Salima Rockwell begins her third season on the Penn State women[apos]s volleyball coaching staff and her second as an assistant coach after serving as the Director of Volleyball Operations in 2006. Rockwell[apos]s primary duties include working with the setters and the offense, recruiting and match preparation.
The former Salima Davidson was a three-time All-American setter for the Nittany Lions from 1991-94 and served as a two-time team captain of the U.S. National Team during her time with the squad from 1995-99. She returned to Penn State after spending the 2005 season as an assistant coach at Oregon State under legendary head coach Terry Liskevych.
[quote]Very few people in the country are as good at their job as Salima is at hers,[quote] said head coach Russ Rose. [quote]She has a great feel for winning and has the ability to bridge the experience of playing at Penn State and interacting with me. The fact that she advanced to being the captain of the women[apos]s national team speaks to her drive and leadership. Her energy is fabulous and the players really respond well to her, and we are very fortunate to have her back at Penn State.[quote]
Under the guidance of Rockwell, setter Alisha Glass directed the 2007 Penn State offense to a nation-leading and Big Ten-record hitting percentage of .350, just shy of the Nittany Lion record of .367 set in 1990. Two of Glass[apos] hitters - middles Christa Harmotto and Arielle Wilson - finished in the top five in the nation in hitting percentage while two more hitters - outsides Nicole Fawcett and Megan Hodge - ended the year averaging more than 4.40 kills per game each. In Glass[apos] two year career, the Penn State offense is attacking at an astounding .336 hitting percentage.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Rockwell was an assistant at the University of Pittsburgh from 2001-03 where she worked primarily with the Panthers[apos] setters. She was also the Panthers[apos] lead recruiter and signed four of their top five recruits in 2002.
Rockwell captained the USA National Team in 1997 and 1998, serving as the starting setter for the Americans and earning the Coaches[apos] Award, MVP and the Team Award in each of those seasons.
Rockwell also spent three years in the ultra-competitive world of pharmaceutical sales, consistently ranking as a top selling representative.
She still ranks fourth all-time on Penn State[apos]s career assists list with 5,455, and sits fourth on the career assists per game list (12.34). She ranks fifth on the career digging charts with 1,278 and sits 14th all-time on the career hitting percentage list (.301). An all-around player, Rockwell also ranks 11th on the career total blocks chart with 382 and was inducted into the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Hall of Fame. A two-time member of the NCAA Championship All-Tournament team (1993 & 1994), Rockwell also earned All-Big Ten accolades four times, including three First Team selections. She graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of the Arts in Speech Communications.
Rockwell and her husband, Jeff, have one son, Logan, who was born in October of 2004.