Rose's famously blunt motivational
style seems well suited to Courtney, a
6-foot-2 outside hitter from Dayton,
Ohio, whose confidence and volleyball
IQ he said he noticed early on. He
knows not all his players will react the
same to such tactics, but in Courtney,
he has found a player who seems to
thrive on that direct approach. "His
one-liner to me is, 'This isn't high
school anymore.' He continues to say
that to me," she said. "The first time
he said it, I was like, Oh, come on! It
kind of gets me ticked off, like, You're
right. I'm not."
Even in high school, Courtney was
seeing the game at a higher level. She
acknowledges that while she "may not
jump the highest, hit the hardest or
pass the best," she boasts an almost
preternatural understanding of the
game – "sort of a superpower," she
laughs. She credits an ACL injury
that forced her to sit out her sophomore year of high school as hugely
beneficial, as it gave her the chance
to watch the game from a coach's perspective. Now, she says, "I'm able to
slow down the game in my head, and
that's a huge part of how I play. It's
about being one step ahead of everyone
else."
A starter from day one, Courtney has
established a precedent for being ahead
of the curve. The challenge now – and
always, where Russ Rose's talent factory
is concerned – is making sure she improves enough to start next season,
too.
STRONG START
Courtney started 35 of
36 matches in her first
season at Penn State.
She finished fourth on
the team in kills and
was named Big Ten
Freshman of the Year.
Mark Selders/Penn State Athletic Communications
Penn State Athletic Communications
