Russ Rose Then (1992): “Leanne Kling has had a great career at Penn State and I’m not surprised. Hopefully, she’ll have her best season this year. She is an intense competitor who plays the game hard all the time. Leanne is the type of player I like to coach. She gets fired up and plays well at home and on the road. Without question, she is one of the top offensive players in the conference. We need Leanne to play well often this season and to carry a larger share of the burden as we take aim at a conference championship.”
1992 Season (Senior) Highlights and Awards: AVCA First-Team All-American … Volleyball Monthly Second Team All-American … Big Ten Player-of-the-Year … First-team All-Region … First Team All-Big Ten … Big Ten Player-of-the-Week … led the Big Ten in kills/set … World University Games … member of U.S. National Team.
Season Recap: Played in 31 of 32 matches and 95 of 100 sets … tallied 423 kills (1st on the team) with a .285 hitting % … her 32 service aces led the team … recorded 114 total blocks (2nd on the team) … posted 196 digs (6th on the team) … team best 25 kills vs. Illinois (9/26) … team best 7 block assists vs. Minnesota (11/21).
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.
