Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/450893
while freshman hitter Ali Frantti added
16. Senior libero Dominique Gonzalez had
23 digs, prompting Rose to say, "Her stats
aren't high enough to garner recognition,
but there is no one I would trade her for."
In the ;nal, Penn State faced an unseeded
BYU squad that had pulled o= an un-
precedented string of upsets. The Cougars
had defeated four seeded opponents to
reach the championship match, including
a 3-1 victory over second-seeded Texas
in the national semi;nal. But they couldn't
keep it going against Penn State. The Lions
pulled out the ;rst two sets, 25-21 and
26-24, then romped in the third, 25-14.
Courtney had 11 kills and 14 digs and was
named the tournament's Most Outstanding
Player. Aiyana Whitney also had 11 kills,
while Gonzalez had a match-high 16 digs.
Courtney was named the tournament
MVP, while Frantti and setter Micha Han-
cock also made the All-Tournament team.
Hancock had been the big story heading
into the ;nal four. The AVCA Division I
Player of the Year, she was wrapping up
her college career less than an hour's drive
from her home in Edmond, Okla.
As she had all season, Hancock shined
in her last two matches, totaling 36 assists
and ;ve digs in the ;nal. A>erward, she
described her Nittany Lion ;nale as "pretty
cool," but there was some bitter with the
sweet.
"What's hitting me now is that I'm not
coming back to play with my girls," she
said. "I've been around it for a long time.
They're like a family to me. So it's really
weird for me right now. I'm going to miss
the Penn State family. It's weird to be an
alum, but it's a great way to end my career
here."
Meanwhile, Rose just keeps rolling along.
His bio on Penn State's website describes
him as the "leader of arguably the most
successful collegiate women's volleyball
program in the country," but a>er this
past season, PSU would be within its rights
to delete that
arguably bit. Rose now has
1,161 career victories, the most in Division
I history. His Nittany Lions have played
in 34 NCAA tournaments, and in nearly
one-third of those appearances, they have
reached the championship match. In their
10 championship matches, they have gone
7-3, and they have won their past seven
in a row.
Although he eschews personal accolades,
preferring to shine a spotlight on his play-
ers, Rose has, along the way, become
something of an icon. In addition to all
those championships, he has his own