. During all four years of her career at Pittsburgh, Klika was part of four straight Final Four appearances. She finished her career with 874 digs and averaging 2.55 digs per set.
Prior to her time at Pittsburgh, Klika played at Gilmour Academy, where she ranked 51st nationally and the number eight libero in the PrepVolleyball Class of 2021 Top 150.
The Valkyries next match will be on Saturday, April 5, as they travel to Omaha to take on the Supernovas, starting at 7:00 p.m. ET. The match will be broadcast on VBTV.