Russ Rose Then (2003): “Sam had a very good freshman season and demonstrated that by being recognized as the Freshman of the Year in the conference and selected to the All-Big Ten team. She is going to be a stronger leader this year, given the experience she gained playing in the USA Volleyball National tournament. She certainly had the luxury of playing on a team with former professional players who gave her a better feel for what the expectations of other people should be. Sam’s skills are good but she needs to get better at leading people and willing them to a higher level of competition. She says the right things and she works hard in the weight room. She can get stronger, quicker and tougher, but I like the transition from her freshman year to her sophomore year. She is one of the bright stars at the setting position in the country.”
Russ Rose Now (2025): “Sam Tortorello came from Sports Performance, which was one of the top club programs in the country and had great success training players. In addition, she came from a family where all of the girls played volleyball — her older sister, Liz, was the starting setter at Wisconsin a few years earlier. Sam had good size, and long arms, and big hands, and she had a great feel for the game. So Sam was a really talented kid, who was able to come in and hit the ground running and start right away. She is on the long list of All-American setters we’ve had that went to the national team — Ellen Hensler, Salima Rockwell, Alisha Glass, and Micha Hancock. Bonnie Bremner could have done it, but it wasn’t what she wanted to do with her life when she was done playing at Penn State. I think Sam had her own level for who she was and what she did. She was an All-American in club, and in high school, and in college. She was a really good volleyball player and had a great career.”
2003 Season (Sophomore) Highlights and Awards: AVCA Second Team All-America … AVCA First Team All-Mideast Region … First Team All-Big Ten … preseason All-Big Ten … Big Ten Player of the Week (11/17) … Maine “Sea Sun” Invitational All-Tournament team … BYU Mizuno Classic All-Tournament team … Penn State Classic All-Tournament Team … ended the season ranked 5th on Penn State’s career assists list behind four All Americans — Michelle Jaworski, Bonnie Bremner, Salima Davidson, and Ellen Hensler.
Season Recap: Started all 129 sets and 36 matches … led the team in assists with 13.48 assists per set, good for 2nd place on Penn State’s single-season chart … ranked second on the team in digs/set with 2.92 … also averaged 0.91 blocks/set and 0.89 kills/set … … recorded a career-high 71 assists at Wisconsin (10/24) … posted 19 double-doubles … notched a career-high 25 digs at Minnesota (11/28) … recorded at least 4 digs in each match throughout the season, tallying 8 double-digit digs matches in the final 10 contests … posted at least 1 block in 33 of 36 matches, including a career-high 9 blocks at Michigan State (9/26) … notched 2 or more blocks in 28 matches … recorded a kill in each match of the year … posted a season-high 7 kills against Akron (9/6).
NCAA Tournament: Recorded 19 digs in the NCAA Regional Final match at Florida (12/13).
Before Penn State: Volleyball Magazine’s “Fab 50” selection; a four-year letterwinner at Joliet Catholic Academny in Joliet, Illinois; two-time captain for the Angels; also a member of Sports Performance for eight years (1994-2002); led Sports Performance 18-1 to 2002 AAU National Championship; Chicago Sun-Times 2001 Player of the Year for Volleyball; 2000 USA Youth National Team member; four-time AAU All-America honoree; 2001 AAU Most Valuable Player; member of the 2000 Junior Olympic All-Tournament team; led Sports Performance to a second-place finish at the National Junior Classic in 2000 and first place finishes at the National Junior Classic and AAU Nationals and claimed the Junior Olympic Silver Division championship in 2001; named Best Setter at the the 2000, 2001, and 2002 National Junior Classic; member of the National Honor Society, Student Council, and earned a high school leadership scholarship.
“Senior week is special,” The Daily Collegian, Oct. 10, 2005