Russ Rose Then (2007): “Christa has taken a giant step up from where she was last year, both physically and in awareness of what she needs to do to be her best as the season progresses. She is incredibly strong, and at times nearly unstoppable from an offensive standpoint. She plays hard, plays well with her teammates, and if she has a healthy season, she’ll get the recognition that she deserves as one of the nation’s top middles. She is as good a teammate as she is a player.”
Russ Rose Now (2025):
2007 Season: Honda Award Finalist … AVCA First Team All-America … NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team … ESPN The Magazine Third Team Academic All-America … Big Ten Player of the Year … First Team AVCA All-Mideast Region … NCAA University Park Regional All-Tournament Team … First Team All-Big Ten … ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic-All District … Yale Classic All-Tournament Team … Penn State Classic All-Tournament Team … Nebraska Holiday Inn Downtown All-Tournament Team … three-time Big Ten Player of the Week (8/27, 9/24, 10/15) … preseason All-Big Ten … Academic All-Big Ten … Dapper Dan Female Athlete of the Year finalist … started all 36 matches and played in 121 of 122 games … led the team and the Big Ten and ranked second in the nation with a .492 hitting percentage, also a new Big Ten record … hitting percentage mark places her second on PSU’s single-season list … just missed setting an NCAA Tournament record (.564) as she attacked at a .548 clip with 3.00 kills per game in the Lions’ 20 games … in the NCAA Semifinals against Cal (12/13) and the NCAA Finals against Stanford (12/15), averaged 2.62 kills per game (21 kills) on .459 hitting with 10 blocks … had 18 matches of hitting .500 or higher for the season … set a new career high by hitting .917 (11-0-12) versus Michigan State (9/21) … produced 22 double-digit kill matches including a season-high 16 at Wisconsin (10/21) … ranked second on the team and in the conference and sixth in the nation with 1.65 blocks per game … provided a team-high 200 total blocks, good for seventh all-time … her 167 block assists ranks second all-time on the single-season list and is just 10 shy of the record of 177 set by Terri Zemaitis in 1996 … ended the season with 516 career total blocks, good for sixth in the Penn State annals and makes her only the sixth player in Lion history to record more than 500 career blocks … had at least three blocks in all but two contests … recorded 11 blocks against Michigan State (9/21) and posted 12 at Illinois (10/19) … more than doubled her career digs total with 57 during the 2007 season … also added 14 service aces, including a career-high two against Northwestern (9/22) and Michigan (10/12).
Before Penn State: Three-year volleyball letterwinner and two-year basketball letterwinner at Hopewell High School in Hopewell Township, Pa. … team captain for the Vikings in 2004 … Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year in 2004 … two-time Prep Volleyball High School All-American … 2004-2005 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Female High School Athlete of the Year … a member of the 2004 USA Women’s Junior National Team that won the NORCECA Championship in Winnipeg, Canada … also selected to the 2005 USA Junior National Team that competed in Ankara, Turkey, at the FIVB Under-20 World Championships … two-time Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Athlete of the Week … Mizuno First Team All-American following senior season, also picking up Beaver County Times, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Female Athlete of the Year accolades … two-time first team all-state, all-WPIAL and all-section … posted a scholastic team record of 75-4 through three years … recorded a school-record 186 blocks during junior season in 2003 … also posted a school-record .595 hitting percentage in senior year to go along with 448 kills, 376 digs and 172 blocks … led the team to a No. 1 ranking in the state of Pennsylvania and the 2004 section, WPIAL and state championships, winning every tournament entered prior to the postseason … also section and AA WPIAL champions in 2002 and 2003 … helped Hopewell to a 59-0 record against WPIAL opponents from 2001 to 2005 and a 103-match winning streak against section opponents … member of the Pittsburgh Renaissance Volleyball Club that qualified for the Junior Olympic Nationals in 2004 and 2005 … member of the National Honor Society … earned the KDKA Extra Effort Award … a four-year scholar athlete … named the Lions Club Student of the Month … was a member of the Principal’s Student Leadership Advisory Board.