Penn State women’s volleyball held its ninth weekly media availability of the 2021 season Tuesday afternoon before practice at Rec Hall.

Russ Rose answered questions ahead of Penn State’s weekend road trip to face No. 12 Minnesota and No. 3 Wisconsin in a highly anticipated pair of matches. The players had a team activity right before practice, so we were unable to speak to any of them this time.

The Nittany Lions (13-5, 6-2 Big Ten) moved up a spot to No. 14 in this week’s AVCA rankings despite losing in five sets to then-No. 6 Purdue last Sunday in West Lafayette. They beat Rutgers 3-1 last Friday at Rec Hall in the program’s annual Dig Pink match.

Russ Rose

What are your thoughts on the Purdue match?

“I thought we had opportunities to win the match and I thought we had some really good performances. I thought Gabby [Blossom] and Jenna [Hampton] played great from the defensive standpoint. I thought Kait [Hord] was at times unbelievably effective as an attacker. Jonni [Parker] turned it on after a slow start and was really making great contributions. We had a couple of calls that went against us. That happens on the road. With a big crowd, you’ve got to have a little more in reserve to be able to handle that. I don’t think we responded as well as I would have liked. Purdue is very good, and especially good at home.”

How important is it for players to hustle like Jenna Hampton did into the referee stand to keep that ball alive toward the end of the Purdue match?

“I just think playing hard has always been a part of what we do in practice, and the expectations are high. What I said to the players was I thought we played better in losing to Purdue than we did in winning against Rutgers. It’s hard, because, you know, the players are probably accustomed to winning more than struggling. That’s part of life. It’s how do you get yourself ready for the next match and not get caught up in losing your own confidence in the skill set that you’re responsible for.”

What’s your relationship like with Purdue coach Dave Shondell?

“I have a relationship with all the Shondells, actually. His father coached at Ball State when I was in college at George Williams. I know his older brother, Steve, and have coached against Dave for the number of years he’s been in the Big Ten. His younger brother, John, is his assistant. We compete against each other. We don’t vacation together or anything like that. I don’t know him as well as I know some of the other head coaches, just because Steve [Aird] and [Adam Hughes] were in our program. Jen [Flynn Oldenburg] was a camper [at Penn State] when she was younger. Like all of the schools, I think everybody in the conference is working really hard. Everybody has good talent. Certainly, Purdue has a number of older players who have played together. They’re very strong.”

What are some things you like about Purdue graduate manager Michael Bouril?

“Michael worked with us while he was getting his undergraduate degree. Very, very bright. [He] wanted an opportunity to get a master’s degree and some other experiences. Purdue offers grad assistantships, which is something that we don’t. I think he’s a really fine young man. When I talked to him a couple days ago, he said what he would like to do is try and get placed somewhere and try and get into coaching professionally. That’s where his interest lies right now.”

How important is active listening and eye contact for your players?

“I’m more interested in people listening, so if I’m talking, I want them to listen. I know some coaches get caught up in the fact they want everybody to be looking at you when you talk, where I’m not as caught up in [that]. If I’m talking, listening is what’s more important. If I want them to see something, if I were taking out a board and showing them something, then I would want them to look. To me, it’s almost two different things, but certainly when players play, their chances for success are higher if they can read the play and see things happening. It’s like driving defensively. If you’re a good driver, it’s because you have the ability to see things that might be happening around you. I think the best volleyball players seem to have that intangible skill when they play.”

What kind of challenges has Erika Pritchard’s absence posed for the team?

“Well, she started the season as the [Big Ten’s] active leader in kills, so her absence has been noticeable in that area.”

What stands out to you about Minnesota?

“The fact that they had four hitting errors against Indiana a couple days ago. They have Stephanie Samedy, who’s clearly one of the top players in the country. Hugh [McCutcheon] has had a certain style that it took a couple years for him to get in play. It was a style that we used to be really good at as well, just keeping the ball in play and not making unforced errors. When they lost at Michigan, they had one ace and 16 service errors. That’s not typical of the Minnesota team. We saw them play earlier in the year. We were at the same tournament. They beat Stanford and Oregon, and we lost to Stanford and Oregon. The players know how Minnesota plays. It’s always a tough place to play, but I thought we were playing well against Purdue, and hopefully we’ll continue with the way we were playing.”

What are your thoughts on Minnesota libero CC McGraw?

“She’s a terrific player. I think she’s made great contributions to the Minnesota program. I’m glad to see her back playing, and playing with the same energy and excitement that she was playing with before she had a leave.”

What stands out to you about Wisconsin?

“I haven’t really started looking at Wisconsin, but I think the fact that one of their starting players was hurt and they’ve been able to just keep on rolling. They have a lot of depth with a number of fifth-year kids who returned. Dana [Rettke] is one of the top players in the country. I love the way she plays. I love the energy. I love the fact that she does some of the intangible things. They’re good at every position. Like I said, I haven’t really started looking at them since I’m still working on Minnesota, but I saw them on TV. They have an outside hitter from Poland, [Julia Orzol], who seems to have a great impact on the outcome of the game and plays the game with great energy. Their setter is good. Their libero, [Lauren Barnes], has had a great career. She started at Minnesota and transferred over to Wisconsin. They’re a team that has been in the top four all season long, and they’re there for a variety of reasons.”

How have you seen Gabby Blossom improve defensively?

“I thought Gabby had two great matches last weekend defensively. Both matches, 20 digs. People are hitting balls at her, and she’s doing the best thing that we need, and that is digging those balls. Certainly, when they hit balls at the setter, it limits your chances to run middle, but digging the ball, at least, enables you and gives you an opportunity to extend the rally as well.”

What’s your impression of Kaitlyn Hord’s play of late?

“I thought Kait also had a great week last week. She always has the potential to do great things. She’s a quiet human being, but she plays hard, and she has great talent at the net.”