Russ Rose Then (2005): “We’re expecting big things from Cassy this year. Whether she is playing at the middle or rightside position, she’s going to have to come up big offensively and at the net for us. She has played well in both NCAA Tournament stretches for us and we need to find a way to have her play at a high level throughout the entire season. Cassy has the ability and desire to dominate matches and she is willing to switch positions if necessary to aid the team.”
Russ Rose Now (2025): “Cassy was an incredible team player and always an exceptional communicator. She was the Big 10 Freshman of the Year, which was a major award, but she was hampered by injuries in later years. We had a lot of success when she was healthy and playing well. She was really good off of one foot, and back in 2003, 2004, and 2005 seasons probably was one of the first college players that was attacking off of one foot out of the back row. She was a team leader and incredibly loyal to the program. I’m incredibly fond of her and proud of the success she’s had as an adult.”
2005 Season (Junior) Highlights and Awards: Big Ten Player of the Week (Oct. 31) … Academic All-Big Ten … Preseason All-Big Ten.
Season Recap: Played in all 34 matches of the year and 107 of 111 sets … started as a middle hitter before switching to the right side … averaged 2.59 kills per set (4th on the team) on .338 hitting (3rd on the team), with 0.46 digs per set … led the team with 17 kills against Stanford (8/26) in the opening match of the season at the AVCA/NACWAA Showcase in Omaha, Neb. … had 12 double-digit kill matches and had 29 matches with five or more kills … tied season-high with 17 kills on .467 hitting versus Wisconsin (10/28) … hit a team-high .500 against Western Michigan (9/1) at the Hawaiian Airlines Classic, racking up nine kills on an errorless 18 swings … averaged 4.00 kills per set on a combined .568 hitting percentage at Iowa and Minnesota (10/21-22) … posted 10 kills on a career-high .692 hitting percentage against Iowa (11/19) … twice posted four digs in a match, including versus Seton Hall (9/16) and at Michigan State (11/25) … tallied a season-high seven blocks at Minnesota (11/18) … had at least one block in 32 matches and three or more blocks in 21 contests … recorded six blocks at Wisconsin (10/8) … tallied four blocks on back-to-back nights at Michigan State (11/25) and at Michigan (11/26).
Before Penn State: Four-year volleyball letterwinner at Smoky Hill High School in Aurora, Colorado; team captain in 2001 and 2002 for the Buffaloes; led Smoky Hill to state championships in 2001 and 2002 and the state semifinals in 2000; was named the Most Valuable Player in the 2002 Colorado state tournament; named to the state all-tournament team in 2001 and 2002 and named All-Colorado by the Denver Post in 2002; member of the 18-Black Front Range Volleyball Club team that won the 2002 18-Open Junior National Championship; also named all-region in 2001 and 2002; member of the senior honor roll; awarded the 2003 “Commitment to Excellence Award” by the director and coaches of the Front Range Volleyball club; tabbed as a “Fab 50” selection by Volleyball Magazine; named one of the Hot 100 recruits in the class of 2003.
“Salyer making huge impact,”The Daily Collegian, Oct. 31, 2005
“Women’s volleyball wins five postseason honors,” The Daily Collegian, Dec. 2, 2003