Russ Rose Then (2014): “What I like about Lainy is that she led her high school to a state championship in the setting position, but I’ve also seen her play club ball at the libero position and I know that she’s also previously played at outside hitter. She has a full array of skill and an understanding of the different positions so hopefully we can find the spot where she can give us the best chance for success.”
Russ Rose Now (2026): “Lainy came from a family of Penn State athletes, with her dad being a member of the men’s volleyball team, her mom being a member of the track and field team, her older sister, Kendall, being on the team when Lainy joined us in 2014, and her younger brother coming to Penn State and joining the men’s team in 2016. Lainy walked on here, even though she had scholarship offers to go elsewhere, because she wanted to be at Penn State and she wanted to be with her sister. She developed into one of our top servers and played a great role for us. She was another one of our players who was a coach’s daughter, so not surprisingly, she possessed a very good volleyball IQ and was knowledgeable of the position she was playing. She had terrific skills and was never afraid to go in and serve tough and play hard.”
2014 Season (Freshman): Highlights and Awards: 2014 National Champion.
Season Recap: Played in 30 of 39 matches and 61 of 127 sets … totaled 11 service aces and 19 digs … made her collegiate debut in the season-opener against TCU (8/29) … played against both Iona (8/30) and William & Mary (8/30), recording her first collegiate ace against the Gaels and 2 digs against the Tribe … recorded 1 ace at No. 2 Stanford (9/5) … made her Big Ten debut against No. 15 Illinois (10/11) … had three digs against Iowa (11/12) … posted 1 ace against Minnesota (11/15) … set a career-high mark with 2 aces and 1 dig against Maryland (11/8) … matched a career-high with 2 aces against Nebraska (11/29).
NCAA Tournament: Played in all 6 matches during the NCAA Tournament … made her NCAA Tournament debut vs. Siena (12/5) … recorded 2 digs in the NCAA 2nd round match against Dayton (12/6) … totaled a career-high 3 digs in the NCAA National Championship match against BYU (12/20).
Before Penn State: Four-year letterwinner at Eden Junior-Senior … Helped her high school squad to its fifth state championship as the team captain, picking up MVP honors in 2013 … 2012 New York Volleyball Gatorade Player of the Year finalist … Earned First-Team All ECIC and WYN honors in 2012 and 2013 … Also helped guide her club team, Niagara Frontier, to WEVA Regional Championships from 2008- 2013.
