When one walks into the Rec Hall to watch the Penn State men's volleyball team for the first time, Matt McLaren probably isn't the most noticeable player in the gym. After the first few points of a game, however, it becomes much harder to not pay close attention to the 6-foot-4 outside hitter from Aurora, Colorado.
After playing just 42 total sets as a redshirt sophomore in 2017, McLaren ascended to a First-Team All-EIVA performer in 2018, leading the Nittany Lions in kills with 256. He needs just four kills this weekend against Princeton and NJIT to eclipse 100 this season.
Beyond his stellar play the last two years, there is also something a bit peculiar about McLaren's relationship with the rest of the team. One may notice that he is referred to as 'Steve' by his teammates, even though that is not included in his full name of Matthew John McLaren.
The nickname came during McLaren's freshman season in 2015 when he said he was one of four different players named Matt, along with the team manager. It is also the team's tradition to assign each of the freshmen a nickname during the season. However, McLaren still did not have a nickname several weeks into the season until then-sophomore outside hitter, Spencer Sauter, gave him the nickname 'Steve'.
"After a couple different options (Sauter) chose 'Steve' and I don't know why it stuck. He just pulled it out and everyone started calling me that," McLaren said.
Since then the name has carried all the way into McLaren's redshirt senior season in 2019. While his nickname has remained constant, he has continued to develop into a major contributor over the course of his time at Penn State.
"He's been one of those guys who knows how to grind it out. He's just kept doing what we've asked, he's gotten stronger, he's played the game the right way. I think there is a consistency about him. We know what we're going to get from him when he's on the court and he just keeps getting better and better," Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik said.
McLaren's background as an engineering student, combined with his approach to problem solving and improvement, has contributed to his growth as a player.
Pavlik believes the biggest reason for McLaren's breakout season in 2018 was his improved ball control. McLaren developed as a passer to the point where Pavlik thought he could help them defensively more than anyone else could.
"I have always been a good hitter but ball control for me was something that I had always struggled with, especially with passing, and in matches I would kind of freak out and do dumb stuff, but for sure ball control and passing was what I improved on best," McLaren said.
The challenge after a season of great success is the added pressure to produce similar results, simultaneously with more attention from the opponent. McLaren has seen more blockers come his way this season, which has forced him to respond by swinging higher and working around the block.
"I think the biggest challenge is just trying to live up to what I did last year, but I think I've kind of let that go and I just treat this year as a new year and go out there and do what I can," McLaren said.
McLaren confessed that the pressure of performing at the same level he did a year ago was holding him back at the start of this season, but he recently has been playing with the same mentality that turned him into one of the top players in the EIVA last year.
McLaren had a career-high of 22 kills against Princeton on March 3 last season. He'll have another crack at the Tigers on Friday night.