Russ Rose Then (2006): “Megan is certainly one of the most heralded recruits we’ve ever had in women’s volleyball, as demonstrated by her selection as the Gatorade National Player of the Year.  She’s a complete player who I have never had in camp or worked with personally, so much of what I think and assume is based on what I see.  What I especially like about Megan is that I think she is a young person with an incredible upside, especially offensively.  Her knowledge of the game is high, both from the input of her parents as well as the game experience from her time with USA Volleyball over the last four summers.  I believe that she is really going to blossom in our program, where she knows that every person has various roles to play and our final result of a match isn’t based on her having to carry the team.  She has had a wealth of experience in the past where she has been asked to be the primary offensive player, and when that happens, it sometimes paints a picture of an individual that might not really be the case of who the person is.  I coached against her mother’s team when she played at George Washington and I’ve had a lot of conversations with her father, and I know that there is great family support for Megan as a volleyball player and student.  She has the potential to make a similar impact that Nicole Fawcett made offensively because she is a terrific offensive player, both from the left and right side of the court.  Megan is going to be a fan-favorite, I expect, and I look forward to seeing her development at Penn State.”

Russ Rose Now (2025):

2006 Season: AVCA First Team All-America … AVCA National Freshman of the Year … Big Ten Player of the Year … Big Ten Freshman of the Year … AVCA First Team All-Mideast Region … AVCA Mideast Region Freshman of the Year … Unanimous First Team All-Big Ten … NCAA Seattle Regional All-Tournament Team … Big Ten All-Freshmen Team … three-time Big Ten Player of the Week (9/25, 10/23, 11/27) … LSU Classic All-Tournament Team … Penn State Invitational All-Tournament Team … Texas Invitational All-Tournament Team … Penn State Classic All-Tournament Team … first player in Big Ten history to earn First Team AVCA All-America honors as a freshman … just one of two true freshmen to be named to the three 2006 AVCA All-America teams and the only one named First Team … the only player ever in Big Ten history to claim both Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Year honors … first-ever player to earn Gatorade National High School Volleyball Player of the Year honors and AVCA National Freshman of the Year honors in consecutive seasons … led the Big Ten and the team in points per game (5.57) and kills per game (4.83) … ranked second on the team with 39 service aces and 303 digs, an average of 2.66 digs per game … her 551 kills ranks sixth on the Penn State single-season record chart and is the highest for the rally-scoring era … her average of 4.83 kills per game places her third on the all-time single-season list and ranked her 17th in the country … becomes only the seventh player in Nittany Lion history to record more than 500 kills in a season … posted double-digit kills in 31 matches, tallying 15 or more kills in 20 contests and 20 or more kills in six outings … recorded a career-high 27 kills in the five-game thriller at Texas (9/8) … tied the school record with 25 kills in a three-game match at Northwestern (10/13) … hit for a personal-best .727 (17-1-22) against Miami (Ohio) (9/16) … recorded 11 double-doubles, including both matches at the NCAA Seattle Regional against No. 18 Purdue (12/8) and No. 3 Washington (12/9) … posted a career-high 20 digs versus Michigan (10/20) … tallied at least one block in 32 matches, with 24 contests of two or more blocks … notched a career-high five blocks three times, including versus Duke (9/2), at Illinois (10/15) and against Michigan State (10/21) … posted at least one ace in 21 matches … had 14 multiple-ace matches, including a career-best four at Minnesota (10/28

Before Penn State: Four-year volleyball starter at Riverside High School in Durham, N.C. … 2006 Gatorade National High School Volleyball Player of the Year … one of five finalists for the 2006 Gatorade National Female Athlete of the Year … two-time North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year (2005 & 2006) … named the National High School Player of the Year by Volleyball Magazine … 2005-06 PrepVolleyball.com High School All-American and Top Senior Ace … first team Mizuno Volleyball High School All-American in 2006 … voted the 2006 National High School Senior Athlete of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association … member of the 2006 USA Junior National Team and the 2004 and 2005 USA Youth National teams … voted the Most Valuable Player and ‘Best Attacker’ at the 2004 NORCECA Championships in Cataño, Puerto Rico … competed with the USA Youth National Team at the Youth World Championships in Macau, China in 2005 … earned the prestigious Paul Williamson Award as the Pac 6 Athlete of the Year … named the North Carolina High School Female Athlete of the Year by the News and Observer … helped Riverside High School to a 74-14 scholastic record … posted career totals of 1,596 kills, 319 blocks, 647 digs, 286 aces and 130 assists … as a member of the Triangle 18’s club team, was selected as an All-American as the 2006 AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Fla. … selected as the Most Valuable Player of the North Carolina Regional Championships for the 18’s Gold age division … the first player from the Carolina Region to be named All-Tournament at the USA Junior Olympic Girls Volleyball Championships … three-time USA Volleyball Carolina Region MVP … four-time Pac 6 all-conference selection … two-time Pac 6 conference Player of the Year … led Riverside to the state playoff semifinals in 2002 and 2004 and the state quarterfinals in 2003 … from 1996-2002, was a member of the Bouncing Bulldogs Jump Rope Demonstration team and was a silver medalist in the 12-14 age division at the World Championship in Ghent, Belgium, as a member of the USA Jump Rope Team … ranked 53 in her class of 493 at Riverside, holding a 4.5 grade point average … member of the Riverside Student Council … acted as a peer mentor for students with special needs.