Russ Rose Then (2007): “‘I thought Nicole had a great junior season and she continues to improve in the areas that we’ve identified. She is one of the few players in the country who can make a significant impact in the front row as well as the back row. As she continues to step into more of a leadership role, she will continue to enhance her prospects for a future in professional volleyball. She is a great scorer and teammate.”

Russ Rose Now (2025):

2007 Season: AVCA First Team All-America … NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team … AVCA First Team All-Mideast Region … NCAA University Park Regional All-Tournament Team … unanimous First Team All-Big Ten … Big Ten Player of the Week (10/8) … Yale Classic All-Tournament Team … Penn State Classic All-Tournament Team … unanimous preseason All-Big Ten … started all 36 matches of the season and played in 120 of 122 games … for the NCAA Tournament (20 games), averaged 4.20 kills per game on .387 hitting with 12 service aces, 22 digs and 26 blocks … for the season, averaged 4.44 kills per game, good for second on the team and seventh in the Big Ten … finished with a hitting percentage of .313, good for 10th in the Big Ten … surpassed the 1,000 kill plateau in the season-opener against Texas (8/24) and ended the 2007 campaign with 1,512 career kills, good for fifth on the all-time list … her career total also makes her only the fifth player in Lion history to surpass the 1,500 career kills mark … her 533 kills in the 2007 season rank ninth on the PSU single-season list … led the team in kills 13 times … recorded double-digit kills in 31 of 36 matches and has double-digit kill numbers in 92 of her 103 collegiate matches … recorded a rally-scoring-era school record 31 kills in the five-game win over Cal Poly (8/31), also setting a new career high … had six contests with more than 20 kills … led the team and ranked second in the Big Ten with 47 service aces for the season, a number that more than doubled her previous career total of 40 heading into 2007 … produced five aces against Indiana (11/3) and had 15 multiple-ace contests … recorded 177 digs for the season, including three double-digit matches … ranked fifth on the squad with 1.48 digs per game … produced 101 total blocks for an average of 0.84 blocks per game … ended the 2007 season with 278 career total blocks, good for 14th all-time on the Penn State charts … recorded a career-high 11 blocks in the NCAA First Round win over Siena (11/30) … had at least two blocks in 24 contests.

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.