Penn State Sports Magazine
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4 6 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M T aylor Trammell felt like she needed a new beginning. She had totaled 219 kills and 246 blocks in two seasons at Purdue. However, her role had diminished as a sophomore, and she wanted to restart her volleyball career some- where else. In Penn State, the junior middle blocker found a program that was in the midst of its own restart. The Nittany Lions had a first-year head coach and an overhauled roster, and after a visit to State College in which she hit it off right away with her prospective teammates, Tram- mell decided that the opportunity to be part of a new era at a school with a peerless pedigree was too good to pass up. "Everyone knows Penn State has the best legacy there is when it comes to volleyball," Trammell said. "Seeing that their team was going to be fresh — that was some- thing I was looking for, a fresh start. "I just felt really welcomed when I got there. The overall energy was something that really intrigued me." Trammell, who was named an honor- able mention All-American by Volley- ballMag.com following her freshman season at Purdue, is now set to play a big role in Penn State's bid to move on from one of the most successful coaching eras in the history of collegiate sports. After 43 seasons, 1,330 victories and seven national championships, legend- ary coach Russ Rose stepped down in December. Rose, who won six of his na- tional titles after he was inducted into the American Volleyball Coaches As- sociation Hall of Fame, likely caught a lot of observers off guard with the an- nouncement that he was retiring. His exit has changed the complexion not just of Penn State's program but the Big Ten and national volleyball scenes. One of Rose's Big Ten counterparts, Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield, said in early August, "It does feel like there's a newness right now going into this sea- son." Rose's absence no doubt plays into the feeling around the conference that a page has been turned, though he'll always be a presence at Penn State and beyond. "If there's not a statue outside that facility in the next few years, then peo- ple have failed," Sheffield said. "He's the greatest coach that our sport has seen in our country. What he did over decades and decades is unbelievable." With Rose no longer on Penn State's bench jotting notes into his ever-present binder, the program is now in the hands of one of his protégés, Katie Schumacher-Caw- ley. A two-time All-American as a Penn State player and a member of Rose's coaching staff for the past four seasons, Schumacher-Cawley knows well the challenge she un- dertook when she was promoted in January. "I feel a great deal of responsi- bility to continue the traditions and the legacy that Coach made possible — not only for Penn State volleyball, but I think for Big Ten volleyball and for the country," she said. "He set the tone and paved the way for so many people. I'm ex- cited to continue that, and I want Penn State volleyball to continue to rise and always be great." It's been eight years since the Nittany Lions won their most recent national championship. They've only been back to the Final Four once since then, in 2017, when they finished 33-2 overall and claimed their most recent Big Ten title. Last year, Penn State finished sixth in the conference for the second year in a row and was eliminated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by Pitt, the team's earliest exit since 2002. One of the Nittany Lions' fiercest ri- vals, Wisconsin, won the NCAA cham- pionship, marking the fifth time in the past nine years that a Big Ten team has claimed the national crown. Picked fifth in this year's preseason Big Ten coaches' poll, the Lions are pin- ning their hopes on a roster that has been largely rebuilt. There are three other transfers in addition to Trammell, as well as four freshmen. OLYMPIC SPORTS Fits And Starts Transfers boost the Nittany Lions' outlook as a new volleyball era dawns at PSU M AT T H E R B | M A T T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M Katie Schumacher-Cawley was a two-time All-American at Penn State and a member of Russ Rose's first national championship team in 1999 before succeeding him this year as head coach of the Nittany Lions. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS