Dec. 21, 2010
By Tony Mancuso
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Three days have passed since the 3-0 sweep of Cal at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, but the image of Katie Slay burying the championship-clinching kill will never get old.
Slay's final point solidified Penn State's unprecedented fourth straight national championship in women's volleyball, a feat that may never be touched by the program again.
The list of accomplishments for head coach Russ Rose and the program is truly astonishing. In addition to the four straight national titles, the Nittany Lions have now won 24 consecutive postseason matches. Over the past four seasons, Penn State's cumulative record is 142-7, which includes a string of 109 straight match wins from September of 2007 to September of 2010.
All four of the national championships since 2007 have a unique story. The first came in Sacramento after a five-set battle with Stanford. The '08 crown featured an epic semifinal clash with Nebraska in Omaha during an undefeated season in which Penn State lost just two individual sets. Last season's national title match victory over Texas may go down as the single greatest match in Penn State history, which also capped off an undefeated season.
That brings us to 2010.
The Nittany Lions entered the season as the No. 1-ranked team in volleyball, but after losing All-Americans Alisha Glass and Megan Hodge, everyone wondered if this team could repeat for the fourth straight season.
With nine freshmen on the roster, Coach Rose knew that it was going to be a challenge in 2010. Just three weeks into the Big Ten season, Penn State found itself staring at a 3-3 conference record after being ousted by Purdue and Indiana.
But things began to turn in the month of October and the Lions rattled off 13 straight victories before letting the final regular season match at Minnesota slip away after being up 2-0. Nonetheless, the Lions entered the tournament with the confidence that they could again be standing alone in December.
Six matches later, and Penn State is again polishing a national title trophy inside Rec Hall. The Lions dropped just one set in six NCAA Tournament matches en route to a pair of sweeps in the NCAA Finals over the weekend.
This season was special in that the Lions had to scratch and claw their way into becoming an elite team over the past few months. Not to take anything away from the 2008 and '09 teams, but those were exceptionally talented groups. And the team knew going into the season that those teams had the personnel to contend for a national title.
This season was different. With so many young players in several key spots on the floor, no one was certain how the 2010 campaign would pan out. That's what gives this season's championship some added meaning to Coach Rose and the Nittany Lions. They battled through some adversity to reach the trophy celebration on Saturday night.
"There's a lot of fight in these guys," Coach Rose said. "I don't think we're training any different than people, but there's some differences in levels of expectations and the older kids understand it and the younger kids understand it, and that's what we're doing at Penn State."
NCAA women's volleyball is such a competitive sport at the Division I level that winning one national championship is a remarkable accomplishment. The quality of the teams at the top of the national rankings makes the volleyball tournament very competitive.
With all that in mind, try to digest the string of success Penn State women's volleyball has been able to accomplish. Three seniors on the roster - Blair Brown, Alyssa D'Errico and Arielle Wilson - will graduate with four national championships. Those three seniors will have a ring on their pinkies for the rest of their lives.
As Brown joked after the match, she will never know what it is like to not win a national championship.
You can't really put the accomplishments of those three seniors into perspective.
"The legacy we leave, we don't want it to be about numbers," Brown said. "It's not about that. We're thrilled to have four national championships, but the legacy we want to leave is the program history, I guess. We want the tradition of working hard every day in practice and going hard because that's how you get here."
Penn State's run through the 64-team draw this winter featured contributions from so many different places in the rotation. It was a complete team effort throughout the tournament run, and especially the National Semifinal and Championship matches.
Freshman Deja McClendon took her game to another level en route to being named tournament MVP. Brown tallied double digit kills in five of the six matches in the NCAA Tournament (nine vs. Niagara in Round One). Wilson was efficient in the middle, like she was throughout her career. Ariel Scott played a huge role on the outside against Texas. Slay was a blocking machine in Kansas City.
D'Errico and senior Cathy Quilico did a fantastic job digging balls and passing. First-year setter Kristin Carpenter was tremendous at the net and at the service line. Freshman Ali Longo triggered a huge run in the second set against Cal with her serve off the bench. The list goes on, but you cannot understate the importance of every player in the rotation.
Sure, the Nittany Lions had their fair share of stars in 2010. Three players were voted All-Americans, but the collective effort from the players and staff won the squad the 2010 national championship.
Watching Coach Rose and the staff dissect the scouting reports of Texas and Cal in Kansas City was impressive in itself. Match day practices featured an overview of the opponent in every rotation with details on every possible scenario from every single player on the floor.
Coach Paterno often talks about the importance of putting the right people in the right places to ensure that they are doing the right things at the right time. Coach Rose's hand written scouting reports did that, and then some. The Nittany Lion players knew what to expect and where to be during every set of circumstances.
And it showed during the two matches in Kansas City. Watching the degree of preparation that is put into each match made it crystal clear why the Nittany Lions have been able to accomplish the things they have in the past four seasons. It is no coincidence why Penn State has won four straight titles.
Coach Rose has a set of standards and expectations around his program that everyone has bought into. It begins with hard work and dedication.
"I thought the staff did a great job in helping devise a game plan, the kids listened well and we played hard and we were in a great position," Coach Rose said after the championship match. "The kids feel great. It's great for the university and the Big Ten Conference, and we're just as thrilled as we can be at this point in time."
With so much young talent on the roster, the future is very bright for Penn State women's volleyball.
For now, though, the Lions are setting the standard for success as they celebrate a fourth straight national championship.