Rishko, Delaware Engineered Turnaround After 1-4 Start

Delaware’s Ella Rishko is a natural problem solver. The senior attacker often struggles to turn off her civil engineering mindset.

“There’s times where we literally just have to be like, ‘Ella, respectfully, stop talking — play and don’t worry about it,’” Blue Hens coach Amy Altig said. “She is so analytical. She will take every situation and put herself through it. Film sessions with her become an hour longer than they need to. But at the same time, it’s challenged us as coaches to look at things in different ways.”

Rishko, who transferred to Delaware ahead of the 2025 season after two years at Virginia Tech, has recorded a career-high 51 points and pulled down 76 draw controls in 14 games. She leads all NCAA Division I attackers with 29 caused turnovers and has helped the Blue Hens launch a nine-game winning streak following a 1-4 start to the campaign.

A four-time Delaware high school state champion at Cape Henlopen, Rishko was an immediate impact player with the Hokies, scoring 50 points as a freshman in 2023. When Altig saw Rishko’s name in the portal in the summer of 2024, the coach knew she couldn’t miss her shot at the Rehoboth Beach, Del., native a second time.

“I was really excited to have the opportunity when I got to talk to the Blue Hens,” Rishko said. “Being from Delaware, playing for UD was one of my dreams growing up. I didn’t have that opportunity immediately after high school. Being able to step into the portal and see this scenario, coming here was such an easy decision.”

Rishko, elected captain by her teammates in just her second season with the program, has played with her younger sister Lulu during the past two seasons.

Altig said the attacker immediately commanded respect with her on-field ability, but Rishko’s leadership has helped transcend the group.

“Her teammates really lean on her because she has the knowledge to back it up,” Altig said. “Civil engineering is all about solving problems, and she does that in every aspect of her life. You can see that on the field. She does not stop talking. It’s a blessing and a curse, but it’s been way more of a blessing for us.”

After Delaware’s 2025 season concluded in a CAA tournament loss to Drexel, Altig sensed that her upcoming class of seniors could help vault the Blue Hens into the national conversation. Players such as Rishko, Jaclyn Marszal, Morgan Gore and Maggie Farragher would prove paramount to the program’s championship pursuit.

They had the talent and leadership to build on the foundation previous groups had set. But Altig and her staff needed to let the seniors embrace their uniqueness. Through this emphasis on authenticity, Altig saw her players’ collective work rate consistently elevate.

“This fall, a lot of us within our staff and our administration took a step back and said, ‘This could be the year,’” Altig said. “We put GPS monitors on our kids every day of practice, and they’re running significantly [more] than we’ve ever run before. It’s a true testament. The numbers don’t lie.”

The Blue Hens went winless in the season’s first three weeks. Altig said the group had to learn how to lose and make adjustments before entering its first-ever season in the ASUN. Instead of chalking it up to strength of schedule, she said the group leaned on the mutual trust it had forged in the fall and continued to press forward.

Altig sensed a shift in a 9-8 loss to Georgetown on March 7. Delaware had finally put together a complete performance. The Blue Hens haven’t lost since. Their scorching stretch has included a pair of one-goal wins over Jacksonville and Saint Joseph’s.

“Past Delaware teams may have been up two or three, but when things got hard or complicated in games, we wouldn’t find success in those moments because mentally we weren’t where we needed to be,” Altig said. “We hadn’t gone through the right challenges yet. Whereas now, this team looks at a challenge and just says, ‘We’ve been there before.’”

With a 6-0 conference record, Delaware is on track to secure the No. 1 seed in the ASUN tournament. The Blue Hens have navigated scouting eight new conference opponents and a revamped travel schedule this year, changes Altig credits her group for embracing in stride.

The program also stands on the precipice of another historic milestone — Delaware’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2000. It’s a milestone Altig and her staff haven’t discussed with their players. After all, two regular season games remain for the Blue Hens, including a Thursday matchup at Queens at noon Eastern.

But the moment’s gravity isn’t lost on the team’s seniors, who are keen to forge an enduring legacy in Newark. For the crafty attacker with a mind for numbers, leading her local school to such a lofty stage would mark a dream conclusion to her collegiate career.

“I have a totally different mindset than my freshman year, when I just put a lot of pressure on myself,” Rishko said. “I’m just so grateful that I get to make every opportunity count. Especially at a program like Delaware. We’re just so happy we get to work hard every day toward something that would be really cool for our program, like an NCAA tournament.”