Russ Rose Then (2007):

Russ Rose Now (2025):

2007 Season: Honda Award Finalist … NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player … AVCA First Team All-America … AVCA First Team All-Mideast Region … Unanimous First Team All-Big Ten … Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week (9/10) … Big Ten Player of the Week (9/10) … Yale Classic All-Tournament Team … Penn State Classic Most Valuable Player … Unanimous Preseason All-Big Ten … started all 36 matches and 122 games … ranked first on the team and third in the Big Ten with 4.60 kills per game … recorded 561 total kills for the season, good for sixth on the Penn State single-season record list … ended the season with 1,112 career kills, good for 17th on the all-time Nittany Lion record chart … ended the year averaging 4.71 kills per game for her career, good for the top spot on the Penn State record list … had double-digit kills in 35 of 36 matches and has 66 career double-digit kill contests … had seven matches of 20 or more kills … set a new season high with 26 kills in the national championship match against Stanford (12/15) … averaged 5.25 kills per game in two four-game wins over Texas (8/24-25) to open the season … became the 19th player in Lion history to reach 1,000 kills, surpassing the plateau at Michigan (11/24) … averaged 4.45 kills per game on a .363 hitting percentage in the NCAA Tournament … recorded 13 double-doubles (kills-digs) during the season to push her career total to 25 … ranked second on the team with 2.54 digs per game and 310 total digs … picked up a season-high 19 digs versus Wisconsin (11/16) … ranked second on the team with 35 service aces … had at least one ace in 22 matches and provided multiple aces in 10 contests … tallied 88 total blocks … had 24 multiple-block matches … posted a career-high eight blocks against Delaware State (9/15).

Before Penn State: Four-year volleyball starter at Riverside High School in Durham, N.C. … 2006 Gatorade National High School Volleyball Player of the Year … one of five finalists for the 2006 Gatorade National Female Athlete of the Year … two-time North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year (2005 & 2006) … named the National High School Player of the Year by Volleyball Magazine … 2005-06 PrepVolleyball.com High School All-American and Top Senior Ace … first team Mizuno Volleyball High School All-American in 2006 … voted the 2006 National High School Senior Athlete of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association … member of the 2006 USA Junior National Team and the 2004 and 2005 USA Youth National teams … voted the Most Valuable Player and ‘Best Attacker’ at the 2004 NORCECA Championships in Cataño, Puerto Rico … competed with the USA Youth National Team at the Youth World Championships in Macau, China in 2005 … earned the prestigious Paul Williamson Award as the Pac 6 Athlete of the Year … named the North Carolina High School Female Athlete of the Year by the News and Observer … helped Riverside High School to a 74-14 scholastic record … posted career totals of 1,596 kills, 319 blocks, 647 digs, 286 aces and 130 assists … as a member of the Triangle 18’s club team, was selected as an All-American as the 2006 AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Fla. … selected as the Most Valuable Player of the North Carolina Regional Championships for the 18’s Gold age division … the first player from the Carolina Region to be named All-Tournament at the USA Junior Olympic Girls Volleyball Championships … three-time USA Volleyball Carolina Region MVP … four-time Pac 6 all-conference selection … two-time Pac 6 conference Player of the Year … led Riverside to the state playoff semifinals in 2002 and 2004 and the state quarterfinals in 2003 … from 1996-2002, was a member of the Bouncing Bulldogs Jump Rope Demonstration team and was a silver medalist in the 12-14 age division at the World Championship in Ghent, Belgium, as a member of the USA Jump Rope Team … ranked 53 in her class of 493 at Riverside, holding a 4.5 grade point average … member of the Riverside Student Council … acted as a peer mentor for students with special needs.