Russ Rose Then (1991): “Leanne had a memorable season last year. She came up very big in key matches. Leanne is a tremendous athlete and competitor. She’s lightning quick. We’ll need her to have a very big year. She’ll be one of our key players.”
Russ Rose Now (2026): “Leanne was an undersized, 5’11” middle hitter who was the MVP of the Big 10, and played professionally as well as on the national team. Leanne was one of the greatest competitors that that I’ve ever coached. I remember a match when her back went out, and she rode the bike the next day during practice, even though she could hardly walk. Then that night, she put a beatdown on Michigan. She was great and she’s had an incredibly successful career as the head volleyball coach at Shippensburg University.”
1991 Season (Junior) Highlights and Awards: Volleyball Monthly Honorable-Mention All-American … All-Mideast Region First Team … first Penn State Women’s volleyball player to be voted First-Team All-Big Ten … Most Valuable Player of the Pittsburgh Classic and Penn State Classic … Big Ten Player-of-the-Week (10/7) … co-leader in hitting % in Big Ten matches (.323) and in blocks/set (1.45).
Season Recap: Played in all 32 matches and all 121 sets … totaled 480 kills for the season (.308 hitting %) … hit double-figures in kills in 22 of the 30 regular season matches and reached the 20-kill mark 7 times … season and career-highs: 27 kills vs. Pittsburgh (8/30), 14 blocks vs. Ohio State (9/28), 15 digs vs. Northwestern (11/23).
Before Penn State: Kling was recognized by Volleyball Monthly as one of the top 50 collegiate prospects in the country … a middle blocker and 4-time all-conference selection at Shippensburg HS, she earned First Team All-State honors her senior season … competed in the inaugural Pennsylvania East-West all-star match … member of the Cenn-Penn junior team … won gold medal in the 300-meter hurdles and captured the silver in the 100-meter hurdles in the 1989 state track and field championships … also ran on 4x 100 relay team which claimed the bronze medal. .. earned 4 letters as a basketball forward.
