A new season in Happy Valley brings a new group of freshmen, who have already begun to see some early playing time through two matches for the 2019 Penn State men's volleyball team.
Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik, now in his 25th year at the helm, believes that this group of freshmen is as talented as any class he has ever recruited.
"They're as good athletically as any freshmen group that we've ever pulled in," Pavlik said. Probably any coach on this campus would say you recruit on potential and look at the things you can't teach like size and quickness. These guys seem to have those things and the intangibles too."
Among the touted Penn State freshmen is 6-foot-6 outside hitter Canyon Tuman, who led North Allegheny High School to an undefeated season and a Pennsylvania Class 3A state championship in 2018.
Tuman's parents are accomplished athletes of their own with his mom, Molly, having been an outside hitter for the U.S. National Team in 1997-98, while his dad, Jerame, played ten seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals.
"I think we all just love to compete," Tuman said of the freshmen class. "We all have so much to give and have the ability to make each other better day in and day out."
Another Pennsylvania native is outside hitter Cal Fisher, who has played in six of Penn State's first seven sets this season. Fisher attended Riverview High School, which did not even have a boys' volleyball team, but he played six seasons with the prestigious Pittsburgh Volleyball Club.
"He kind of just grew up with the sport and became a quick-twitch athlete," Pavlik said. "He looks like he's flying because he is only 6-foot-3 and not overly big, but he has done some great things."
Then there's freshman outside hitter, 6-foot-5 Brett Wildman, who was named an AVCA High School All-American in 2018. Wildman is a Schreyer Honors College student at Penn State and has been lauded for his rocket arm.
"(Wildman) is another kid who isn't overly big, but he moves well, jumps well — his arm was touched and it became a cannon," Pavlik said.
Wildman was named the 2018 Virginia Player of the Year and was one of 50 high school players chosen to the VolleyballMag Fab 50. He also was a member of the 2017 USA Boys Youth National Team.
"Personally, I think all of the freshmen bring something different to the table," Wildman said. "We all have assets that can help the team pretty soon, so I think that's pretty special."
Freshman setter Cole Bogner is another Virginia native and was a First-Team All-State selection in 2018. Finally, middle-blocker Sam Marsh, out of London, England, played for the English Junior National Team between 2016-18.
"(Bogner) is the kind of athlete where if you put him in any sport, he's going to excel at it," Pavlik said.
This group of freshmen had a daunting task of playing at Ohio State in their first career collegiate match. While the Nittany Lions lost in four sets, a difficult match against a top-tier program was a great way for the freshmen to get their feet wet early.
"It definitely helped get the kinks out," Tuman said. "Playing a high-level team like Ohio State forces you to play as hard as you can. It was a great learning experience and I think overall we played pretty well for our first game."
Playing Ohio State in the opening match of the season also helps these freshmen prepare for another high-profile matchup this Friday against No.4 BYU, which swept Ohio State last Thursday.
"In the Ohio State game, we just got thrown into the fire right away and I think all of us just getting the first-time jitters out of the way really helps so that we're able to be calm and ready to play against BYU," Wildman said.
Pavlik still believes there is plenty of room for improvement from this young group, but overall has been impressed with the energy they have brought.
"Two weeks in I'm not ready to say the way they played in the first two weeks is the way I'm hoping they play at the end of the season — I'm hoping they're better, but their response and competitiveness has shown that they love to play," Pavlik said. "They don't seem to back down from anybody, and I think they've infused this current team with a lot of enthusiasm."
