Russ Rose Then (2007): “Roberta had a good campaign last year and she comes in every day to practice willing to work hard. She is our quickest returning player and a great deal of our success has been based on her ability to pass and play great defense. This year hopefully her serve will have more of an impact, especially with the shorter games. I expect big things from Roberta.”

Russ Rose Now (2025):

2007 Season:  Academic All-Big Ten … played in all 36 matches and 120 of 122 games … led the team with 471 digs, which is seventh all-time on the single-season record list … averaged 3.92 digs per game to rank first on the team and ninth in the Big Ten … ended the season with 942 career digs for an average of 3.22 digs per game, which ranks fourth all-time on the Penn State career digs per game 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 three times, including against Texas (8/24), vs. Cal Poly (8/31) and at Iowa (10/27) … averaged 5.33 digs per game in the NCAA Regional contests against Michigan and Brigham Young (12/7-8) and averaged a team-high 3.88 digs per game 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 per game to go along with a team-high-tying 12 service aces … ranked second on the team with 35 service aces for the season … posted a season-high four aces in the NCAA First Round win over Siena (11/30) and recorded three against both Michigan (12/7) and Brigham Young (12/8).

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.