Russ Rose Then (2001): “She was recognized as an All-American last year and it was a well-deserved honor. She handled the transition from being a middle blocker on the 1999 National Championship team to an outside hitter last season without any real preparation and provided us with consistent big swings throughout the year. Mishka is a quality person who keeps her head high and looks you in the eye when it’s time for the exchange of information and ideas. We’ll depend on big production from her this year.”
Russ Rose Now (2025): “Mishka was one of the top attackers in the country and was recruited by all the top programs. Her future was in her own hands — she could play any of the front row positions as she was very bright, possessed a very calm demeanor, and was never afraid of the big moments. She was a good student so she could have gone anywhere she wanted. She was an integral part of our success.”
2001 Season (Redshirt Junior): Highlights and Awards: Honorable Mention All-Big Ten … Big Ten Player of the Week (10/29).
Season Recap: opened the season with 6 kills on 8 errorless swings for a .750 hitting percentage in win over Villanova (8/31) … notched 18 kills and .361 hitting percentage (18-5-36) in 5-set win over North Carolina (9/1) … totaled 9 kills and 4 digs in loss to Stanford (9/4) … missed three matches in mid-September due to a foot injury … recorded 12 kills and 4 digs in 5-set loss at Ohio State (9/26) … tallied 11 kills with team-best .588 hitting percentage at Wisconsin (10/5) … made first start in nine matches at Northwestern (10/6), posting 10 kills in win over the Wildcats … tallied back-to-back .300-plus hitting percentage efforts vs. Minnesota (10/12) and Iowa (10/13) … tallied 13 kills and 7 digs vs. Michigan (10/20) … recorded a season-high 21 kills while hitting .405 in win over Northwestern (10/26) … led team with 18 kills and 15 digs — her first double-double of the season — in Penn State’s reverse-sweep upset win over No. 5 Wisconsin (10/27) … posted second double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs at Purdue (11/2) … posted third double-double of the season with 19 kills and a team-high 20 digs at Illinois (11/9) … the next night tallied a match-high 27 kills and added 7 digs and 2 aces in 3-1 win at Indiana (11/10) … led all attackers with 24 kills in 5-set win over Michigan (11/16), adding 13 digs for her fourth double-double of the season … reached the 1000 career-kills mark with 22 kills in 4-set loss to Michigan State (11/17), becoming the 13th Nittany Lion to accomplish that feat … posted 17 kills, 10 digs, and 4 aces in 5-set win at Minnesota (11/24).
NCAA Tournament: had team-leading 11 kills, along with 7 digs, in NCAA 1st Round win over Fairfield (11/30) … totaled 3 kills and 5 digs in NCAA 2nd Round loss to UCLA (12/1).
2000 Season (Redshirt Sophomore)
1999 Season (Redshirt Freshman)
Before Penn State: A four-year starter at middle hitter for Episcopal High school; captained athe Knights for her junior and senior seasons; named to Volleyball Magazine’s 1998 “Fab 50” team; three-time first-team All-Greater Houston selection; second-team All-American in ’97-’98; led team to four consecutive Southwest Prep titles; All-Southwest Prep Conference pick in each of her four years.
“Heavy Burden to Carry,” The Daily Collegian, Oct. 18, 2001
“PSU atmosphere wins Levy’s heart,” The Daily Collegian, Sept. 1, 2000