Penn State women’s volleyball held its first media availability of the 2021 season Tuesday afternoon before practice at Rec Hall.

Head coach Russ Rose, senior middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord, senior right-side Jonni Parker, and graduate transfer outside hitter Erika Pritchard, the Big Ten’s active kills leader with 1,526 during a four-year career at Maryland, fielded questions ahead of this weekend’s season opening tournament at UCF in Orlando.

Hord, Parker, and Pritchard were recently named to the preseason All-Big Ten team selected by the conference’s coaches. The Nittany Lions were picked to finish third in the Big Ten behind Wisconsin and Nebraska in the same poll. Penn State checked in at No. 12 in the preseason AVCA rankings after finishing the spring season in the same spot.

Russ Rose

What are your thoughts on Haleigh Washington and Micha Hancock winning gold at the Olympics and Megan Courtney being named an alternate?

“I’m thrilled for the selection for Haleigh and Micha and share in the disappointment that Megan had, but my conversations with her, she was always about the team and understood that the coaches are going to do what they thought was best. In hindsight, we would say that, in this case, they made a great call, because I thought Justine [Wong-Orantes] played terrific in all the matches. I thought she was our most consistent player, so that was real exciting, then, of course, our girls participating and actually playing and contributing and being a part of the first [gold medal] for the nation is wonderful. They’re both great representatives of USA volleyball and their families and Penn State. I was thrilled for them.”

What was it about your three transfers that made you want to bring them into the program?

“The first one was Erika [Pritchard]. I had talked with the Maryland coach, [Adam Hughes], about what her hopes were for her one season of playing. I talked with him and then reached out to her. We had Adanna [Rollins] in camp when she was younger, and I called Hugh [McCutcheon] at Minnesota and talked with him, just to see if there were any flags that would get my attention. And then Katie Clark, the same day that Serena [Gray] indicated that she wanted to graduate early and move on, Erika [Williams] indicated she was having her elbow operated on, so it went from thinking I had four middles to having two middles. I talked to the coach at TCU about Katie and Adanna knew her from club volleyball. The two outside hitters were as much a reaction to the fact that I didn’t think when we got to our match with Texas that we had much production from the left side. Katie Clark was more looking at the portal to see if there were any middles who we might get, because it would be really tough to think you could go through a 30-match season with two middles. Two of the three players I had not worked with before and had never had a conversation with them before they were in the portal and we reached out to talk with them, but all of them have been great, supportive teammates, and each of them brings some special talents to the gymnasium and to the program. It’s really nice to have some veteran players at critical positions. Obviously, I think both Erika and Adanna have been recognized in the past by the conference and have played a Big Ten schedule. I’m not looking to reinvent the wheel with them. They were successful where they were because of their talents and the coaching they received. I’m not a person who looks at things and says, ‘Oh, I can change it and make it better.’ I try and explain, ‘This is what our culture is. This is what the expectations are.’ And try to have the best team that we can have every season.”

What are some of your early thoughts on how the freshmen are acclimating themselves?

“A couple of them I think have really stood out. Anjelina Starck and Cassie [Kuerschen] are the two freshmen who I think have come in the most ready to play and contribute. As I said, Erika [Williams] is recuperating, but she gets in some activities that allow her to emphasize her strengths. She’s very, very quick and jumps well, so when she gets cleared to do things this year, she’ll certainly help us. Whether or not we’ll have her play is to be determined. The others, Rachel [Muisenga], Quinn [Menger], and Lexi [Skripek] are making progress. High school and club volleyball is a lot different than college. The expectations are high, but their opportunities to do things might not be as high because there are other people ahead of them.”

How do you feel about your defensive specialists and passing in general?

“I think Jenna [Hampton] is as good as she’s ever been right now, so that’s a great start for us. Adanna is a really comfortable, confident passer. Cassie and Anjelina are both very good passers. Maddy Bilinovic is statistically our best passer. I think our passing is fine. Certainly serving is always a question mark, because you just don’t know how people are going to serve under pressure when practice is practice and then games are games, but I think our passing is good.”

Are Jonni Parker and Gabby Blossom going to be filling the captain roles again and how do you feel about your leadership as a whole with a few more seniors this year?

“Certainly Gabby and Jonni are traditionally the most vocal of the players and I think they’ll continue to lead in that capacity. I’ve talked with both of them about respecting the experiences that Adanna and Erika have as players who have played, in Erika’s case, for four seasons. In Adanna’s case, she graduated early as well. Not as early as Serena [Gray]. Serena graduated in three years. Adanna was I think three-and-a-half years and then started some classes in her grad work. I think all of those players will have some impact and say on things. They’re learning maybe the Penn State way, but they also have demonstrated in their careers their ability to contribute and be responsible, accountable as players and adults is reason for them to have the floor a little bit as well.”

What are your thoughts on Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and how that’s going so far?

“I’m not involved in it, so I don’t know if the players are rich yet. I think there will be some athletes around the country who will probably reap the benefits of it well. It’s just the way business is, you know. It’s going to be no different than professional sports, where the quarterback makes more money than somebody else. I think certain players are probably going to have opportunities to make more money and certain schools are probably a lot more aggressive in promoting and getting their players in front of potential sponsors. I don’t spend any of my time worrying about that.”

What are your thoughts on how the schedule shook out and what went into the non-conference decision to only have three home matches?

“Well, traditionally, we try to get two weekends home and two away. We had a hard time, because the other weekend that we had available was the Auburn football weekend. The hoteliers jumped on that and jacked up the prices. If you bring in three teams, it ends up costing you almost as much money as flying some place else to play. I’ve always liked two and two, but this year we weren’t able to put that together. We’ll play at West Virginia, come back, and then the players will have the opportunity to have a home football Saturday, so that will be nice for the players.”

What was it like to finally get some recruits on campus and have some normalcy in that regard?

“Well, we haven’t really had a lot of recruits visit yet, but we’ll have some recruits starting to visit again and that will be nice. We’re at a disadvantage because of our location. We don’t have lots of players in the immediate vicinity. We didn’t really have a handle on the pandemic when it was going to hit, so our recruiting prior to everything getting shut down was more on the calendar for the future for all of us to be out seeing different things, and everything got shut down. We didn’t see as many players as we would have normally liked or we would have done if we knew there was going to be an early shutdown, but recruiting is recruiting. My feeling on recruiting is always the same. I want players who want to be here and want to work hard. That’s always been the mantra for players and staff. I wouldn’t say recruiting has been easy, because I think it’s been harder over the last few years, but I’m also a big believer you coach the players you have and don’t worry about the ones you don’t have.”

Did you make any changes to the training camp schedule or summer conditioning at all or keep it the same?

“Traditionally, we would have lots of summer camps, but Penn State didn’t get the overnight camp situation in play, so we had some day camps, but that didn’t really give us the normal sort of opportunities that we had in the past for summer training and summer opportunities for the players to play and make money to justify the gap in their scholarship to take care of their summer homes and summer apartments and things like that. Preseason? No, I’m still pretty old-school in preseason. I don’t know if it’s my 42nd or 43rd preseason. I think preseason should be tough and it’s been tough. I appreciate and respect the players who battle through it, and for the ones who are shocked by it and it’s tough for them to get a good handle on it, I recognize that it’s part of the learning process. Being a Division I student-athlete isn’t just about skill acquisition, it’s about battling through conditions and being ready to compete. It gives me a better view of the players who I have on the team, the ones who I can really count on and the ones who may take a little longer to thaw out.”

How has Gabby Blossom evolved over the last few years and what is she looking like now heading into her senior season?

“There are certain things about Gabby that have always been really consistent. She’s just an incredible competitor and very feisty, and I really appreciate that about her. She’s one of the people who goes hard every day no matter what and speaks her mind with the players. To me, that’s part of the Penn State way. I think her game is at a high level. She does all the things you need a setter to do to help your team be competitive. She’s like other smaller setters at the net. There are times when she’s exposed for not being a big blocker, but I’ve had big blockers who weren’t good blockers. I’m happy that Gabby’s here and really respect the contributions that she makes.”

How pleased were you to get such significant experience for AC Fitzpatrick and Maddy Bilinovic last season and what do you expect their roles to be this year?

“AC is battling in the outside hitter pool. Her energy and enthusiasm is always something that I just think is terrific. There’s a lot to be said for players who are really passionate about their lives and what they’re doing and how they can help the team. I think AC is a perfect example of that. Maddy had a number of experiences last year as a passer and [filled] the libero spot the first weekend when we had so many players out. She’s battling in the pool of back-row players to contribute and do what she can do to help the team.”

What are your thoughts on Kait Hord wearing the Nike Air Monarchs? Do you think she can pull them off?

“I just respect a woman who understands the value of a nice pair of Air Monarchs, you know what I’m saying? Yeah. I think the gender is missing a great opportunity to pick it up a notch.”

As far as her performance over the years and what you expect from her this season, how has she evolved as a player?

“I think she continues to get better. She had an experience this past [summer] where she went and spent some time with USA volleyball, when you’re with the nation’s finest players. There were 28 players from around the country, the top collegiate kids in the country. I think she probably had not only really positive training but good mentoring by some former national team players and staff members who are there to assess the future personnel for the USA team.”

How has Allie Holland improved getting some experience last season and maybe having a bigger role this fall?

“I think Allie’s done a real nice job. She’s a really, really strong blocker and her hitting continues to improve. She’s a physical player at the net and there are times I think she’s older than the fact that she was a freshman last year. I think Allie continues to improve and work hard and is a person who we’re going to depend on this year.”

Kaitlyn Hord

What was your experience like with USA volleyball this summer?

“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. It was pretty good. I really liked getting to play with the best girls around the country. The competition was at a huge level and I learned a lot, not only from the coaches there but just the other girls I was playing with. I definitely would say it was a positive experience.”

What’s your impression of the two new middles Katie Clark and Erika Williams?

“Definitely very happy we have some more middles to get reps off. We get to learn a bunch of new styles of play from Katie and Erika. They’re both very amazing additions to the team personality-wise and effort-wise on the court, so definitely very happy to have them here.”

How have you seen Allie Holland grow as a player?

“Allie’s grown a lot. She’s always been a very strong blocker, but I think now she’s starting to really improve on her attacks, not only in front of the setter but behind as well, so she’s just adding a lot to her game this season. It will be exciting to watch.”

How do you feel about the leadership on this team with more seniors than years past?

“Yeah, it’s weird, because now I’m the senior. I feel like it was a blink of an eye ago and I was a freshman, so it’s definitely gone by a lot faster than I would have hoped, but I think we have a lot of good pieces at all of our levels. The leadership is great in all different classes, not only just with the seniors but everyone as well.”

What are your thoughts on Erika Pritchard and what she brings to the team?

“Erika is an amazing human on and off the court. Super happy to have her join our team. She brings an impressive presence at the net, because she touches like 10’7″, so, I mean, she’s just a heck of an athlete. Again, just really happy to have her here.”

How has NIL been going for you and your teammates so far?

“I have not done anything with that. I know a couple of the girls have. I think it’s gone pretty well, but so far, I just haven’t really looked into it or found anything that catches my eye, so not really done anything with that yet.”

What kind of advice do you have for the freshmen on getting acclimated to the program?

“I would say just take it day-by-day and really make sure to enjoy every moment, because, as I mentioned earlier, it goes by so fast. A lot of people say that you have to treat every moment like it’s your last time playing, because you never know what could happen.”

What are you most looking forward to about finally getting back on the court?

“The fans, of course. That’s one key aspect we missed playing here at Rec Hall. That’s one of the things we love playing here, just the fans and the atmosphere they create, so that will be very exciting to get back.”

What inspired the Air Monarchs we’ve seen you wearing from time to time?

“I’ve seen coach repping them for 40-years plus, so I was like, there’s got to be something about them that catches your eye. I tried them out and they’re super comfortable. Highly recommend.”

What’s your relationship like with Gabby Blossom and how has it grown over the years? 

“Gabby’s a great friend. That friendship will last forever. Hopefully we’ll be at each other’s, I don’t want to say, nursing homes, but hopefully we’ll be in each other’s lives for that long. She’s just a great human. Super smart, funny. Now, it’s our fourth year playing together, so I think there’s just a lot of trust in our game that we play that’s developed just with time.”

Jonni Parker

What’s your impression of Erika Pritchard so far and what’s it like playing with her?

“I’m very impressed with Erika so far, on and off the court. She contributes a lot to our team and I think she’s going to help us a lot. She’s also a good leader and she’s very experienced playing in the Big Ten. I think she’s going to help us a lot across the front row and back row this year.”

How do you feel about your leadership as a team with nine seniors this year?

“I think our leadership is at a good spot right now. We have areas we can grow in. We can get better as a team, of course, but I feel like right now with my class, especially, we’re very experienced and I feel like we feel a little bit more comfortable helping out younger kids and where we’re at in order to get better ourselves and improve the team as a whole.”

What have Adanna Rollins and Katie Clark brought to the team?

“Those two, especially, have been a good help across the front row giving us options and different looks of what we can do. I’m very excited to see what we can do across the front row as far as our offense goes this year.”

What’s something you know about college volleyball now that you didn’t as a freshman?

“I’d say every day is a competition. Of course, you go into it thinking that, but after these last three or four years, every day is a competition day in and day out — in your own gym, then when you hit those teams in preseason and the Big Ten. Every moment matters. As you get older, you start to realize that a little bit more. I wish, as my younger self, I took that a little bit more into effect than I did, but now, as we’re all getting older, I think we all realize the value of every moment and every play and in between every point is what we can do to get better as well.”

What’s your early impression of Anjelina Starck as a player?

“Starck looks very good. She definitely has great ball control and is contributing a lot across the front row. I think she can talk a little bit more. That’s what I would like to see her do, but as far as a freshman, I like where she’s at right now.”

How excited are you to get back on the court this weekend and play some volleyball?

“We’re all excited. We’re pumped. Preseason is great. I like where we’re at. We have areas we can definitely get better in. Every day we’re going to get better.”

How do you feel about your relationship with Gabby Blossom and how you two have grown on the court in terms of communication?

“Gabby and I communicate very, very well together. Just having those three or four years together has definitely contributed to that, but we hold each other accountable and are good about helping each other out when we need to.”

Erika Pritchard

What would you say are the biggest differences between Penn State and Maryland as far as the campuses and the atmosphere?

“Honestly, they’re pretty similar campus-wise. Penn State is also a big school similar to Maryland. They’re both big schools, beautiful campuses. I think Penn State really has that homey feel, because geographically it’s similar to where I live and where I’m from, so it definitely right away felt at home. Both campuses are just super filled with all the college experience and everything you need to succeed.”

Were you familiar with any of the Penn State players before getting here?

“I went to the Big Ten foreign tour of Japan with Jenna [Hampton], so I only knew her, but we got to talk there and just get to know each other. She’s super awesome, super cool. It was really cool to have that connection, now it’s coming here, but yeah it was basically just Jenna because we went on the foreign tour together.”

Your outside hitters in general are pretty strong. How do you feel about that portion of the team?

“Oh, I’m excited. It’s so awesome just being in the gym and competing every day. We always have such a great attitude as a team and it’s really awesome to be in the gym with such high talent. It makes everyone better, kind of like iron sharpens iron, so it’s fun and exciting and we all support each other and help each other in any way we can.”