University Park, Pa. — Bobby Wilden is finally healthy again after missing all of last season with a shoulder injury. The redshirt junior early on in the season is starting to develop into the key contributor that Mark Pavlik envisioned.
Through 12 games, Wilden is third on the team in kills and has provided Penn State some much needed depth both as an outside hitter and passer.
In last Friday's game against EIVA foe Princeton, Wilden did not play the first two sets of the match. However, after Pavlik inserted him into the lineup in the third set, Wilden added 10 kills on a .571 hitting percentage to lead the Nittany Lions to a 3-1 set victory. Wilden was named Penn State's Mike Anderson Player of the Match.
"I thought we were creating so many opportunities but just not finishing enough of them," Pavlik said. "So, I thought let's get Bobby in there and see if we can finish some of those and create some separation, and Bobby did what he's done all year, which is put balls away."
Wilden has always passed the ball exceptionally well for a guy who is 6-foot-8 and was a middle blocker in high school. That has allowed Wilden to make a much easier to transition to outside hitter and contribute defensively as well.
"The first time I began passing on a consistent basis was when I came to Penn State," Wilden said. "It's been something that I've spent a lot of time working on during my career here and I'm working on getting as consistent as possible. Passing is crucial to the success of the team and my goal is to continue improving in that aspect."
Wilden has also made tremendous strides as a blocker at Penn State. He has spent a lot of time working with Penn State associate head coach Colin McMillan. The two have mainly emphasized Wilden improving at the top of his block and the right way to press over the net and angle his hands.
"A lot of the balls that would have went off my block out of bounds in the beginning of the year are starting to find their way back onto the court," Wilden said.
More than anything though, Pavlik emphasized Wilden's several years of experience on the team as the reason he's starting to put it all together.
He's been on the team for four seasons, but much of the previous three years had been spent recovering from surgeries and watching the game on the sideline. In that time, Wilden spent a lot of time watching film of other players and picking apart their games to try to improve his own.
"While I'm not a typical experienced player, I know what it's like to go through adversity and push through it and I can carry that directly onto the court," Wilden said. "If I get aced or blocked I'm onto the next play and not concerned about the past."
Wilden also has the luxury of this Penn State team having a lot more depth than it has the past few seasons. With a deeper roster, Pavlik can manage Wilden's workload throughout the season to take some pressure off his shoulder without there being any significant drop off in the team's performance level.
"The depth on this team is incredible," Wilden said. "We have a bunch of versatile guys who can be thrown in different positions and instantly contribute. It helps us adapt to different situations opponents put us in and anyone who comes into the match can do so without missing a beat."
"Bobby can do things nobody else in the gym can do," Pavlik said. "If we can get his shoulder significantly healthy and he's confident with it, we'll continue to see what he can do. If we can manage him through this year so he's available when we need his skillset, I think he can do some real damage for us."
