Russ Rose Then (2007): “Roberta is still developing her understanding of what my expectations are for her, and I’ll expect more from her this year as well. She is a good server, a fearless digger, and our quickest player. She’ll be called upon to either continue in the libero position or as a backrow player coming in with the type of serve that will be able to generatee point scoring opportunities. She has a great feel for the game, and when relaxed, can make some incredible plays.”
Russ Rose Now (2025): “Roberta could have easily been a starting libero and she could have been a starting hitter at any number of schools. She was an incredibly skilled and talented player. She was home-schooled and played for a good club team. Her mom and dad were volleyball people, and Roberta and her siblings all had long and distinguished volleyball careers. Roberta was quick and she had a really good jump spin serve. I had 100% confidence in anything she did as a player. I knew that she was going to make good decisions, and she was going to play hard. Roberta was exceptional. She was tough and skilled. She was a great indoor player and a great outdoor player. And she was one of those lucky individuals in life that could roll out of bed and go play a big match and be a major contributor to your success. Since she graduated, she’s been involved in coaching club volleyball, and has been very active in the club volleyball scene in the Philadelphia area. I’m a big fan of Roberta the player and Roberta the human being, for the contributions she made to our program and for what she continues to give back to the sport.”
2007 Season (Junior) Highlights and Awards: 2007 National Champion … Academic All-Big Ten … averaged 3.92 digs/set to rank 1st on the team and 9th in the Big Ten … ended the season with 942 career digs for an average of 3.22 digs/set, which ranked 4th all-time on the Penn State career digs/set record list.
Season Recap: Played in all 36 matches and 120 of 122 sets … led the team with 471 digs, which was 7th all-time on the single-season record list … … had double-digit dig totals in 30 matches, including four contests with 20 or more digs … picked up a season-high 22 digs 3 times, including against Texas (8/24), vs. Cal Poly (8/31) and at Iowa (10/27) … ranked 2nd on the team with 35 service aces for the season.
NCAA Tournament: Posted a season-high 4 aces in the NCAA First Round win over Siena (11/30) … recorded 3 service aces against both Michigan (12/7) and Brigham Young (12/8) … averaged 5.33 digs/set in the NCAA Regional contests against Michigan and Brigham Young (12/7-8) and averaged a team-high 3.88 digs/set in the NCAA Championship contests versus Cal and Stanford (12/13 & 15) … led all players with 17 digs in the NCAA title match against Stanford (12/15), her 56th double-digit dig match over the last two seasons … for the NCAA Tournament, picked up a team-leading 87 digs for an average of 4.35 digs/set to go along with a team-high-tying 12 service aces.
Before Penn State: Four-year volleyball letterwinner and two-year basketball letterwinner for the Christian Home Educators Network (CHEN), as she was homeschooled … was team captain for the Bravehearts from 2002-2004 … led the squad to a four-year scholastic record of 74-1 and the Homeschool National Championships in 2001 and 2004 … team was the Maryland Christian Athletic League (MCAL) champions in 2000, 2001 and 2002 and the Maryland/D.C State Private School Champions in 2002 and 2004 … led CHEN to a No. 5 ranking in the Baltimore Metro area during senior season … averaged 4.7 kills per game in 2004, earning All-American, Baltimore County/City Player of the Year and First Team All-Metro honors … was named the Most Valuable Player of the Model Tournament in 2003 and 2004 … averaged 5.9 kills per game during junior season, picking up Baltimore County/City Player of the Year, First Team All-Metro, MCAL Most Valuable Player and Baltimore Sun Athlete of the Week accolades … was also named the Most Valuable Player of the Maryland Christian Athletic League for basketball in 2001 … member of the Time Out Orange Crush club volleyball team in Towson, Md. … named to the 2004 All-Tournament team at the Junior Olympic Nationals as the squad finished third, earning the regional championship … named to the President’s List at Harford Community College.