Russ Rose Then (2006): “I have contended from the beginning when I recruited Alisha that I believe she is a special talent and has all of the tools to be a player who needs to be on the floor all the time. Certainly, her high school records will verify that she is a strong offensive player, both in serving and at the net, but the biggest question will be how she handles the challenge of two roles as both a front row player as well as setting out of the back row. I know the biggest transition for her is going to have to be her development as a setter while in the back row. I’m cautiously optimistic about the players in the freshman class and Alisha comes in with the greatest intrigue to me because she is a player who I think can contribute from the endline and at the net. There aren’t too many players, even experienced college players, who have come in and done that, and I feel as a freshman that Alisha will have the opportunity to make an impact on the outcome of matches.”
Russ Rose Now (2025): “Alisha led the nation as a high school player in service aces, and when she came in was our hardest attacker. Alisha was an athlete who could hit and played all positions when she was on her mom’s high school team. Her development as a setter was exceptional, and in my mind, was aided by Jessica Yanz, who was a highly skilled, trained setter, working with Alisha while the two of them were training together as freshmen and sophomores. Alisha won three national championships at Penn State, played on the national team, went to the Olympics, and played professionally in a number of countries. She was an assistant coach at Stanford for a little bit, and just recently accepted the head coaching job of the San Diego Mojo team in the MLV. Alisha’s had an incredible volleyball playing experience, and in all phases. And she is the mother of three daughters, so she’s setting the bar really high in a lot of areas, and continues to exceed all expectations.”
2006 Season (Freshman) Highlights and Awards: Big Ten All-Freshmen Team … earned Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week honors (9/11) after averaging 13.38 assists per game while leading the team to a .327 hitting percentage against Missouri and Texas at the Texas Invitational (9/7-8) … Big Ten Player of the Week (9/11) … Texas Invitational All-Tournament Team … Penn State Classic Most Valuable Player … set the team to a Big Ten- and nation-best .323 hitting percentage, the only team in the country to finish the season hitting higher than .300 … led the team and finished 7th in the Big Ten with 12.50 assists/set.
Season Recap: Started all 35 matches and played in 113 of 114 games … spent most of the season as a 5-1 setter, but also saw time as a 6-2 setter/hitter, attacking primarily on the right side … … also ranked third on the squad with 1.14 blocks/set and fourth with 21 service aces and 2.04 digs/set … also chipped in 1.16 kills/set … dished out at least 17 assists in every match of the year, including a career-high 63 in the 5-set thriller at Texas (9/8) … recorded a personal-best 9 kills in the season-opener against Nicholls State (8/25) while playing a 6-2 … tallied 8 kills in the 5-1 at Texas (9/8) … hit for a career-high .714 percentage (5-0-7) against Lehigh (9/16) … posted 5 double-doubles for the season … recorded a career-high 17 digs at LSU (8/26) to go along with her 37 assists for her first career double-double … had at least 1 dig in every match of the year and had 5 or more digs on 25 occasions … recorded 129 total blocks for the year … posted a career-best 7 blocks 3 times, including the season-opener against Nicholls State (8/25), at Texas (9/8) and at Michigan State (11/17) … tallied at least 1 block in 33 matches and had 30 multiple-block matches … notched 14 matches of 5 or more stuffs … also had at least 1 service ace in 16 contests, including a career-high 3 versus Tennessee State (9/15).
Before Penn State: Four-year letterwinner at Leland (Mich.) High School … Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year … led her squad to the 2006 Class D state championship, producing a single-match record of 48 kills in the title match … named Miss Volleyball for the state of Michigan in 2006 … four-time first team all-state, all-region dream team and all-conference … is the National and State High School record holder in season aces (296), career aces (937) and career kills (3,584) … during scholastic career attacked at a .440 clip while also contributing 1,816 digs and 680 blocks … ranked sixth on PrepVolleyball.com’s ‘Senior Aces’ list … was a member of the 2005 US Youth National A2 Team and played on the USA Red squad that won the gold medal at the HP Championships in Austin, Texas, where she also received the ‘Best Setter’ award … started on the 2004 USA Youth National Team that won the gold medal in Puerto Rico at the NORCECA Games, where she was recognized as ‘Best Server’ … a complete athlete, was also named first team all-state as a basketball player as a junior and senior … was voted one of the top 25 players in the state by the Detroit Free Press … member of the National Honor Society with a 3.7 grade point average.