While having a full staff was good news, Rose also confirmed Monday that his roster is now a little bit smaller. Darcy Dorton and Ali Longo have left the program and are looking to transfer.
"I didn’t want either one of them to go," Rose said, "but I don’t fight for anyone to stay, either. To me, it always comes down to the same mantra as when I arrived here 33 years ago: I want players and staff that want to be here. Then I trust them to work their hardest on a day-to-day basis to be the best they can be."
Both have been released from the program and can go anywhere, although Big Ten rules prohibit an athlete from transferring to another conference school on a scholarship.
While there have been a few other women who have left the program over the last decade, perhaps none have had such large roles with the Nittany Lions.
Longo, who is from Littleton, Colo., was the starting libero for most of last season and led the team in total digs (397) and digs per set (3.39).
Dorton was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2009 and an honorable mention AVCA All-American, starting throughout the season and registering 13 kills in the national championship match against Texas. However, the native of Muncie, Ind., tore her ACL the following spring, missed all of 2010 with a medical redshirt and played sparingly last season as she struggled to beat out others for playing time. She was a team captain and a strong personality even while cheering from the bench, but she played in just 17 matches, starting none and appeared in only 22 sets with a total of 20 kills for the season.
Rose declined to go into details about their departures, and an e-mail to Dorton did not draw a response.
"They made great contributions while they were here," Rose said. "I’m sure they will make great contributions wherever they go."
