Russ Rose Then (2014): “I think Ali has the potential to be an All-America college volleyball player. She has a good arm, great range, and she hits from a high contact point. She is also refreshingly focused on being a good volleyball player.”
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.”
2014 Season (Freshman)Highlights and Awards: 2014 National Champion … AVCA DI National Freshman of the Year … Second Team AVCA All-American … AVCA All-Northeast Region Freshman of the Year … AVCA All-Northeast Region … All-Big Ten honorable mention … All-Big Ten Freshman team (unanimous) … Three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week (9/1, 9/8, 10/27) … Penn State Classic Most Outstanding Player … Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge All-Tournament Team.
Season Recap: Started all 39 matches and played in 122 of 127 sets … led the team with 3.20 kills/set on .310 hitting … led the team in kills on 15 occasions … her 391 kills ranked 9th in the Big Ten … made her collegiate debut against TCU (8/29) with a team-high 13 kills on .500 hitting, while also leading the team with 4 blocks … recorded her 1st collegiate double-double at No. 2 Stanford with a match-high 22 kills and 11 digs … led the team with 14 kills on .619 hitting against UCLA (9/6) … ranked 1st on the team with a match-high 19 kills at No. 8 Nebraska (10/3) … ranked 2nd on the team with 13 kills against No. 15 Illinois (10/11), adding a season-high 3 aces … led the team with 15 kills against Michigan (10/24) on .429 hitting … put down 17 kills on .536 hitting in the regular season finale against Nebraska (12/29).
NCAA Tournament: Made her NCAA Tournament debut with 9 kills and 4 digs against Siena (12/5) … finished 2nd on the team with 16 kills and 2 aces in the NCAA National Semifinals against top-ranked Stanford (12/18) … posted 6 kills and 6 digs in the NCAA title match against BYU (12/20).
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.
