Russ Rose Then (1998): “I think Lauren is coming into the season as one of the top returning middle hitters in the country, but she’ll have an entirely new role. I think that her season will be based on how she handles the new role. If she can handle being the main go-to player, where not only our team expects it, but the other teams load up on her, then that’s really going to have the biggest effect on how her season goes. She’s a very athletic individual who, I thought, when we beat the National Team was the best player on the floor. I know her upside is very, very high, and hopefully she’ll be able to continue to address her fitness and conditioning and get herself in a position where she can make the type of contribution over the last two years that will prepare her to have the opportunity to play at the next level.”
Russ Rose Now (2025): “Lauren was a great contributor, to the program and to the team, the minute she arrived. She was a former diver, and I just think that gave her spatial orientation and kinesthetic awareness that benefited her greatly in volleyball. She would go literally weeks at a time in practice without a hitting error because her vision was so good, her decision making was so good, and she was so quick and athletic. Lauren was on the court all the time because our best attack back in that era was Lauren hitting out of the back row and then our second best was probably Lauren hitting out of the front row. She was a terrific player and well deserving of the many accolades that she received in high school and college, including co-MVP of the 1998 National Championship, along with Long Beach State’sMisty May, the Most Outstanding Player of the 1999 National Championship and the 1999 co-AVCA National Player of the Year with Kerri Walsh.”
1998 Season (Junior) Highlights and Awards: Co-Most Outstanding Player — 1998 NCAA Tournament… NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team … NCAA Tournament All-Region Team … 1st Team GTE Academic All-American … Academic All-Big Ten … AVCA First Team All-American … All-Big Ten First Team … Honda Volleyball Award Nominee … 4th in the nation in hitting and 8th in blocking … only the 13th player in Big Ten history to record 1,000 kills and 500 blocks … Big Ten Co-Player of the Week (10/5) and Big Ten Player of the Week (11/12) for her efforts against Purdue and Illinois.
Season Recap: Played in all 36 matches and all 114 sets … led the team with 3.88 kills/set (Lindsay Anderson was 2nd with 2.85 kills/set) … ranked 2nd on the team with a .413 hitting percentage (setter Bonnie Bremner led the team with a .416 hitting percentage) … her 1.69 blocks/set ranked 2nd on the team … ranked 5th on the team with 1.45 digs/set … totaled 12 service aces for the season … posted match highs of 12 kills and 7 blocks in win over Indiana (11/28) … led the team with 11 kills and 5 blocks at Michigan (11/21) … had 10 kills and 6 blocks at No. 14 Michigan State (11/20) … had 5 blocks and 7 digs against No. 25 Minnesota (11/14) … norched 8 kills on 16 attempts to go along with 5 blocks at Ohio State (11/11) … hit .688 with 12 kills on 16 attempts and had 6 blocks at Iowa (11/7) … recorded 6 blocks and 9 digs at No. 8 Wisconsin (11/6) … had 17 kills, a .600 percentage, 8 digs and 5 blocks against No. 17 Illinois (10/31) … had 15 kills, 4 digs and 3 blocks at Northwestern (10/24) … hit .379 on 13 of29 and had a season-high 11 digs and 6 blocks at Indiana (10/23) … had 11 kills on 16 attempts (.625 percentage), 7 blocks, 5 digs and an ace against No. 22 Michigan State (10/17) … notched 9 kills to go along with her 6 blocks against Michigan (10/16) … recorded 14 kills and 7 blocks against No. 6 Wisconsin (10/9) … notched 8 blocks, including 6 in the first set alone against Iowa (10/9) … had 13 kills, a .440 hitting percentage and 3 blocks at Purdue (1 0/3) … notched season-highs in kills with 21, attacks with 44, and blocks with 13 at No. 20 Illinois (10/2) … recorded 15 kills, 5 blocks and hit .379 in win at No. 24 Minnesota (9/25) … hit .455 with 12 kills against No. 14 Ohio State (9/23) … notched 6 blocks, hit .524 on 11 of 21 hitting and recorded 6 digs against American (9/19) and solidified her slot on the All-Tournament team at the Penn State Classic … had 19 kills on 33 attempts (.455) against New Orleans (9/18) … helped dispose of Bucknell (9/15) with 6 blocks and a hitting percentage of .700, hitting 7 kills on 10 attempts … recorded 5 digs and had 13 kills with 31 attempts against Illinois to earn MVP honors at the Chicago Challenge (9/12) … notched a season-high 9 blocks and hit .368 against William and Mary to garner MVP honors at the Penn State Invitational (9/5) … opened the season with 13 kills, a .600 hitting percentage, 6 blocks and 3 digs against Illinois-Chicago (9/4).
NCAA Tournament: Was unstoppable in the NCAA Tournament 1st and 2nd rounds (Bucknell 12/4 and Clemson 12/5), ripping a total of 25 kills with only one error on 34 attempts for a .706 hitting percentage, and adding 13 digs and 6 blocks … blasted 12 kills in the 3-0 win over No. 23 Louisville in the Central Regional Semifinal … after a slow start in the NCAA Central Regional Final against No. 7 BYU (12/12), finished with 16 kills in the 3-0 win … had 20 kills, a .391 hitting percentage, 11 digs and 6 blocks in Penn State’s 3-1 win over Nebraska in the National Semifinals … notched career-best 33 kills on 69 attempts in the 5-set loss to Long Beach State in the National Championship match (12/19), also had a .377 hitting percentage, 8 digs and 4 blocks.
Cacciamani on Her Penn State Career: “If I had the opportunity to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. My experience at Penn State is something I will remember and treasure for the rest of my life, not because of athletic victories or accomplishments, but because of the impact that the experience had on my entire life. I didn’t just become a better volleyball player, I became a better person as a result of my relationships with my teammates, the coaching staff, the university administration, and the entire Penn State community.”
Before Penn State: A three-year starter at middle hitter for Paramus High School, Cacciamani collected first-team all-league and all-county honors three straight years (1993-1995); as team captain her senior year (1995), she led the Spartans to their second-consecutive Group 3 league and state titles; also led Paramus to a county championshiop in 1995; garnered third-team All-America honors her senior year; she also lettered in track and field as a high jumper; a valuable contributor for the Digs Volleyball Club team, Cacciamani was named a two-year captain; also tabbed a Volleyball Magazine “Fab 50” pick her senior season and selected as a member of the US Youth National Team in 1995; Gatorade selected her as a 1996 regional Circle of Champions honoree; also competed as part of the U.S. team in the 1995 All-American match against California.
“Cacciamani returns to Penn State to be honored,” The Daily Collegian, Nov. 20, 2000
“Cacciamani, Bremner unlikely pair,” The Daily Collegian, Nov. 23, 1999
“Turning Heads,” The Daily Collegian, September 4, 1999
“Setting it all up,” The Daily Collegian, July 29, 1999
“Exceeding expectations,” The Daily Collegian, Sept. 24, 1998
