By Michael Renahan, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Good things take time.

In Saturday's night's setback to the Wisconsin Badgers, the Penn State Nittany Lions showed that they're improving game by game, period by period. The offensive lines are starting to come together, the defensive pairings are playing better and the goaltending continues looks stronger, as well.

Penn State battled hard against Wisconsin in Saturday's 4-3 loss and showed a lot of bounced back after a 7-1 defeat on Friday night. They scored four goals on 30 shots Saturday night, after scoring just one goal on 28 shots on Friday. They limited the Badgers to just 31 shots on Saturday night, after allowing 43 the night before.

The improvement in all phases of their game is obvious. After going 0-for-4 on the power play Friday, the team went 1-for-2 the next night. These are the things coach Gadowsky is looking for out of his team. The consistency he has been searching for is starting to shine through.

"I thought we did a lot of good things," Gadowsky said after Saturday night's game. "I thought we had a good game. I thought we played fairly consistently, but at the end the wrong guy had the puck on his stick. I felt we played more consistently than we did on Friday night."

During Saturday night's setback, the Nittany Lions looked like a completely different team than the one that played Friday night. They were quick to the puck, made solid passes and their play was leading to goals. As a team, they just looked more composed on the ice than the night before.

Matt Skoff took a tremendous step after struggling in the opener. The sophomore made 27 saves and stopped potential Badgescoring chances several times. Not once did Skoff look like a goaltender who had given up 5 goals the night before.

On the offensive end, it was a group of young players leading the charge for the Nittany Lions.

Zach Saar and Ricky DeRosa, both freshman forwards, tallied pivotal goals for Penn State. DeRosa's third of the season came at a crucial moment in the second period when his team was in need of a spark.

The Badgers had a one goal lead when DeRosa found the back of the net. Saar's initial shot was turned away but the Aston, Pa., native charged the net and hit the puck out of mid-air into to score. The goal evened the game and revamped the Nittany Lions.

Saar's goal came in the third period, after the Badgers had taken a 3-2 lead. Joe Faust beat Matt Skoff seven minutes into the period, but Saar answer 42 seconds later with a rebound goal of his own.

"We'll take our goals anytime we can," Gadowsky said. "I thought it was a huge goal by Zach Saar to get us back to 3-3. I feel like we played a consistent hockey game and I'm very happy with the improvement from last night."

DeRosa, Saar and Captain Tommy Olczyk's line generated 9 shots and the three ended Saturday night with a combined five points. Olcyzk and DeRosa have been working together for most of the season and the addition of Saar will be beneficial heading forward.

Also on the score sheet for the Nittany Lions was Eric Scheid, who scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season. Scheid has become a major offensive threat for the Nittany Lions in 2013. The redshirt sophomore forward is also tied for second on the team in assists.

On Saturday night, Scheid, David Goodwin and Taylor Holstrom combined for seven shots on net. The continuity between the lines is starting to form and more goals are coming.

"At times, we showed what we can do [Saturday] night. We played much more consistent in our game and did what we wanted to do," Gadowsky said. "You're never comfortable against Wisconsin, but we felt like we were in the game the whole way."

The team is still searching for consistency, but the improvement night after night is encouraging.

The Nittany Lions return to Pegula Ice Arena for a couple of weeks of practice before heading to Pittsburgh to compete in the Three Rivers Classic held at the CONSOL Energy Center, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Penn State will be squaring off against Robert Morris on Dec. 27.

--NITTANY LIONS--

By Mike Esse, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Maggie Lucas wasn't pleased with her performance against No. 4 Notre Dame on Wednesday and put it behind her with ease in No. 10/11 Penn State's (6-2) 77-68 win at Georgetown (5-3) on Sunday.

The reigning Big Ten Player of the Year scored 30 points, shooting 10-for-21 from the field and 5-for-12 from downtown. The hot scoring night also put Lucas in Penn State's exclusive 2,000-point club, becoming just the fifth Lady Lion to do it.

Sunday was a drastic difference from her 1-for-8 night against the Fighting Irish, but her coaches and teammates were far from surprised.

"We weren't too concerned (about Maggie)," said assistant coach Maren Walseth. "She's a very focused player and knows what she needs to do to be successful. Her and [assistant coach] Fred Chmiel were in the office watching film and looking at the adjustments she needed to make and it paid off."

Lucas started off the game on an encouraging note, hitting two of her first three shots, both of which came from long range, to get her confidence going from the outset of the game.

The way Lucas came out firing Sunday was a positive for herself, but more than likely even more important for the seven freshman Lady Lions to see their senior leader respond well after a poor shooting night.

"It's good for the rest of the girls to see that you can have a bad game and control your shot selection the next game and have 30 points," said Walseth. "Her performance speaks more to her teammates and the younger players than to our coaching staff."

After the loss to Notre Dame the focus for the mix of veteran and youthful Lady Lions was executing the game plan laid out, no matter who the opponent may be.

With a lot of contributors early in their collegiate careers it's a little different from last year when the game plan didn't have to be followed nearly verbatim because of the experienced players on the floor. This year, Walseth says that isn't the case.

"We have to execute the game plan and do what we are supposed to," she said. "We can't freelance as much with young players. Executing the game plan is much more important with young kids."

Having Lucas as her usual self - a reliable scoring threat - makes that easier to do.

"Whether she likes it or not, everybody feeds off of Maggie," the seventh year assistant said. "When she is playing relaxed, under control and confident, her teammates pick it up. She was able to do that today and others were able to pick [the intensity] up."

Three other Lady Lions were in double figures, supplementing Lucas' 30-point night. Dara Taylor and Ariel Edwards each chipped in 10 points, while Talia East added 10 points vs. the Hoyas.

The added scoring is something Coquese Washington and the coaching staff has been looking for all season long on a consistent basis. Lucas' scoring effort certainly showed that if more focus is put on her, she has capable teammates to make opponents pay.

"When Maggie can come back and fill her role [as a scoring threat] it makes it easier for everyone else. They know what to expect and are able to execute and fill their roles better when Maggie is scoring," Walseth said.

Penn State returns to the road Wednesday against South Dakota State before welcoming 2010-11 NCAA Champion Texas A&M to the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday at 2 p.m.

--LADY LIONS--

By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - David Taylor had spent the entire season looking forward to wrestling in the Bryce Jordan Center, yet when the moment finally came, it still managed to take his breath away.

When the senior and three-time All-American stepped out in front of the screaming fans in a sold out BJC during the Penn State wrestling team's dual meet against Pittsburgh on Sunday, the roar of the crowd nearly overwhelmed him.

"As a kid when you think about going to school to play a sport you think about doing it in front of a lot of people," said Taylor. "There's not many opportunities where you can wrestle in front of a home crowd with 15,000 people and it was awesome."

Competing in front of a new NCAA dual meet record of 15,996 fans, Taylor and the Nittany Lions did not disappoint the sell-out crowd, overcoming two early loses to defeat the Panthers 28-9.

While the Nittany Lions and head coach Cael Sanderson expected to see a packed building, they were still blown away when they heard the news that they had set the NCAA record.

"We were hoping (to break the record) but we didn't think it was possible," said Sanderson. "It's a great deal for our program and for both schools."

Although the match was only a regular season dual against an out-of-conference opponent, the number of fans and the vibe in the arena made the stakes feel much higher for the wrestlers.

According to Taylor, Sunday's meet reminded him of competing at the NCAA Championships, because of the added spotlight and attention.

"I kept thinking how times do you get the opportunity to replicate what it's like to compete in the NCAA finals because it's not very often," said Taylor. "Everything about it is pretty similar and it's a great opportunity for our guys to be up on a stage with everyone looking at you."

Not only did Taylor enjoy every moment of the experience, he made sure the Nittany Lions faithful got their moneys' worth by producing one the most exciting moments of the match at an extremely crucial time for the Nittany Lions.

Starting the second half at the 165-pound weight, and with the score tied 9-9, Taylor proved once again why he is the top ranked wrestler at his weight, dominating Pittsburgh freshman Geno Morelli right from the jump before pinning him nine seconds into the second period.

"He tried to get a shot in and I used a few tricks and got him on his back," said Taylor. "I was able to create some action and when I'm able to do that good things usually happen."

Taylor's fall opened the floodgates for Penn State, as the Nittany Lions swept the rest of the match, getting victories from junior Matt Brown, freshman Wes Phipps, sophomore Morgan McIntosh, and junior Jimmy Lawson to seal the win.

The match was extremely satisfying for Phipps, who handled Panthers freshman Aaron Rothwell in a 13-3 major decision in what was the redshirt freshman's third career dual meet.

Phipps, who had never encountered such an electric atmosphere in his young career, thoroughly enjoyed the experience of wrestling in the BJC.

"I wanted to go out there on a big stage and have fun," Phipps said. "Coach just said to go out there and try to score points and I just looked get some takedowns."

One of the best aspects of the afternoon for each wrestler was having the opportunity to run out past the Penn State student section on their way to the mat for their individual matches, which multiple members of the Lions admitted was an unforgettable moment.

McIntosh, who scored a 4-3 overtime victory over Nick Bonaccorsi at the 197-pound weight, admitted that running past and receiving high-fives from the fans helped get him extremely pumped up as he came out for his match.

"I love Rec Hall obviously but running out like that gave it an extra edge," said McIntosh. "You get pumped up running out in front of the crowd with the extra spotlight on you."

Now that the long anticipated dual has come and gone, the team could not feel more gratitude to their fans for helping the meet live up to its hype.

After having had the meet circled on their calendars since it was scheduled back in August, the Nittany Lions can honestly say that the experience outdid their expectations.

"I've been really excited to wrestle in the Bryce Jordan Center for a while," said Taylor. "To have that many people at a wrestling match at home at Penn State is pretty special." 

By Samantha DelRosso, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's volleyball team played its final home match of the season against Utah on Saturday, and the Nittany Lions knocked off Utah in a 3-0 sweep to advance to the NCAA regional semifinals.

Sophomore Megan Courtney said she had a 'gut feeling' that the team would play well together against Utah. She called the match Penn State's 'statement game'.

"You could see it in all my teammates' eyes. We had to show anyone who's watching what we're made of," Courtney said. "We didn't really make a statement game [against LIU] and I think today we all knew this had to be our statement game."

Courtney led the team to victory with her offensive efforts, tallying 17 kills on .556 hitting. She recorded four kills in the first set and five kills in the second. In the final frame, Courtney tallied eight kills.

"When [Courtney] plays well, she can score points in a number of ways," head coach Russ Rose said. "I think she's one of our better blockers and tonight she was the match's best offensive player. And I thought she passed really well."

The Nittany Lions logged 21 more digs than Utah. Utah middle hitter Erin Redd-Brandon said it was frustrating to take her biggest swings and have the Penn State defense dig the balls up.

"Everyone understands how good [Penn State] is at the net, but what they are very, very good at is their floor defense," Utah head coach Beth Launiere said.

Utah middle hitter Bailey Bateman attributed the fact that the team had trouble reading where the set was going to go to Penn State's good passing.  She said when there's a perfect pass, there are three or four hitters coming at the other team at once. If the pass isn't perfect, the team is a little bit out of system and the setter is down to two hitters or one, which makes it easier to read where its going.

"And [Hancock] is a great setter. She knows what she's doing, so it gets a little difficult to read," Bateman said.

The No. 2-ranked Nittany Lions had an early lead in the first set, leading the Utes 5-1 and forcing a Utah timeout, and later led Utah 13-4. In the first frame, senior Katie Slay hit at a .750 hitting percentage and senior Deja McClendon tallied 6 kills on .455 hitting.

"It's always good to have a nice little lead, it gives you a little bit of comfort," junior libero Dominique Gonzalez said. "But you can't relax because you know these teams play really good teams all season long and they're capable of coming back."

In the second frame, Penn State was off to another good start with a five-point lead before Utah called a timeout. The timeout sparked a small offensive run for the Utes, but Penn State came back with a 6 point run, making the score 14-5. The Nittany Lion offense continued to dominate through the end of the set with a final score of 25-15.

Penn State came out strong again in the third set, giving the Nittany Lions a four-point lead in the beginning of the frame. Utah came within two points of Penn State at 5-3, but kills from Courtney and Scott and an ace from senior Maddie Martin advanced the score to 12-6. Utah continued to fight at 17-10, but the Nittany Lions could not be stopped. The final four points of the set were kills by Courtney. The final score was 25-11.

This was the final match in Rec Hall for the Penn State seniors. McClendon finished with nine kills and a match-high 16 digs. Senior Ariel Scott tallied eight kills and senior Katie Slay led the team in blocking with five blocks.

Penn State will play Michigan State on Friday in Lexington, Ky., in the NCAA regional semifinals. 

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Hear from head coach Cael Sanderson and several wrestlers following Penn State's 28-9 victory over Pitt in front of a record 15,996 fans at the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday.

Follow GoPSUsports.com's Tony Mancuso on Twitter @GoPSUTony

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Take a look inside the Bryce Jordan Center during Sunday's 28-9 victory for the Nittany Lion wrestling team against Pitt before a record 15,996 fans. 

   

Follow GoPSUsports.com's Tony Mancuso on Twitter @GoPSUTony

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Two-time Big Ten Receiver of the Year Allen Robinson and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Christian Hackenberg spent Saturday in Indianapolis at the Big Ten Championship Game.  The duo was honored for their season awards on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium prior to Michigan State's 34-24 victory over Ohio State.

Robinson and Hackenberg participated in a wide range of events leading up to the game.  Take a behind the scenes look at their trip to Indy.

Follow GoPSUsports.com's Tony Mancuso on Twitter @GoPSUTony

By Chelsea Howard, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Since 1981, Penn State has had the opportunity to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament inside Rec Hall 27 times. The Nittany Lions have welcomed tournament teams for 23 consecutive years taking away the stress of traveling to start the postseason.

"I'm always grateful Penn State puts in a bid so that we have a chance to host. I'm appreciative of the fans that come and I'm appreciative of the band that plays," head coach Russ Rose said.

Not only does hosting give the Nittany Lions home court advantage, but it also give the seniors one more opportunity to play on the court they have grown to love over the past four years.

"I told the seniors I thought today's match was their senior night," Rose said. "I was really pleased with how those guys stepped up and played well. Deja (McClendon) finished off her last match in Rec Hall in a real positive fashion."

The outside hitter had a strong night against Utah where she led the team with 16 digs and registered the teams' second highest number of kills with 9.  However, coming into the lineup four years ago, McClendon didn't have much experience in the back row.

"It's great for Deja to lead the match in digs," Rose said. "I think it's the evolution of her game that she's a much more complete player and was willing to commit to the things she needed to do to get better."

After going through countless practices and matches in Rec Hall since her freshman year, McClendon was able to end her last match there on a high note before heading to her home state of Kentucky for the regional semifinals.

"It's a great feeling," McClendon said. "It's sad though and just unreal. I'm glad I had these guys to share it with."

By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - It's no secret to opponents of the Penn State men's basketball team that the guard tandem of Tim Frazier and D.J. Newbill are a pair that must be reckoned with at all times.

While the Nittany Lions starting backcourt has taken on the majority of the team's scoring duties so far this season, the duo got some much appreciated help from their frontcourt against Marshall on Saturday, with forwards Donovon Jack and Ross Travis both coming through with big games.

Following back-to-back setbacks against Ole Miss and Pittsburgh away from home, Jack and Travis both gave their best performances of the season as the Nittany Lions dominated the Thundering Herd in a 90-77 victory.  Travis notched 20 points and six rebounds, while Jack chipped in with 18 points, seven rebounds, and a staggering seven blocks.

"I'll take that many points from my frontcourt any day," said head coach Patrick Chambers. "I thought they did a good job sharing the basketball and they took good shots."

The Nittany Lions came busting out of the gate with an 11-1 run in the game's first three minutes that eventually led to a 47-32 halftime lead, with Jack at the center of it all.

The 6-foot-9 sophomore wasted little time establishing the tone for the Nittany Lions on defense, coming up with five of his seven blocks in the first half, which severely hindered the Thundering Herd's rhythm on offense.

With the Nittany Lions having dedicated much of their focus this season to refining their play on the defensive end, Jack stated afterwards that he was happy to play such a major role in his team's improvement.

"We always stress defense and one of our keys today was defensive rebounding," said Jack. "I was just out there playing hard and doing what coach asked me to do."

After scoring just 12 combined points in the team's previous two contests, Chambers couldn't have been more pleased to see Jack bounce back with such a strong effort.

Though he couldn't have predicted that the second year player would match his career high scoring total or that he would come just three blocks away from tying Calvin Booth's Penn State single game record, Chambers was adamant that he expected a big game from Jack.

"Coaches have gut feelings about these things and I thought he was due (for a big game)," said Chambers. "He was shooting the ball well in practice and he knows I have confidence in him."

Jack was not the only Nittany Lion to prove he could get back on track after a couple of tough games, as Travis rebounded from a two point performance against Pittsburgh to end up as the Blue and White's leading scorer against Marshall.

Travis displayed his ability to not only get to the foul line by relentlessly driving to the basket, but also to convert once he got there, as the junior small forward finished the afternoon having gone 9-for-11 from the charity stripe.

"I though Ross mixed it up well today and drove the ball hard," said Chambers. "He kept balls alive and did all the little things and I though he looked comfortable making plays."

The scoring spark that Jack and Travis provided also prevented the Thundering Herd from focusing on stopping Frazier and Newbill, which led to all five of Penn State's starters reaching double figures in points.

According to Travis, the Nittany Lions adding the ability to score in the paint to their already stellar perimeter game makes them an extremely difficult team to defend.

"Getting those inside buckets really opens up the outside shots for our three-point shooters," said Travis. "Also getting those dunks lifts the team up and gets the energy flowing."

Travis's performance was praised by not only his own coach, but also by Marshall head coach Tom Herrion, who admitted that the small forward's hard-nosed play helped overwhelm his team.

"I thought Travis really hurt us early in the game with the way he drove (to the basket)," said Herrion. "(Penn State) has really good pieces and Patrick (Chambers) does a good job playing to his pieces strengths."

With his team back in the win column after a couple of tough loses, Chambers remained confident that his squad, now at 7-3, is headed on the right path.

If the Nittany Lions can continue to defend and rebound the way they did against Marshall, Chambers has no doubt that the positive results will continue to come.

"I thought we did a really good job defensively, and I'm seeing progression," said Chambers. "This game scared me and I was really proud of the leadership we showed today."