Russ Rose Then (2016): “We have really high expectations for Ali as a passer-hitter and a six rotation player. She had a terrific freshman season and then had some challenges associated with her sophomore season, which is how life works. So much of where she is this year will be demonstrated by how hard she prepares for the upcoming season. She is a great teammate and explosive as an athlete.”
Russ Rose Now (2026): “Ali was one of the top recruits in the country. Athletically, she was long and explosive and she had exceptional attacking skills. She was a player who would step up in big occasions and take a big swing and block. She made incredible contributions to the program while she was here. The fact that she was an All American, that she is still playing professionally in Italy, and that she was with the national team for an extended period, all reflect on the type of player she was. She was a great talent, and was a goofball, so she was fun to have around all the time.”
2016 Season (Junior): Highlights and Awards: NCAA Lincoln Regional All-Tournament Team … AVCA All-Northeast Region Team … Preseason All-Big Ten selection.
Season Recap: Started all 34 matches, playing 121 total sets in which she logged 295 kills on 861 attempts for a .228 hitting percentage … added 16 service aces, 219 digs and 62 total blocks … served up a career-high 2 aces in the opener vs. West Virginia (8/26) … had 8 digs vs. No. 9 Stanford (9/4) … posted a season-best .579 percentage hitting with 11 kills against Rutgers (9/21) … tallied 13 kills and 13 digs — marking her second double-double of the season — against No. 1 Minnesota (10/5) … posted a season-high 20 kills along with 5 digs and 4 blocks against No. 16 Michigan (10/22) … finished 2nd on the team with 11 kills and dished out 8 digs vs. No. 4 Wisconsin (10/28 )… charted 7 kills to go along with 7 digs and 5 blocks vs. No. 1 Nebraska (11/4) … recorded a season-high 14 digs to go along with 4 kills, 3 blocks and 2 aces vs. Maryland (11/11) … logged 9 kills and 9 digs against Ohio State (11/12) … recorded 7 kills, 3 digs and a block against No. 1 Nebraska (11/16) … recorded 14 kills, 8 digs, 1 assist and 1 block vs. Purdue (11/19) … finished 2nd on the team tallying 16 kills to go along with 7 digs, 3 assists and 2 blocks vs. Illinois (11/26).
NCAA Tournament: Posted 6 digs and 5 kills vs. LIU Brooklyn (12/2) … put down 11 kills, 3 digs and 2 blocks against Pitt (12/3) … logged 21 kills, 15 digs and 6 solo blocks in the round of 16 against Nebraska (12/9).
Before Penn State: Led her high school team, to a state title in 2013 … earned First Team All-State honors and Chicago Sun-Times All-Area honors in 2012 … A 3-time MVP and 2-year captain at Richmond Burton high school … helped her club team — Club Fusion — to back-to-back AAU titles, collecting MVP honors in 2012 and all-tournament team honors in 2013 … 2013-14 Under Armour First Team All-American … 2013 Mizuno First Team All-American … 2013 Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year.
