Russ Rose Then (2003): “Kaleena is wired at a good level to play this position. She is a good passer and a very courageous defensive player. If you can tally how many times people have taken a ball off their head and not whimpered or backed off, she is climbing the ladder. She has taken a lot of hits and plays hard, and she is not the type of person to turn her back or back away from a competitive opportunity. She always wanted to come here and I am very proud of her. She can be depended on and has the ability to be the Big Ten’s digs leader. In my opinion, Kaleena was the top player in Pennsylvania out of high school and she continues to impress me with her skills, attitude, and positive disposition.”
Russ Rose Now (2025): “I liked Kaleena as a person, I loved her as a competitor, and I trusted her with every aspect of the program when she was one of my staff members. Kaleena arrived at Penn State just when the libero position had come into play, so she was our first libero. She went hard every day in practice, in every drill, and in every match. And when we scored, she would throw her hands up in the air enthusiastically. She was the poster child for the Western Pennsylvania, hard-working, care-about-the-team player. She and Sam Tortorello started every match throughout their careers, except for when they were injured. There’s not a ton of kids who started every match of their careers. Kaleena was great. She was a terrific passer and an incredibly strong defensive player — she was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year as a senior — and just a really, really strong team player with energy to keep everybody else motivated. After she graduated, she coached for College of Charleston, and then coached with us for a long time before going into academic advising. She and her family are now in Colorado, where she works at the Colorado Juniors volleyball club.”
2003 Season (Sophomore) Highlights and Awards: Academic All-Big Ten … Penn State Classic Defensive Most Valuable Player … Zips Invitational All-Tournament Team … played in all 129 sets and 36 matches … broke Penn State’s single-season digs record with 22 digs against Pittsburgh (12/6) … set Penn State’s all-time single season record with 554 digs and the single-season record with 4.29 digs/set.
Season Recap: Set the record for digs in a three-set match with 26 against Akron (9/6) … tied the record for digs in a four-set match with a career-high 28 digs at Minnesota (11/28) … recorded double-digit digs totals in 30 of 36 matches in 2003 and 41 of the last 48 matches dating back to the 2002 season … posted at least six digs in every match of the season … led the Nittany Lions in digs in 28 matches.
Before Penn State: Four-year volleyball letterwinner and one year softball letterwinner at Mt. Lebanon High School in Mt. Lebanon, PA; 2000 and 2001 team captain for the Blue Devils; three-time first team All-State, All-Section, and All-WPIAL selection; WPIAL and PIAA State Champion in 2000; 2000 Youth National Team alternate; named 2001 Student Sports All-American; Almanac Volleyball MVP/Athlete of the Year finalist in 2000 and 2001; member of the 2001 All-Powerbar team; also earned the PAC-Athlete of the Month award in softball in 1998, having the highest batting average and most stolen bases on the team; National Honor Society member; was on honor roll every semester of high school, with six semesters on the high honor roll.
Walters Rejoins Penn State Women’s Volleyball Program – Penn State – Official Athletics Website