Only 18 months have passed since Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik moved Jason Donorovich from outside hitter to middle blocker. For the 6-foot-9 redshirt junior out of Lockport, N.Y., 2019 is his first season as a full-time starter after he spent the majority of his first three seasons waiting to get his shot.
That turning point finally came last season on March 9 against Lewis, where Donorovich finished with 10 kills and no errors on 12 attempts. Donorovich would then go on to start the last nine matches of the season, officially securing the second middle spot behind Kevin Gear. Gear, who expired his eligibility after last season, was a teammate Donorovich looked up to during his first couple of seasons.
"My freshman year he was kind of in the position I was in, just a hard worker and knew that he could play the game at a high level, so I kind of tried to model myself after him, just play low key, play my game and hopefully one day I would get my chance to make this team better," Donorovich said.
Donorovich has been dominant in the middle to start the season, finishing with 12 kills in each of the last two matches against No. 4 BYU and Saint Francis. He also had seven blocks against a very talented Cougars team and combined for five aces in those two matches as well.
"The fact that he's only been playing that position for about 18 months — his performance and his buy-in as to what it takes to be successful has been everything that you would hope it would be," Pavlik said.
Donorovich's steady demeanor and blue-collar mentality has been integral to his breakout start to the season and overall development at the middle blocker position.
"He's getting comfortable in that position. He's just a very settling influence. He doesn't get too high; he doesn't get too low, just goes out there and does his job. He's a Buffalo blue-collar kid. I'm really interested to see how much better he gets as the season wears on," Pavlik said.
Donorovich is still learning the position, but he has loved playing middle since being moved to that spot and has brought an element of versatility to the table.
"I'm still learning a lot of footwork and things of that nature…and it gives me an experience that I know what other players go through on the court too because I've been in those positions so I know what they have to do and what I have to do," Donorovich said.
While Pavlik lauds his blue-collar attitude and enthusiasm on the court, Donorovich said his work ethic and positivity were two traits that he has actually improved on the most coming out of high school.
"I think that it's a constant grind, and I think coming here I really learned how to do that -- I learned how to work hard," Donorovich said. "I didn't really do that in high school. I didn't hit the weight room much, then I came here and learned how I can improve my game."
Donorovich has learned how he needs to pursue excellence and has embraced the change from what Penn State originally recruited him to do.
"We had the intentions of making him a left side hitter, put him at opposite some, and then we said let's get you in the middle because your arm is quick enough and you're enough of an athlete. He's just embraced any place we've put him. He's one of those guys where if you tell him to hold the lightning rod on top of Rec Hall, he would do that and do it very well," Pavlik said.
Donorovich used one word to describe this year's Penn State team: tough. Through four matches, he observed that this team does not take any plays off and maintains a consistent level of energy throughout the game.
"I see this team constantly wanting to win and get better, and I think we're growing a lot on the court together…we're going to challenge a lot of good teams out there, so I'm excited," Donorovich said.
Only four matches have gone by in the 2019 season and Donorovich already looks the part of a standout middle for the Nittany Lions, but once again his blue-collar mindset reminds him the grind never stops.
"I've had a lot of blessings here and a lot of learning curves to overcome, but it's working. I still have another year to go though, so I still have a lot to learn," Donorovich said.