Russ Rose Then (2004): “Kaleena would be one of those players in pro sports that you would name as a franchise player and aren’t willing to give up. I could coach Kaleena Walters my entire career. She cares about the team, works hard, and always has a smile for her teammates and the staff and people who she comes in contact with. She is a competitive person and and player and a terrific olibero. She can serve, pass, play great defense, and is a very smart player. Kaleena is one of the top liberos in the nation, and along with Sam [Tortorello], has set the bar for how hard her teammates should be working.”
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.”
2004 Season (Junior) Highlights and Awards: AVCA Honorable Mention All-Mideast Region … First Team All-Big Ten … Penn State Invitational Defensive MVP … Stanford Invitational All-Tournament Team … Penn State Classic All-Tournament Team … Academic All-Big Ten … set Penn State’s all-time single-season digs record with 619 (the first player in Penn State history to record more than 600 digs in a season), which broke her own record of 554 digs set in the 2003 season … her 44 digs vs. then-#1 Minnesota (10/2) made her 1 of only 3 players in Penn State history to record 44 or more digs in a match, and set a new record for digs in a match … averaged a team-high 5.68 digs per set, which was good for 2nd in the Big Ten and set a new Penn State record
Season Recap: Played in all 32 matches and all 109 sets for the season … set a new Penn State record for digs in a 3-set match with 27 against Purdue (10/30) … holds the Penn State record for digs in a 4-set match (28 at Minnesota, 11/28/03) … posted at least 8 digs in all 32 matches, and recorded double-digit dig figures in 31 of 32 matches in 2004 and in 72 of 80 matches dating back to the 2002 season … had 15 matches of 20 or more digs … ranked 3rd on the team with 22 service aces, including a career-high four twice — versus Quinnipiac (9/4) and against Northwestern (11/13).
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 Devlils; 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