Russ Rose's fifth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions are off to a 5-0 start and will have their first big road test this weekend when they take on No. 4 Stanford this Friday.
While star veterans like Kendall White, Bryanna Weiskircher and Nia Reed have played a significant role in the Nittany Lions' hot start, one of the biggest storylines in the early stages of Rose's 40th season has been the immediate impact from a handful of his freshmen.
Rose's team last season graduated seven seniors, including two First-Team All Americans, but Rose and his staff reloaded this offseason by reeling in the top recruiting class in the country. There were times when the young team's inexperience showed in straight set wins against at home against Temple and Texas A&M, particularly when Penn State needed to overcome late deficits in the final two sets to win against the Owls.
"We have a lot of young kids and with young players there's just a lot of challenges associated with knowing if they're ready to play…we certainly have to play better, but I think that's what you can expect from the number of young people we have on the floor," Rose said.
Despite the occasional growing pains, Rose's young squad showed some impressive resilience behind a plethora of talented freshmen, one of which was right side Jonni Parker. Parker finished with six kills against Temple and then followed up with a team-high 11 kills against Texas A&M the next day. She also recorded an ace in each match.
"I think it was really important that we had the ability to come back," Parker said. "Our energy was a bit up and down, but we did a great job of moving onto the next play."
Parker struggled offensively through the first half of the Temple match and committed three service errors with her powerful topspin jump serve, but she adjusted well in the third set and made some crucial plays down the stretch.
"I've just been trying to tweak my jump serve a bit, but it just wasn't on (Friday), so I switched to a jump float later in the game, which helped the team a lot," Parker said. "Offensively I tried to mix up shots, and when I noticed that wasn't working I swung high and tried to use the block a bit more…that allowed other players to keep swinging and mix up their shots as well."
Defensive specialist Jenna Hampton has also already shown some tremendous upside, which has many teammates very excited about the combination of her and White anchoring the defense.
Another standout so far has been Allyson Cathey, who came off the bench late in the third set against Temple and posted three kills and a huge block to shift the momentum back in Penn State's favor.
"I thought (Cathey) came in the third game and had great energy and had a great block," Rose said. "She plays really hard and is a great net player and definitely one of our better blockers, so when she blocked that ball, our players are accustomed to seeing that. She's not afraid to take a big swing and there's definitely some good reason to get her back out on the floor."
Cathey was not as touted of a recruit coming out of high school as some of the other freshmen on the roster, but her impact off the bench has already been felt in several matches so far this season. The freshman outside hitter out of New Albany, Indiana. She tallied nearly 2,000 career kills in high-school as a middle blocker, a testament to her versatility on the court.
"My thought was just to bring energy and heart to the floor," Cathey said. "I think the team has taught me a lot about being relaxed and if I make a bad play just move onto the next one and keep contributing rather than dwelling on the last play."
Penn State also utilized two highly-touted recruits, Kaitlyn Hord and Serena Gray, as the primary middle blockers during the Penn State Invitational. That lineup allowed veteran middle blocker Tori Gorrell to see some reps at right side and allow the Nittany Lions to run a 6-2 with setters Weiskircher and Gabby Blossom, another freshman.
Gray was an absolute terror to opposing offenses at the net all weekend, compiling 13 blocks in the two matches. Hord was not too far behind her with three blocks in each of the matches.
"I thought both (Gray) and (Hord) came out and played very encouraging volleyball," Rose said. "This was a really good match for them and I'm happy it worked out for them."
The aforementioned freshmen will be relied on heavily again this weekend against west coast powerhouse Stanford and Oregon the following night. The upcoming weekend will most certainly be a great measuring stick for how ready the young Nittany Lions are to compete against top opponents.
