Nov. 4, 2015
By Samantha DelRosso, GoPSUSports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Playing on the road is never easy. Entering a packed gym with fans rooting for your opponent can be tough. But silencing the crowd makes it all worth it.
The Penn State Women's volleyball team is on the road for the next four matches. The Nittany Lions (21-2, 10-2 Big Ten) face Maryland on Thursday and Rutgers on Friday. The team is playing two matches in less than 24 hours, with travel included.
This weekend, the team is traveling by bus. This means a few hours of travel time to focus on the matches ahead. For weekends like this, the toughness, focus and mental strength of the players are crucial.
"The travel situation this weekend is very unique, so it's definitely going to be about staying rested, getting in and watching a lot of film and staying as prepared as possible for the atmosphere that the other team can bring," redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney said.
Whitney said playing in other venues makes her appreciate playing at home.
"The road's always tough. You're dealing with travel and that can be tough. It's testing the body and it's testing how well you prepare," Whitney said. "It's awesome because when you do get back to Rec Hall, you appreciate it a lot more and you're a lot more fired up. It's tough to stay focused on the road and to play well in other gyms, but it's a really test to see where we are as a team right now and how far we've come."
A typical week for an away match looks something like this: First, practicing in South Gym of Rec Hall. Sophomore Haleigh Washington said nothing compares to the intensity of a practice in South Gym.
"[During practice in South Gym], we're always being pushed to work hard or we're being told that we have to go even harder," Washington said. "When you have that mentality and you come out in the game setting, nothing's quite as challenging as the mentality that you have to have in practice."
Next is film. Whitney said players would watch film any chance they get throughout the week, whether it's with a coach between classes or on their own.
The team typically leaves the night before the match. Once they arrive at the hotel, players will watch more film and get a good night's sleep before the match.
On the day of the match, the team wakes up early, practices, has a team meal and has a team meeting.
"[On game day], we have team film and break down what the other team is doing and [discuss] our game plan with coach," Whitney said. "Then we get ready, get ourselves pumped up and head over to the gym for the match."
Immediately after Thursday's match against Maryland, the Nittany Lions will head to Piscataway, N.J. This means the team will have to try and get some rest on the bus before the next match.
In addition the travel each Big Ten team faces, playing in another venue can also be challenging. Head coach Russ Rose said teams in the Big Ten Conference play their best in their own gyms.
"Over the course of the number of years we've been in the conference, how challenging it is in the Big Ten, just because all of the teams in the Big Ten are far more comfortable and aggressive at home than they are on the road," Rose said.
Both Whitney and Washington said playing on the road can be exciting, but the team has to prepare properly.
"You have to be tough. You're stepping in to other gyms and they're packing their gyms. Their teams are preparing extra hard because we are who we are, and Penn State is the team that brings in the crowd," Whitney said. "A lot of teams prepare super hard and bring their best game against us, so I think it's about staying sharp, staying rested and preparing extra hard."
"I really like playing away games because you get to be that team to silence the gym. I've always loved playing not on my home court because you can go and show other schools exactly what you're made of when you're not on your home turf," Washington said.
The first-ranked Nittany Lions look to continue their six-game win streak in Maryland on Thursday night at 8 p.m. The Terrapins are 2-10 in Big Ten play. The team will then head to Rutgers for a match on Friday at 7 p.m. The Scarlet Knights are 1-11 in the Big Ten.