Rose, Parker, Hord Media Day Video

I'm curious to know if the possibility of Russ rose retiring "soon" is affecting the recruiting of some athletes?
I would love to see cathey and serena gray on the outside, hord and tori play middles and of course parker play opposite. given that blossom will set all around and jenna DS for serena and white play libero. I would love to see the freshmen be given a chance but it sounded like they're not at all ready. Im so excited to cheer for PSU regardless on who makes the starting line up.

There's a separate thread for concerns about recruiting, but the short answer is, who knows when he is going to retire, and regardless, it probably varies from recruit to recruit. Penn State is going to continue to support women's vb to compete at the highest level. There are many high schoolers who will find the combination of an excellent school and a solid, nationally prominent vb program to be compelling, even if Coach Rose retired.

Finally (I guess this isn't such a short answer) coaches leave schools all the time for reasons other than retirement. Steve Aird went to Maryland, then in what seemed like a flash, he was at Indiana. Will he stay there for 20 years? 10 years? Two years? Who knows. The same could be said of pretty much any coach. And most of the recruits know it.

My take on the presser was that the freshmen class is weak and maybe not as motivated as Coach would like. Since I feel that this year's success depends on replacing the lost seniors with strong frosh, I found the presser discouraging.

Nevertheless, I am looking forward to the opening matches.

not sure if he's thinking about a 6/2 when he mentioned that there's a lack of depth on this years team. I hope the freshman can get excited and work hard cause anything less is not pennstate volleyball. i wish them all luck this season.

I had the great pleasure to attend all three matches this weekend. It is just not possible to see the full game on tv. In person is way better. For the Holy Cross drubbing we sat very close to the court and could hear the players communicate with each other. I also got the chance to "interview" Nyline on press row before that match. So I now feel much better informed (though still ignorant).

There were a bunch of things that struck me. Based on a tiny sample size, I concluded that it is necessary for our starting setter to chew gum. Perhaps one day we will learn what kind of gum Bryanna and Gabby prefer.


I also was delighted to see Keeton Holcomb. She looked so composed, showed a hard flat serve, received serve excellently, moved around the court with speed and intellect and made me believe that her insertion as the first DS was fully justified (which on this team is saying something).


I was also impressed with Tori Gorrell. She hit from all 3 front row positions and looked really fired up. I have a soft spot for players who literally put the team ahead of personal glory.


I also happily report that Allison Cathey can play defense! She received serve well too! I liked her post match comment-she cannot be timid any more. I bet she will improve in all aspects as the season progresses.

The three DS formation was really neat. Jenna, Keeton and Kendall (I thought of them as "the Three Amigas") almost looked disdainful as they dug opponent attacks. Whether that will be the case against top teams is yet to be seen but maybe having to hit against three Libero quality defenders will discomfit the opponents.


Finally, Jonni Parker is an amazement. She received, defended and passed, and showed a variety of shots. Total calm, and that rubbed off on her teammates.