UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — NJIT makes the travels to Rec Hall this upcoming weekend as the Nittany Lions prepare for another home court advantage series. Head coach Mark Pavlik discusses what to expect this weekend, focusing on what they can control and unique quirks of volleyball. Here are three top takeaways:
The challenge is on
As these two teams come into this weekend both tied in the top position of the EIVA along with George Mason University at 2-0 in the conference, Pavlik prepares for familiar faces and a fight to the finish. With having another match up at the end of the season with NJIT, this will be the first set series the team will face against a team known to have a good reputation within the league.
"This could be simply to date the biggest match of the year for us," Pavlik said. "We are going to have to be pretty sharp with our offensive game and understand the weapons they are going to bring at us are varied."
"Outside of their freshman setter, everybody else is back and has played us," Pavlik added. "It will be an interesting match up in the physicality level with what we are going to see. This team might be the most physical team I have seen in the regular season, and we have got to get ready for them four times."
This side of the net
As the team expects this match to be one coming down to only a few points separating the two teams, No.11 Penn State remains focused on what they can control on their side of the net - a strong characteristic of this team.
Pavlik discussed how unlike other sports, no one can run over to the Nittany Lions' side of the net to interfere with its level of play. At the end of the day it is practicing with the simple approach of focusing on executing the basics of each contact efficiently to put themselves in a better position during the match.
"They can't stop us from doing anything," Pavlik said. "It's simple. How good are we at first contact? How good are we at making our second contacts smart and hittable? How good are we at determining our third contacts? I think that's the way the game is played and that's where our focus will be."
Volleyball's unlike any other
A unique aspect to volleyball as a whole is the moment in between rallies where each team will take a moment to meet in a huddle, collect themselves and then return to the game before the next serve. Unlike other sports such as basketball, there isn't a moment to stop and collect oneself until a timeout is called.
Pavlik sees the time in the middle of rallies before the next serve as something that relates to life itself. In moments of high adrenaline, it's about taking it one point at a time and then moving to the next task at hand.
"I think it is a great metaphor for life," Pavlik said. "No matter what decisions are made no matter what environment you find yourself in, if you pay attention to where you are, what you are doing and how you respond to those situations the reaction to it becomes the appropriate one. Same thing holds true in volleyball. You get a chance to end the rally and it's gone. Nothing you can do is going to change that. Now you prepare for your next job."
