Russ Rose Then (1994): “Terri’s going to be pretty tender at the beginning of the season because of her back surgery. Everything is based on her recovery. Outside of that, Terri is as good an offensive player as a freshman that we’ve ever had. She’s an exceptional offensive player. She blocks well, has a variety of shots and is a very competitive player. Terri’s probably our most heralded recruit. She’s a great athlete. I think she’s a winner and I think she’s competitive. Terri has the potential to play at the higher levels. She’s an outside hitter but I also think she’s the type of player that can play in a number of positions. She can definitely come in and start, pending her recovery.”
Russ Rose Now (2025): “Terri Zemaitis was one of the all-time greats at Penn State. In 1997 she was the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player on a team that didn’t win the championship — it’s a rarity for that to happen. She was a great multisport athlete — volleyball, basketball, and I believe she was an exceptional softball player. She was an incredibly competitive, enthusiastic, team player, who never wanted the attention on herself, even though the attention was always on her because of her skill and because she had such a presence. She was a Chicago kid and she had some moxie, which I always liked. She went on to do a number of things. She was with USA Volleyball for a while, and while she was in USA Volleyball in Colorado Springs, she met a young man who was a member of USA Wrestling. They got married and started a family, and I believe she had six kids and is a grandmother now. He runs a wrestling developmental program and Terri still does volleyball instruction for younger players.”
1994 Season (Freshman) Highlights and Awards: Named to the Volleyball Monthly All-Freshmen team … named to the all-tournament teams of the Penn State Classic and the Penn State lnvitational.
Season Recap: Had an outstanding rookie season, contributed in all 35 matches and 116 of 117 sets … her season was cut short with an unfortunate injury when she twisted her knee in the 4th set of the 5-set loss to UCLA in the NCAA Semifinal match (12/15) … earned a starting role, along with 4 seniors, as she collected 9 kills and 9 digs in her collegiate debut against San Francisco … recorded 294 kills (2.53 kills/set), 208 digs (1.79 digs/set) and 154 blocks (1.33 blocks/set) … hit an eye-popping .846 against St. Bonaventure (9/17) with 11 kills in 13 attempts … notched 10 double-figure kills and 3 double-figure dig performances … season-highs: 18 kills vs. Ohio State (9/21); 15 digs (twice); 11 blocks vs. Michigan State (11/5).
NCAA Tournament: Really emerged during the NCAA Tournament, hitting .419 against Ball State, .462 vs. Notre Dame, and .483 vs. Nebraska, until the injury sidelined her midway through the 5-set loss to UCLA (15-3,4-15, 9-15, 15-5, 11-15) in the NCAA Championship Semifinal match (12/15).
Before Penn State: Zemaitis graduated from Downers Grove South High School in 1994, where she excelled in both volleyball and basketball. She was the Chicago Tribune and the March of Dimes Chicagoland Female Athlete-of-the-Year, a Volleyball Monthly first-team All-American, a “Fab 50” selection, a 3-time all-stater and a 4-time all-conference selection. She was a power forward and center on her high school basketball team that went to the Illinois “Elite 8” and was a USA Today All-American, also earning All-State honors twice and all-conference honors 4 times. At Downers Grove South she totaled 1.300 career points in basketball. She averaged 20 ppg and 10 rpg in her basketball career, with a high of 44 points against (Elmhurst) York High School. Terri earned All-State player honors and was the Player of the Year for both the Chicago Tribune and the Daily Herald newspapers.
“Zemaitis set to lead Lady Spikers,” The Daily Collegian, Sept. 6, 1997
