The weekend before classes began we were invited to play in the Active Ankle Challenge against WKU, Moorehead State, and U of L at the YUM Center in none other than my hometown, Louisville, Kentucky. Knowing that we were going to play in Kentucky made the end of preseason that much more motivating and exciting. We packed up our bags Thursday morning and headed to the airport anxious to play our first game of the season.
When we arrived in Louisville we took a trip downtown to DuPont Manual, my high school where I was recognized and my jersey was retired. It was amazing to see what kind of transition I had made from the high school game to now. It was an extremely proud and exhilarating moment to be representing Penn State and to be sharing a once-in-a-lifetime experience with my teammates.
One thing that I will never forget about this trip is how it felt to win a match in the YUM Center. At the start of the Louisville match I had a steady stream of chills running through my body almost like electricity. When the lights turned off for team introductions it was nearly impossible not to imagine the national championship that will be played there in December. Ever since I stepped foot in the arena in high school I knew it would be a dream come true to play a game there. Now I have expanded my dream to playing a championship match there. And that is what we are working for every day.
By Tony Mancuso, Athletic Communications on September 2, 2012 5:44 PM
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By Kelsey Detweiler, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - On back-to-back nights, capacity crowds filed into
Rec Hall to watch the No. 4-ranked Nittany Lion women's volleyball team take
down two top volleyball programs.
First, the Nittany Lions ousted No. 9 Stanford in five sets, playing more than
two and a half hours of volleyball amidst 5,017 fans on Friday night. Not only
was the victory Penn State's fourth straight win, but also the first time that
the Lions defeated Stanford since the 2008 NCAA Championship match.
Junior right-side hitter Ariel Scott posted 26 kills and was the go-to girl
on the offense while sophomore defensive specialist Lacey Fuller got a special
nod from Penn State head coach Russ Rose for her timely play in the back row
and a tally of 10 digs.
The next evening, Penn State matched up against an even higher-ranked
powerhouse in No. 2 Texas. The Longhorns came out swinging and kept the Lions
on their toes, but Penn State pushed the pace and swept Texas in front of another
capacity crowd in Rec Hall.
Scott led the Lions' offense, again, with a match-high 12 kills against the
Longhorns and junior outside hitter Deja McClendon followed with 11 to add to
the attack. Fuller continued to control the back-row with nine key digs
alongside freshman outside hitter Megan Courtney who subdued eight big swings
from the Texas offense.
After a winning weekend that puts Penn State at a perfect 5-0 mark to start
the 2012 season, coach Rose said that he was frankly just impressed.
"We beat a good team with a great crowd again in Rec Hall and it's a progression
for sure," said Rose.
Rose noted the strong play and composure of Courtney in particular, who was the
only freshman that started and remained in the entire match on Saturday night.
"I thought she passed well," Rose said of Courtney. "She's a very relaxed
passer and she takes some good swings. She hit .530 and didn't have any hitting
errors so that's a good thing. The three service errors weren't her best
offering but she did some things well and we needed her to do that."
Although it was her debut weekend in Rec Hall as a student-athlete,
Courtney said that she already feels right at home at a school that she had
been planning on attending for several years in advance.
"I've been here a lot," said Courtney. "I knew I was coming here since my
sophomore year so I've seen the atmosphere a lot. Just getting on the court and
getting a feel for it was pretty easy coming in. All of the girls are so
helpful telling me where to go and helping me out."
The weekend tournament proved to be what Rose said was a good test for his
team. The head coach said that after seeing what he saw from his team, it is
helpful to know more than he did just one short week ago.
But Rose is by no means singing praises just yet. The tenured Nittany Lion
coach knows that his team's season had only just begun.
"Our focus from day one is that we have to play well as a team, we have to
be conscious of errors and we have to compete," said Rose. "We won't look back
because we have to play for the next 12 weekends so it's a long way."
By Kelsey Detweiler, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer UNIVERSITY PARK,
Pa. - While his team assembled inside for the start of another practice, Russ
Rose sat on a small black bench outside of Rec Hall on Wednesday afternoon.
Soaking up the sun just two days before his teams' home-opening weekend, the
Penn State women's volleyball head coach admitted feeling a bit of anticipation
for the upcoming competition.
"If the girls are excited to play and play good volleyball than yeah, I'm
excited," Rose said.
The No. 4 Nittany
Lions are back in action for their first matches in Rec Hall this season. The
campus facility will play host to the Nike Big Four Classic, welcoming Florida,
Stanford and Texas for an exciting weekend of volleyball.
Penn State is
slated to face the No. 9 Cardinal from Stanford at 8 p.m. on Friday night
before it squares off with the No. 2 Texas Longhorns at 7 p.m. the next
evening.
The Lions already
have three victories already under their belt after sweeping Morehead State,
Western Kentucky and Louisville last weekend. Heading into their home-opening
lineup, Penn State is ready to face even tougher competition and get the ball
rolling.
Right-side hitter
and junior Ariel Scott said that she and her teammates have spent more time
than usual watching film of their upcoming opponents because they know what
they're up against.
"Both teams are
really good," said Scott. "We're all in the top 10 just about so it's going to
be a competitive weekend but we're all excited to play at home and get the
season started off on a good note."
Scott is one of 13
returning players on the team as the Lions said goodbye to just two athletes
from last year's squad and added only four new faces to the group. The junior
attack weapon said that the strong familiarity that she and her teammates share
has been a positive point in preparing for the season ahead.
"It's a lot of
returning players so it's not as difficult to fit in new people so it's easier
for all of us to get together on the court and help out the one or two players
that need our help and just go from there," said Scott. "I think everyone has
improved a lot in the offseason."
The Nittany Lion
faithful can expect to see the familiar faces of senior Kristin Carpenter,
juniors Deja McClendon and Katie Slay and sophomores Dominique Gonzalez, Lacey
Fuller, Micha Hancock and Nia Grant back in action.
Gonzalez, who Scott
said has developed as a strong defensive specialist and leader out of the back
row, said that she is most anxious for the high energy atmosphere and buzz that
she hopes will fill the rafters in Rec Hall.
"I'm happy to be back
in this gym and getting the season going and I'll be happy when the seats are
filled and we can start playing our game again," said Gonzalez. "It's always
nice to be back on your home floor for the start of another year."
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
The fourth-ranked Nittany Lion women's volleyball team opens its home schedule
with two blockbuster matches inside Rec Hall.On Friday, Penn State meets No. 9 Stanford (8 p.m.).On Saturday, the Lions will take on No. 2
Texas.
Following a 3-0 start to the season in Louisville, Ky., last weekend, the Lions
are prepping for two early-season challenges.GoPSUsports.com caught up with assistant coach Steve Aird for some
insight leading up to this weekend's matches against Stanford and Texas.
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Nittany Lion women's volleyball head coach Russ
Rose kicks off his 34th season at the helm of the program on Friday at 5 p.m.
against Morehead State (Louisville, Ky.).
Penn State will play three matches in Louisville this weekend before taking on
powers Stanford and Texas in Rec Hall to open the home slate on Aug. 31 and
Sept. 1.We caught up with Coach Rose in
his office and middle hitter Katie Slay, outside hitter Deja McClendon and
setter/defensive specialist Kristin Carpenter in the practice gym to preview
the 2012 campaign.Take a look.
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
The Nittany Lion women's volleyball team will intensify its preparations for
the 2012 season with the first day of official practice in less than one week away.
Four newcomers joined the roster since the Lions last played a match.We wrap up a series of interviews with the
freshmen getting set to kick off their first season in Penn State blue and
white.
Today, we talk with 5-6 defensive specialist Kendall Pierce.An Eden, N.Y., native, Pierce was a
three-year letterwinner and two-year captain at Eden High School.She helped lead her team to ECIC and
Sectional titles four times and a state title three times.Pierce was named MVP of the state title
during her senior season.Meet Kendall
Pierce.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lion women's volleyball team will
intensify its preparations for the 2012 season with the first day of official
practice in less than one week away.
Four newcomers joined the roster since the Lions last played a match.We continue a series of interviews with the
freshmen getting set to kick off their first season in Penn State blue and
white.
Today, we talk with 6-2 outside hitter Paulina Prieto Cerame.Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Prieto Cerame
was a three-year team captain at Palmer Trinity School in Miami, Fla.The three-time All-Miami Dade County first
team selection was named Miami Herald Player of the Year twice in her high
school career.Meet Paulina Prieto
Cerame.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lion women's volleyball team will
intensify its preparations for the 2012 season with the official practice beginning next week.
Four newcomers joined the roster since the Lions last played a match.We continue a series of interviews with the
freshmen getting set to kick off their first season in Penn State blue and
white.
Today, we focus on 5-4 defensive specialist Lara Caraway.The Evans City, Pa., product was a four-year
varsity letterwinner and team captain in the Mars Area School District (was
homeschooled).Caraway was named a 2011
First Team All-State honoree, in addition to All-WPIAL first team honors.Meet Lara Caraway.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lion women's volleyball team will
intensify its preparations for the 2012 season with the first day of official
practice in one week.
Four newcomers joined the roster since the Lions last played a match.This week, we will roll out a series of
interviews with the freshmen getting set to kick off their first season in Penn
State blue and white.
First up is 6-2 outside hitter/setter Megan Courtney.The Dayton, Ohio, native was a first team
Under Armour All-American and PrepVolleyball High School All-American.The Gatorade Player of the Year in Ohio
helped lead Kettering Archbishop Alter High School to the OHSAA Final Four
during her freshmen, junior and senior seasons.Meet Megan Courtney.
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GoPSUsports.com's Tony Mancuso on Twitter @GoPSUTony
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -Former Penn State women's volleyball
standouts Christa Harmotto and Megan Hodge are in London representing USA
Volleyball in its quest for a gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Harmotto and Hodge, who both
were named to the 12-player roster for London on July 3, are set to participate
in the Opening Ceremonies on Friday.Prior to leaving the United States, GoPSUsports.com talked with Harmotto
on what it is like to be an Olympian and her expectations for the 2012 Games.
Team USA Women's Volleyball
begins pool play on Saturday against Korea.
Q: Just talk about the
opportunity you have. Not many people are in your position and as a person in
the sport of volleyball, what does this mean to you? Harmotto: "It truly is a dream come true. When I played in high school, I had
an opportunity to play for the Junior National team for two years. I think
that's when the Olympic dream started. I was in that pipeline, but there was a
lot of work to do before that. In the years at Penn State, I was super
fortunate to be a part of a very successful and great program, where myself,
Megan (Hodge), Nicole (Fawcett), and Alisha (Glass) could all go into the pool
of players to compete for spots on this Olympic roster."
Q: You touched on Megan,
Alisha, and Nicole. You look at the 12-person roster and two are Penn Staters
and then additionally Alisha and Nicole as alternates. What's it like to have
teammates around you in this elite company? Harmotto: "It's fantastic for me. It's something for me, my senior year when
Nicole and I were asked to come out and try out for the national team. Megan
and Alisha that following summer came out for a couple of weeks. At some point,
it was Blair (Brown) and Arielle (Wilson) were there too.There were six Penn Staters there and former
teammates. That was really cool and I think it's a tribute to the people that
Penn State recruits and, obviously, the training that goes on behind Coach
Rose. They build their athletes to train hard and work hard and it develops us
into good players, where we can begin to compete at that international level."
Q: How did coach Rose
specifically help to put you in this position? Harmotto: "I think at this level, it's so much about the mental game, as
well. You spend your life learning these skills and coach is trying to strip us
of some of our bad habits here. You just stay in the trenches and grind and
grind and grind. That's something that Coach Rose definitely taught us and he
expects the best out of us. A lot of times, it's figuring out what you're doing
wrong and how to fix it. Coach Rose helped us to figure out a lot of things on
our own by presenting these different challenges, whether it was in practice or
things along the way. I think he prepared us the best mentally for this and you
grow up in the Penn State program and know you have to work hard in order to
succeed and it's the same thing at this level."
Q: How much time have you put
into USA Volleyball leading up to this summer? How much commitment did you have
to be involved with leading up to this point? Harmotto: "It's a four year all-year round commitment. My National team
season began in May 2009 and went until October that year and then we all split
off and went to our professional teams. The coaches here expect that you to
work on things you learned the past summer and then we all meet back up again
the following May.It's constantly on
your mind. It's not easy; it's been somewhat of a rollarcoaster for me both
from the mental side and the physical side. I had another knee surgery last
year and things like that. You have four years to get to this ultimate dream
and goal. I can't tell you how rewarding it is to reflect back on the
relationships I built with all of these different players that I took from this
year and Penn State.There's a whole lot
more that goes into that final day when the Olympic roster is decided. I think
it's a tribute to all 25-plus girls that have been in and out of the program
and trained for these Olympic games. Without all 25, then the final 12 would
not be as good as they are.I think it's
important to have depth and I think we showed at the Grand Prix that it didn't
matter what lineup we threw out there.We were able to get it done because of the work and the hours that every
player has put in."
Q: Give me an idea of what
it's like in term of the competition.Obviously, there's a lot of talent when you look down the roster.It's pretty much a who's-who of college
volleyball in America for the past decade. What's it like competing with these
people on a daily basis in practice? Harmotto: "As we say in California, it's pretty gnarly. (laughter) Everyday
when you go in that gym, it's essentially like a four-year tryout in the sense
that you're building.They're studying
everything, serving, passing, hitting.They give you chances to check back in and work on things, but they
prepare you for these matches during practice.There are only so many matches we get to play a year with the national
team, so I think they do a great job of creating that environment where there's
pressure.You know that they're studying
you. That's something that different people deal with differently. As far as
competing against the ability level of our team, we have the three middles from
the previous Olympic team.You walk in
and first off they are fantastic in showing how to work and stay healthy.You go out to just become whatever player you
become, whether it's chipping in or just watching them.It's a combination of competition and
phenomenal friendship. We have several girls who have competed for
international or national championships.We enjoy watching all of these players that are part of our era and now
they're some of our best friends.So you
have the relationship aspect, the learning aspect, and the competition.You have to go out and stay with it.You have a bad week here and there and you
have to stay in the trenches and Penn State and Coach Rose prepared me for
that.It helps me for those pressure
moments, when I'm in the trenches and grinding it out while competing against
these players."
Q:
What was that moment like when you were notified that you were on the 12-player
roster going to London? Harmotto: "They organized individual
meetings in 10-minute intervals on July 3rd in rank by seniority.Mine was at 11:30 and I walked in, the first
thing that we've spoken with all four coaches and we've nominated you for
London, and I think they said some other things afterward. After you hear those
words, I was trying to process everything because it all happened so fast. I
can't believe it's already here.It was
very special and it's something that I'll definitely remember and have that in
me for the rest of my life. There's a whole lot of preparation for the
Olympics, but there's a whole lot more that goes along with it."
Q:
What will your schedule entail during your time in London? Harmotto: "We played a match against
Liberia this past week and had a full day schedule, which is how it is for the
Olympics.We play a day and then we're
off a day.You can check the USA
Volleyball website for the schedule.I
think we start the 28th because the opening ceremony is the 27th.We play Korea first and then it's every other
day.We'll play each team in our pool
and you can see all of that information on the website.After pool play ends, we'll have crossover
matches and then eventually if we win, which is the goal, we have the
semifinals and finals."
Q:
What do you think of the field and how the team stacks up? Harmotto: "As a team, we're
definitely up there in the world rankings.In February we were moved up to the No. 1 spot.Coach Rose always talked about at Penn State,
it's not where we start, it's where we finish.I'm sure that stands true for this, too.Everyone goes to the Olympics hoping to win on the international level
and we've been training for this pressure for four years.There's no turning it off.I think it carries over from our practices
and training camp, because you can't take a day off or someone will pass you
by.I think it's that same attitude on
the court.You have Brazil, Russia, and
the Italians and all of those great teams.We're ready to compete and we'll see what happens."
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