Russ Rose Then (2012): “A great deal of the team’s fortunes rest on the type of season Deja has. Her net play continues to improve and I think she’ll be tougher and tougher to defend as her volleyball IQ continues to increase. She is committed to getting stronger and it shows in her game.”
Russ Rose Now (2025): “Deja was a terrific athlete. She hit the ground running when she came in as a freshman. She was the National Freshman of the Year, and a 4-time All American while she was here. Deja was strong in areas that were weaknesses for some other players. She was a great blocker on the left side and an exceptional middle back player. There were matches where her greatest contributions were her blocking and her digging, even though there were also a number of matches where she would lead us in hitting. Deja was an exceptional all-around player and cared about the team. She spent some time with the National Team and played professionally overseas for a number of years, as well as for Athletes Unlimited.”
2012 Season (Junior) Highlights and Awards: AVCA Third Team All-America … Volleyball Magazine Second Team All-America … West Lafayette Regional All-Tournament Team … AVCA Mideast Region … Unanimous All-Big Ten … Preseason All-Big Ten … Academic All-Big Ten … Active Ankle Challenge All-Tournament Team … Big Four Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team … Chicago Classic All-Tournament Team.
Season Recap: Started all 36 matches at outside hitter … was 2nd on the team with 403 kills, averaging 3.25 kills per set … had double-digit kills in 22 matches … led the Nittany Lions in kills on 11 occasions … had 12 double-doubles … eclipsed 1,000 career kills on Sept. 28 at Wisconsin … was 2nd on the team in digs with 339, averaging 2.73 digs per set … had double-digit digs in 16 matches and recorded at least 3 digs in 34 of 36 matches … was team leader in digs 8 times … totaled 70 blocks for the season … had 20 multiple-block matches and tallied at least 1 block in 30 of 36 matches … posted 16 kills and 4 blocks vs. Stanford (8/31) … had 11 kills vs. Texas (9/1) … had 14 kills in 24 errorless swings with 10 digs vs. DePaul (9/8) … had 13 kills and 12 digs vs. Oregon State (9/8) … registered 16 kills and 13 digs vs. Nebraska (9/19) … pounded 18 kills with 18 digs vs. Iowa (9/22) … had a team-high 14 kills with 16 digs at Wisconsin (9/28) … posted 9 kills at Minnesota (9/29) … recorded 15 kills and 15 digs at Illinois (10/6) … led the team with 12 kills vs. Purdue (10/12) … had 12 kills vs. Indiana (10/13) … had 16 kills and a career-high 29 digs at Michigan (10/20) … posted 11 kills, 12 digs and 4 blocks, including 3 solo, at Iowa (10/24) … led the team with 20 kills and posted 19 digs at Nebraska (10/28) … had 9 kills and 9 digs vs. Wisconsin (11/4) … led the Lions with 11 kills against Illinois (11/8) … pounded 8 kills and had 7 digs vs. Northwestern (11/10) … had 13 kills and a team-high 9 digs at Purdue (11/17) … was 2nd on the team with 11 kills against Ohio State (11/21).
NCAA Tournament: Led the Lions with 12 kills on .800 hitting with 5 digs and 2 blocks vs. Binghamton (11/30) … tallied 10 digs vs. Kentucky (12/7) … had 14 kills, 12 digs and a career-high 7 blocks, including 4 solo, vs. Minnesota (12/8).
Before Penn State: Four-year letterwinner at Dupont Manual Magnet … named Miss Kentucky Volleyball, Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year and an Under Armour All-American … earned a 3rd place finish at the 2006 USA Junior Olympic Championships … named MVP and won a gold medal at USAV High Performance Championships …placed 5th and was selected to the All-Tournament Team at 2007 USA Junior Olympic Championships … selected Prepvolleyball.com ‘Freshman 59,’ ‘Top 50 Junior Recruits’ and ranked 7th on ‘Senior Aces’ … First Team Kentucky All-State … named to the 2008 USAV Youth National Training Team and was a 2009 USAV Youth National Team Invitee … was a four-time AAU All-American … Volleyball Magazine ’30 Underclassmen to Watch’ … 2009 JVDA National Champions and selected to JVDA All-Tournament team.
