Russ Rose Then (2008): “I thought Nicole had a great junior season and she continues to improve in the areas that we’ve identified. She is one of the few players in the country who can make a significant impact in the front row as well as the back row. As she continues to step into more of a leadership role, she will continue to enhance her prospects for a future in professional volleyball. She is a great scorer and teammate.”
Russ Rose Now (2025): “Nicole was one of the top recruits in the country and did not disappoint during her career at Penn State. She had a long professional career and was a member of the national team for a long time. She was coaching for a little bit at Ohio State and continues to work for one of the professional leagues in team and player development. In 2008, we won every game during the season, until we lost two games against Nebraska in the National Semifinals. Nicole had a very good jump spin serve, and we’re in the fifth game, and she went to the float serve. And she had success with that float serve, even though she was serving against Jordan Larson and Kayla Banworth, who were both future national team players. It was Nicole’s call to go to the float serve. The players on that 2008 team had such a good run that most of the time they had the green light to make decisions, whether it was to take a risky swing or alter a serve a little bit. Nicole was a warrior who wanted the ball, and that carried over into a very successful national team career after college. She was always ready to play. No excuses. When she was banged up, she was still out there. She understood the role she had, and she embraced it and made us better. She was one of a number of players in those years who really helped elevate the program.”
2008 Season (Senior): 2008 National Champion … “In her final year playing for Penn State, Fawcett was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Year, was the Big Ten Player of the Year, and was voted as the Honda Sports Award winner as the nation’s top collegiate volleyball player. In conference play, Fawcett had 236 kills on a .400 hitting % average. By years end, Fawcett totaled 431 kills. In the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Fawcett had a season high 24 kills against Nebraska in the National Semifinals in Omaha to help Penn State to a 3–2 win, ending Nebraska’s 96 match winning streak in the state. In the fifth set vs. Nebraska, Penn State was down 10–8 before Fawcett served six straight points, which included a service ace, to swing the match in favor of Penn State. The next night, Fawcett was named a First Team All-American for the third year in a row and was announced as the Division I National Player of the Year. In the National Championship against Stanford, Fawcett had the championship winning kill and had a total of 10 kills to help the Lions win their second straight national title, and was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team for the second year in a row. Fawcett ended her career with 1,943 total kills, which ranks second in Penn State history.” Courtesy of Wikipedia
Before Penn State: Four-year volleyball letterwinner and three-year track letterwinner for Benjamin Logan High School in Bellefontaine, Ohio … four-year team captain in volleyball for the Raiders … two-year member of the USA Junior National Team, including the 2004 squad that won the NORCECA gold medal in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada … member of the 2003 USA Youth National Team … 2004 Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year … Volleyball Magazine ‘Fab 50’ … Ohio High Magazine Player of the Year … led the team to 92-13 scholastic record, including three league championships and the district and regional runner-up titles in 2004 … three-time First Team All-Ohio honoree … earned four First Team CBC honors, four First Team District IX accolades and three District IX Player of the Year awards … set the school record for kills in a season four consecutive years … holds the Ohio state record for career kills … regional track high jump finalist in 2004 and 2005 … member of the Team Atlantis Volleyball Club … National Honor Society member … named to the Fall Sport All-Academic Team and the honor roll.