Russ Rose Then (2005): “I thought Melissa flew under the radar screen of the conference coaches last year, as she led the Big Ten conference in blocking and hitting.  She improved a great deal throughout the season, and she’s the type of person every coach would want to have in their program.  She works hard, is committed to the welfare of the team, and is a marvelous student.”

Russ Rose Now (2025):

2005 Season: AVCA Second Team All-America … AVCA First Team All-Mideast Region … First Team All-Big Ten … State College NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team … ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District … Academic All-Big Ten … started all 34 matches of the year … led the team and the Big Ten and ranked sixth in the nation in hitting percentage (.413), also good for seventh on the single-season record chart … ranked second on the team in blocks per game with 1.48, good for 13th on the single-season record list … in conference-only matches, averaged 2.65 kills per game while hitting .449, more than 50 percentage points higher than the next competitor … also posted a league-leading 1.63 blocks per game in Big Ten-only contests … averaged 2.83 blocks per game in the wins over Ohio State and Indiana (11/2, 11/4) … recorded more total blocks (12) than Binghamton and Long Island combined (11) during the first weekend of NCAA play … ranked fourth on the team in kills per game with 2.64 … recorded five or more kills 29 times, including 12 double-digit kill contests … against Pacific (9/9), connected on 12 of 14 attempts to hit .857, marking the first time since 2003 that a Penn State player had hit above .800 with more than 12 kills … recorded at least one block in every match of the season, including 26 matches of three or more blocks and 14 matches of five or more blocks … led the team with 29 service aces … posted a career-high seven digs twice, recording at least one dig in 33 matches.

Before Penn State: Four-time volleyball letterwinner at Pennsbury High School in Fairless Hills, Pa. … team captain during senior season for the Falcons … compiled a record of 82-12 during scholastic tenure … member of the Suburban One League championship team in 2000, 2002 and 2003 … team won the district championship in 2003 and was a AAA Pennsylvania state finalist in 2003 for the first time in school history … named the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year and a Prepvolleyball.com All-American in 2003 … tabbed as a first team All-State selection in 2002 and 2003 … 2003 Philadelphia Inquirer Player of the Year … two-time Courier Times Player of the Year … named a Volleyball Magazine ‘Fab 50’ selection in 2003 … two-time District One first team selection, Courier Times Golden Team first team and Suburban One League First team … National Honor Society member … member of the high honor roll all four years of high school … named one of Pennsbury High School’s ‘Best and Brightest’ by the Trentonian … received the National Scholar Athlete Award from the U.S. Army Reserve.