Russ Rose Then (2005): “I feel the same way about K as I do about Sam. I feel she’s one of the top players in the country at her position. She works hard every day and is a tough competitor with the ability to not only play hard, aggressive defense, but also steady enough to serve receive and lead the team with her play. She is the heart of this team and I know she will always give her best.”
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.”
2005 Season (Senior) Highlights and Awards: 2005 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American … Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year … First Team All-Big Ten selection … helped her Penn State squads to a 4-year record of 116-19 and was a member of 3 Big Ten Championship squads, finishing with a league record of 69-11 and starting a streak of 6 consecutive conference championships … along with her single-season and career digs records, she also owns the single-match records for 3, 4 and 5 sets, setting a school record with 44 digs in a match against Minnesota on Oct. 2, 2004.
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