Russ Rose Then (1993): “Salima does so many things for us. She’s the battery many players run off. Salima has developed into a very good floor general. She understands the game and has made the commitment to become one of the best volleyball players in the country. Her teammates enjoy playing with her and I think that says a lot about Salima’s leadership and desire to compete.”
Russ Rose Now (2026): “Salima had so many different roles while she was at Penn State. As a player, from the first time she came in, she always had that smile. She always had a swagger to her game. She had long arms and very large hands, and she was a natural leader — and not just for the volleyball program, but for women’s athletics and Penn State at that time. After she was here, she went to Captain the national team, and since then has spent a great deal of time in the coaching world, some of it at Oregon State and Pitt, and at Penn State. At present, she’s the head coach at Notre Dame.”
1993 Season (RS Junior) Highlights and Awards: Team Co-Captain … Volleyball Monthly Second-Team All-America … 1993 Big Ten Most Valuable Player … named All-Big Ten and All-Mideast for the 3rd time in her career … ranked 2nd in the conference in assists/sety (12.43) and 10th in digs/set (2.85) … directed an offensive attack that ranked 17th in the nation in hitting % (.269) … tabbed Big Ten Player-of-the-Week (9/13) … voted Most Valuable Player of the Hawaii Classic … named to the Penn State Classic All-Tournament team.
Season Recap: Played in 35 of 36 matches and 117 of 122 sets … was 6th on the team in hitting % (.283) … ranked 3rd on the team in total blocks (77) and 4th in digs (333) … had a career-high 30 digs against Nebraska the first weekend of the season … season-highs: 7 kills vs. Wisconsin (10/2); 7 blocks vs. Colorado; 30 digs vs. Nebraska.
NCAA Tournament: Led Penn State to the national championship match … named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team … also named to the NCAA Mideast Regional All-Tournament team after directing an offense in which 4 of her teammates totaled at least 26 kills in winning the 2 matches — Colorado (12/9) — W 3-2: 9-15, 16-14, 16-18, 15-8, 15-7; and Notre Dame (12/10) — W 3-0: 15-12, 15-5, 15-12.
Before Penn State: A letterwinner in three sports at Penn Hills HS, Davidson earned first-team all state, all-section and all-league honors … two time MVP at the Keystone State Games … starred at forward on the Penn Hills state chan1pionship basketball team … also competed in track.
