Penn State women’s volleyball held its fifth weekly media availability of the 2021 season Tuesday afternoon before practice at Rec Hall.
Head coach Russ Rose and freshman defensive specialist Cassie Kuerschen answered questions before the Nittany Lions (7-3) begin Big Ten play on the road against Rutgers Friday at 7 p.m. The Scarlet Knights are off to a strong start at 8-3 on the season.
Penn State remained No. 20 in this week’s AVCA rankings following a pair of sweeps against Robert Morris and West Virginia Friday in the Mountaineer Invitational in Morgantown. Kuerschen tallied 26 digs, five aces, and two assists during non-conference play, including a career-high 11 digs versus Stanford.
Kuerschen, who hails from Knoxville, Tennessee, and set numerous records at Knoxville Catholic, was originally committed to her hometown Volunteers before re-opening her recruitment. Kuerschen announced her verbal pledge to the Nittany Lions on October 16, 2020. She has been the biggest contributor from Penn State’s 2021 recruiting class so far this season, playing in all 10 matches.
Russ Rose
What are your thoughts on Friday’s matches against Robert Morris and West Virginia?
“I thought we competed really well against West Virginia. I mean, they were a team that was 10-0 and was receiving votes in the coaches’ poll, so they’re a team that I think will be able to do good things once they start conference play. I like what they have going on. The Robert Morris match, I thought we played well. It’s always a challenge with these morning matches and traveling the night before, but I thought we played pretty well on the weekend. I thought Allie [Holland] played especially well. I thought that was probably the best that she’s played. Jonni [Parker] continued to play well offensively. I think we played well. I don’t think we played great. It’s been one of those things where sometimes it’s up and sometimes it’s down, and you need to just keep on battling and trying to find out what’s going to be your best option with the rotation. The players have to play together and work from there.”
What are some of your thoughts on Rutgers?
“Rutgers is coming off a great year last year. Their roster is much improved. They have a number of international players who play really well. Their setter, [Inna Balyko], made all-conference last year. They had some big matches that they won last year and for sure the most wins that they’ve had since joining the conference. I thought the staff did a real nice job and the players played well. I know we’ll have to play well.”
How do you feel about your defensive specialists so far?
“I think Jenna [Hampton] has been our most consistent. Certainly, last year, Maddy [Bilinovic] played a lot. She needs to pick it up a bit. Cassie has been going in. She’s young and she has good skills. She has a good, aggressive serve and passes and plays good defense. That’s why she’s in the position she’s in. I think probably the next ones are Quinn [Menger] and Keatan [Broughton]. Those two really need to continue to work on serving and coming in and making a positive contribution with an aggressive serve and defense and having high energy. Different people always have different roles. We try to get people opportunities in practice. I think you earn the right to play by what you do in practice. I always try to wipe the slate clean, start every week off fresh, and see who’s making the best effort to tighten up their craft and contribute to the team.”
What are some things that stand out to you about Rachel Muisenga?
“Rachel has big hands and has good control of the ball. We had her in camp a few years ago and I think the more she’s in a gym like ours, the better she’ll get at the things she’s going to be asked to do in the future. I know she was very successful in high school and club, so I know that she has a good IQ. Those intangibles are strong. We’ll see how she continues to progress.”
When did you first identify Alyssa D’Errico had what it takes to get into coaching and what has your impression been of her career so far?
“Her parents coached and she had a great club coach. While she was here, she was always a very fine player and always inquisitive and a great teammate. The fact that she always went hard is a great intangible. When she got into coaching, I wasn’t surprised that she would have the success that she’s had. I’m sure she’s had multiple opportunities to go be a head coach. I think probably when she finds the right opportunity that she’ll join some of her teammates in the [head] coaching profession. I would expect nothing but her to have continued success.”
Do you anticipate the rotation changing at all heading into Big Ten play or are you still going to try some players at different spots?
“I think you always have to try and upgrade what’s going on. I think we do some things okay. The only match I thought we gave away was the Stanford match. The other two matches that we lost, I attribute that as much to us not doing a good enough job coaching and some of the travel challenges associated with it. You would think with a team with this many older players that we would have been able to overcome that, but we really didn’t overcome that. Our Georgia Tech match, they played harder, had more enthusiasm, and had the two top point scorers in the match. Our match with Oregon, they had a really clean match, played really well, and played better than we did.”
Have you seen the kind of leadership you would like from your seniors?
“It’s kind of interesting when, at times, you have all seniors on the floor. Leadership really starts with the coaches and kind of trickles down to the team. I think the team has had some situations where I would have thought they would have performed better and done things better, but maybe we haven’t done a good enough job of providing them with the guidance and the skill set necessary. Certainly, the captains, Jonni [Parker] and Gabby [Blossom], you’re always guaranteed they’re going to play hard. They care about the team and the Penn State volleyball product. The season is one third of the way done. We’ve played 10 matches and we have 20 left. We have a lot of opportunities to play teams that are ranked ahead of us. That’s something that we haven’t had in the past and, now, we’ve earned that opportunity. We’ll see how we do.”
What are some ways that the modern coaching game has changed in the last decade or two?
“I don’t know how much the coaching game has changed. I guess, probably in the last decade or two, I would say technology is probably the biggest change. You’re a better coach when you have better players. You’re a better coach when you have a more conducive culture. You can never have a program at a high level if you don’t have the support from the university. That probably starts at the top that the most important thing is you need to have the type of university support you need to compete at the highest level. Your level of support, it’s hard to overcome that cap.”
What are you seeing from your outside hitters right now?
“I think, other than Jonni, they’ve all been up and down. I think we’ve seen some flashes of Adanna [Rollins] and Erika [Pritchard], the success they had at their other schools. AC [Fitzpatrick] is always battling. Nasta [Kudryashova] has been able to play a little on the left side and right side. I think probably her and Jonni’s numbers are the best at this point in time, so we just have to find whatever clicks. Sometimes, it clicks and sometimes it doesn’t. It definitely doesn’t when you try and force it. That’s why I’m going to keep changing things around a little bit, because I’m hoping that at some point it will click.”
What have you seen from Gabby Blossom and her connection with the hitters?
“I mean, up and down. I think Gabby does a nice job distributing the ball and competing. She knows who we should be setting. Her and Kait [Hord] need to have a little better connection. I’m surprised that after three years that’s been up and down. It’s like now. We have just taken three days off in a row, so hopefully when we go to practice, at least their legs will be fresher.”
What stands out to you about the Big Ten or other teams around the country now that non-conference play is over?
“Certainly, the conference continues to have great performances by a lot of teams and players. I think it’s evident that, based on some of the things that have happened in the preseason, there are some surprises maybe in other people’s minds. Louisville, which beat Kentucky and Nebraska, beat Texas a couple years ago at the NCAAs. They have a terrific team. It looks like they’re moving up into that elite level this season. College volleyball has a number of schools that have rosters filled with players. A year from now, it will pretty much thin down a little bit. Teams will probably be back to having 12 scholarship players and not having a roster full of players who were able to stick around because of Covid.”
What does your team need to improve on heading into Big Ten play?
“I don’t think there’s anything that I would say we’re at a high enough level to expect great success in the conference now. I think we have to get better at everything. We have to realize that you can’t get too high after a successful stretch and you can’t get too discouraged when somebody slaps you around a little bit, because it’s a conference where every team has the potential to win matches and play hard. Some of them are elite right now and some of them are battling to position themselves as best they can. You have two matches a week, so everybody has to be ready to play. We’re no different than anyone else.”
Cassie Kuerschen
What were some of the main factors in your decision to commit to Penn State?
“It’s definitely just the history of the program. The people here are awesome. It’s a very successful program. All I heard about was how hard everyone works and how hard the practices are. To me, that was an intriguing factor, because that’s always what I’ve been around, so coming into somewhere that does the same thing is really nice. I’m constantly pushed every day by my teammates and my coaches, which is awesome.”
When did you first start talking to Penn State’s coaching staff during the recruiting process?
“Once I decommitted [from Tennessee], I started talking to them about a week after, and then committed a week after that.”
Did you know Allie Holland from before when you two were committed to Tennessee?
“Yes. We didn’t talk too much, because we were different ages and there was a lot happening in both of our lives, but we were definitely friends. Coming here and having her here and having someone I knew already was really nice.”
What’s it been like learning from the other defensive specialists and working with them? How has Jenna Hampton helped bring you along?
“It’s been awesome. They’re all so good, so it’s nice to be pushed. I’m learning something new every day, so that’s awesome. She’s so experienced and she’s so quick. Learning how she uses her eyes and just watching her play, you can learn so much. She’s taken me in and taught me as much as she knows and just keeps on pushing me every day.”
What was your experience like going to the Penn State-Auburn football game?
“It was awesome. I grew up around a big football team, Tennessee, but I’ve never seen anything like that. I was sending my family pictures. It was cool.”
What are some of the biggest differences between Knoxville and State College?
“Knoxville is a little bit more downtown. It’s not just the college, there’s a lot happening, but here, it’s literally just State College, which is awesome, because everyone’s all about Penn State. In Knoxville, it’s just a little bit different. The campuses are totally different. I love Penn State. I love the environment and all the people in it.”
What are some things you miss most about home when you’re away at school?
“My family, friends, and my dogs. My dogs’ names are Chief, Coconut, and Norris.”
What are some things you’ve learned from your teammates so far that have stuck with you?
“Just to work hard all the time. You have to go for balls even if you’re not going to get there. You have to be loud, bring energy every single day. Every rep counts. That’s a big factor in everything we do here.”
How were you introduced to volleyball?
“I don’t know. I just started playing it. I originally played basketball and then I got into volleyball when I was just playing a bunch of sports. Volleyball I immediately fell in love with and I knew that’s what I wanted to do in college.”
Who were your biggest mentors during your high school and club days?
“Probably my [K2 Volleyball] club coach Jason Hames and then the Munciana coach, Mike Lingenfelter. They were awesome. They took me in and taught me everything they know. It was really nice to have them cheer me on and push me every single day.”
Did you have a chance to watch a little bit of Kendall White before you came here?
“Oh, yes. Kendall White came from Munciana, too. That’s all I heard about was, ‘Watch Kendall White. Watch Kendall White.’ Before I came, that’s all I watched. I was like, ‘How can I be Kendall White? What can I take away from her game to better my game?’ She’s insane, so I learned a lot.”
What are some of the strengths of your game and what are some things you need to work on?
“Strengths? I would probably say how loud I am. I just try to bring energy, because even if you’re having an off day, you can always bring energy. Weaknesses? Probably the mental side and just staying strong, even when you have bad days, getting through that and learning something through that instead of getting down on yourself.”
What goes through your head before a big serve?
“I just take a deep breath. You just have to tell yourself that you’re the best. You’ve got to give yourself positive talk and just believe in yourself.”