Russ Rose Then (2005): “Nicole is the type of player that every team wants to have because she has the ability to be a terminating hitter and blocker. Her strength is certainly going to be identified at the net and I think her performances in this rally-score era are going to have significant impact on whether we win or lose matches.”
Russ Rose Now (2025): “Nicole was one of the top recruits in the country and did not disappoint during her career at Penn State. She had a long professional career and was a member of the national team for a long time. She was coaching for a little bit at Ohio State and continues to work for one of the professional leagues in team and player development. In 2008, we won every game during the season, until we lost two games against Nebraska in the National Semifinals. Nicole had a very good jump spin serve, and we’re in the fifth game, and she went to the float serve. And she had success with that float serve, even though she was serving against Jordan Larson and Kayla Banworth, who were both future national team players. It was Nicole’s call to go to the float serve. The players on that 2008 team had such a good run that most of the time they had the green light to make decisions, whether it was to take a risky swing or alter a serve a little bit. Nicole was a warrior who wanted the ball, and that carried over into a very successful national team career after college. She was always ready to play. No excuses. When she was banged up, she was still out there. She understood the role she had, and she embraced it and made us better. She was one of a number of players in those years who really helped elevate the program.”
2005 Season (Freshman) Highlights and Awards: AVCA National Freshman of the Year … AVCA Second Team All-America … AVCA Mideast Region Freshman of the Year … AVCA First Team All-Mideast Region … Big Ten Freshman of the Year … First Team All-Big Ten … Big Ten All-Freshman Team … 3-time Big Ten Player of the Week (Sept. 26, Nov. 14, Nov. 28) … Hawaiian Airlines Classic All-Tournament Team … Nebraska Players Challenge All-Tournament Team … Penn State Classic All-Tournament Team … first-ever Penn State player to earn AVCA National Freshman of the Year accolades … her selection to the All-Big Ten team makes her 1 of 4 Penn State freshman to ever garner the honor, joining fellow freshman Christa Harmotto, along with Bonnie Bremner, and Lauren Cacciamani, who both earned the honor in 1996 … first PSU freshman to earn Big Ten Player of the Week honors … her 496 kills during the season ranked 11th on Penn State’s single-season record chart and her 4.51 kills per game average ranked 7th all-time for a season.
Season Recap: Started all 34 matches of the year … led the Lions and ranked 3rd in the Big Ten with an average of 4.51 kills/set on .309 hitting … also ranked 2nd in the league in conference-only matches with 4.53 kills per game … led the team in kills on 28 occasions … recorded 31 double-digit kill matches, including a career-high 26 kills at Hawaii (9/2) … tallied 10 or more kills in 31 matches, including 16 matches with 15 or more kills … … hit .300 or better with 11 kills on 22 occasions … ranked fifth in the Big Ten in hitting percentage (.341) in league-only matches … an all-around player, ranked fifth on the team in digs per game with 1.80 … picked up five or more digs in 23 matches … recorded a career-high 16 digs against Wisconsin (10/28) … had 24 multiple-block matches, including a career-best five blocks on three occasions, with the last at Minnesota (10/22) … recorded first career double-double in first collegiate match against Stanford with 12 kills and 12 digs at the AVCA/NACWAA Showcase in Omaha, Neb. (8/26).
NCAA Tournament: Set an NCAA Tournament record for hitting percentage by attacking at a career-high .889 clip (16-0-18) against Long Island (12/3) in the Second Round.
Before Penn State: Four-year volleyball letterwinner and three-year track letterwinner for Benjamin Logan High School in Bellefontaine, Ohio … four-year team captain in volleyball for the Raiders … two-year member of the USA Junior National Team, including the 2004 squad that won the NORCECA gold medal in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada … member of the 2003 USA Youth National Team … 2004 Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year … Volleyball Magazine ‘Fab 50’ … Ohio High Magazine Player of the Year … led the team to 92-13 scholastic record, including three league championships and the district and regional runner-up titles in 2004 … three-time First Team All-Ohio honoree … earned four First Team CBC honors, four First Team District IX accolades and three District IX Player of the Year awards … set the school record for kills in a season four consecutive years … holds the Ohio state record for career kills … regional track high jump finalist in 2004 and 2005 … member of the Team Atlantis Volleyball Club … National Honor Society member … named to the Fall Sport All-Academic Team and the honor roll.