Lions prepped for pressure of championship

By Julie Reis Daily Collegian

January 16, 2008

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (UWIRE) --

Trips to the shopping mall or grocery store haven't been quite the same for members of the Penn State women's volleyball team.

As the Nittany Lions traveled to their respective hometowns over winter break, they received congratulations and praise from fans in places such as local restaurants and Wal-Marts.

The athletes were still reveling in the aftermath of winning Penn State's second national title Dec. 15 against top-seeded Stanford in a five-game thriller, 3-2 (30-25, 30-26, 23-30, 19-30, 15-8). The victory came eight years after Penn State's first title in 1999.

"It's a feeling that I can't even really describe until I actually think about it," junior middle hitter Christa Harmotto said Monday. "It hasn't all the way sunk in yet. It does at random times, but I think once we get started again, we'll realize what we actually accomplished."

With six out of the seven starters returning, the Lions are already a heavy favorite for a second consecutive title.

"Everybody says, 'You guys should be really good, because you got everybody coming back.' Well, so many other teams have a lot of people coming back, and they have new kids coming in," Penn State coach Russ Rose said. "Every team is different. Just like they can't take the 1999 championship back, they can't take the 2007 championship back no matter how the kids play in 2008."

The returning players are already aware of what lies ahead of them. Training for next season is fast approaching and the expectations to repeat will continue to grow as the fall creeps closer.

The Lions will return star players such as All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year Harmotto, along with this year's three other All-Americans: junior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett, sophomore outside hitter Megan Hodge and sophomore setter Alisha Glass.

Rose has stressed the impact Glass' improvement has had on this year's team, and it will be up to her and her teammates to pick up where they left off. Despite the pressure, Glass said it's added motivation to return as the defending national champions.

"You get a taste of it, and it's something that you want to get back," Glass said. "We know what it takes to get to the final four, and we know what it takes to be strong throughout the tournament.

"We're definitely going to have a target on our back and a lot of people are going to be gunning for us, and we just need to step up to the challenge."

With the elevated expectations for next season, coaches and players have changed gears with the team's first meeting planned in the coming weeks.

For Rose, the shift began the day after the championship when he returned to work. For the players, the transition is taking a little longer. They are still letting the realization sink in while they continue to hear congratulations from strangers. Amid the praise is the innate need to get back in the action to defend their national championship.

"Over Christmas break, the first week I just let it all sink in," Harmotto said.

"And then, I was like, 'You know what? I'm ready to get back on the court and just start practicing.' That may sound silly to some people, but I'm just so anxious to start training and playing again.

"To end a season like that, you can't wait to get back to playing with your team and building."