Russ Rose Then (2006): “Roberta has the opportunity to play a key role on this year’s team. She has the team’s best jump serve, is very quick to the ball and is a fearless digger, and has experience as an all-around player. I know that Roberta will be on the floor either as a libero or as a key defensive player.”
Russ Rose Now (2025): “Roberta could have easily been a starting libero and she could have been a starting hitter at any number of schools. She was an incredibly skilled and talented player. She was home-schooled and played for a good club team. Her mom and dad were volleyball people, and Roberta and her siblings all had long and distinguished volleyball careers. Roberta was quick and she had a really good jump spin serve. I had 100% confidence in anything she did as a player. I knew that she was going to make good decisions, and she was going to play hard. Roberta was exceptional. She was tough and skilled. She was a great indoor player and a great outdoor player. And she was one of those lucky individuals in life that could roll out of bed and go play a big match and be a major contributor to your success. Since she graduated, she’s been involved in coaching club volleyball, and has been very active in the club volleyball scene in the Philadelphia area. I’m a big fan of Roberta the player and Roberta the human being, for the contributions she made to our program and for what she continues to give back to the sport.”
2006 Season (Sophomore) Highlights and Awards: Penn State Invitational All-Tournament Team … Academic All-Big Ten … led the team with 440 digs, tied for 8th on Penn State’s single-season record list … her 3.86 digs/set tied for 9th on the single-season chart and placed her 8th in the Big Ten … led the squad with 50 service aces, placing her 10th on Penn State’s single-season record list … her 0.44 service aces/set placed her at the top of the Big Ten rankings.
Season Recap: Played in all 35 matches and 114 sets, beginning the season as the squad’s defensive and serving specialist before moving to libero … had at least one dig in every match of the season, including 27 double-digit dig matches … set a new career-high and fell just short of the Penn State record for digs in a 4-game match with 27 in the NCAA Regional Final match at Washington (12/9) … averaged 6.00 digs/set in road wins over Northwestern and Illinois (10/13 & 15) … racked up a career-high 6 aces against Tennessee State (9/15), just shy of the 3-set single-match record of 7 set by Sam Tortorello against Fairfield on Sept. 7, 2002 … had at least 1 ace in 24 matches and 13 multiple-ace contests … also recorded 2 kills and 28 assists for the year.
Before Penn State: Four-year volleyball letterwinner and two-year basketball letterwinner for the Christian Home Educators Network (CHEN), as she was homeschooled … was team captain for the Bravehearts from 2002-2004 … led the squad to a four-year scholastic record of 74-1 and the Homeschool National Championships in 2001 and 2004 … team was the Maryland Christian Athletic League (MCAL) champions in 2000, 2001 and 2002 and the Maryland/D.C State Private School Champions in 2002 and 2004 … led CHEN to a No. 5 ranking in the Baltimore Metro area during senior season … averaged 4.7 kills per game in 2004, earning All-American, Baltimore County/City Player of the Year and First Team All-Metro honors … was named the Most Valuable Player of the Model Tournament in 2003 and 2004 … averaged 5.9 kills per game during junior season, picking up Baltimore County/City Player of the Year, First Team All-Metro, MCAL Most Valuable Player and Baltimore Sun Athlete of the Week accolades … was also named the Most Valuable Player of the Maryland Christian Athletic League for basketball in 2001 … member of the Time Out Orange Crush club volleyball team in Towson, Md. … named to the 2004 All-Tournament team at the Junior Olympic Nationals as the squad finished third, earning the regional championship … named to the President’s List at Harford Community College.