Russ Rose Then (1995): “Christy Cochran was clearly the best athlete in Pennsylvania last year. She’s not quite ready to be a big time Division I volleyball player right now but she has all the potential. Athletically,she’s in the top 5% nationally of the graduating seniors this year, so I think when her volleyball skills catch up with her athletic ability, Christy’s going to be an awfully good player. She has a tremendous work-ethic and has great energy and spirit. I always need to have a few players like that around because they are the reasons that I keep coaching not to win a Big Ten Championship or a National Championship -to work with kids that are special people. I think they just have such a bright future and she has the ability to make others smile.”
Russ Rose Now (2025): “Christy is one of the all-time great characters. And so much energy. She was 100% committed to the team all of the time. She was undersized, but she was the center of the energy at times for the team. She was always smiling and always mischievous. And she was a really great competitor. At the 1997 National Championship match against Stanford, a ball hit her in the face and it dislodged an artificial tooth she had. But she played the remainder of the match, even with the gap at the front of her mouth after the tooth was dislodged. Great competitor and a really valuable member of the team.”
What Her Teammates Said: “There’s no doubt our team feeds off of her intensity.” Bonnie Bremner, Penn State starting setter, The Collegian, December 8, 1997
1995 Season (Freshman) Season Recap: Played in 10 of 35 matches and 13 of 116 sets … posted 7 kills, 9 digs and 3 blocks on the year … passed up a redshirt season as injuries throughout the Penn State lineup made her a necessity in the lineup … playing behind more experiepced talent, saw action in 4 Big Ten matches, including recording season highs of 2 kills and 3 digs in a win over Northwestern.
Before Penn State: Cochran started all 4 years for the Bethlehem Catholic High School volleyball and basketball squads; an outside hitter and middle blocker, she was a 3-time All-State selection; MVP of the Eastern Penn Conference and District II in 1993 and 1994; twice selected as the Express TImes Player of the Year as she led the Hawks to the State Semifinal match in 1994 and the Finals in 1991; the 2-time team captain played in the 1995 Mizuno All-Star game; a 2-year starter for the Quickset Elite Volleyball Club team; Cochran was equally successful on the basketball court, earning all-conference and all-area accolades 3 times while guiding the Hawks to the state finals in 1991 and the Semifinals in 1993 and 1994; the National Merit Award Finalist led the league in rebounding and topped the 1,000 point plateau during her career as the squad captured 4 district titles and 2 conference Championships.
“Size of the fight,” The Daily Collegian, Oct. 20, 1998
“Queen of Spikes,” The Daily Collegian, Sept. 16, 1998
“Cochran gets physical against N. Illinois,” The Daily Collegian, Dec. 8, 1997
“Bethlehem spiker readies for journey as lady spiker,” The Daily Collegian, Feb. 8, 1995
