Russ Rose Then (1992): “Salima established herself as a key player in her first season of collegiate volleyball by leading the team to the Regional Semifinals and earning recognition as an all-conference and all-region performer. She definitely has the potential to be one of the top players in the country at her position and I expect her to be an All-American before she’s finished playing at Penn State.”
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.”
1992 Season (RS Sophomore) Highlights and Awards: Co-Captain … Volleyball Monthly Honorable-Mention All-American … First Team All-Mideast Region … First-Team All-Big Ten … recorded 1265 assists for the season … ranked 10th in assists/set (12.65) in the final national statistical rankings … led the Big Ten in assists (13.03/set in conference matches) … Big Ten Player-of-the-Week (9/28) … Penn State Classic All-Tournament team.
Season Recap: Played in all 32 matches and all 100 sets … totaled 198 kills (.278 hitting percentage) … her 293 digs ranked 2nd on the team … totaled 10 or more digs in 11 matches … recorded 74 total blocks (3rd on the team) … competed as a member of the U.S. National B team during the summer. .. participated in the NCAA Youth Education through Sports (YES) Volleyball Clinic at New Mexico in December … Posted season-highs with 63 assists vs. Illinois (9/26), 5 blocks vs. Michigan State (10/9), and 26 digs vs. Illinois (9/26).
NCAA Tournament: Tallied a season-high 6 kills in the NCAA Tournament First Round match vs. Notre Dame (12/3).
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.
