High Times in Happy Valley

Another year has produced yet another Penn State national power.

Penn State senior setter Sam Tortorello has plenty to look at every time she sets foot inside the Nittany Lions' gym.

"There is tradition there every time you walk into that gym," said Tortorello, a 2004 ASICS®/Volleyball first-team All-American selection. "You see the national championship banner up there and all of the Big Ten banners—and we've only been in the conference for like 15 years. All of that stuff motivates us. We don't want to let the program down. We want to do better each year."

To say the least, there has been no letdown in Happy Valley in 2005. Through late October, Penn State was 17-2 overall and held the No. 3 post in the Molten/Volleyball Women's College Top 20. Penn State was also the only remaining undefeated Big Ten Conference team (8-0, which included a sweep of nationally-ranked Wisconsin in Madison). Penn State's lone losses were to defending national champion Stanford (3-2) and consensus national No. 1 Nebraska. Both were road losses.

This Penn State group features a varied dynamic on the court that combines veteran leadership from the likes of Tortorello and libero-supreme Kaleena Walters with the impressive talents of freshmen Nicole Fawcett and Christa Harmotto. Add in the contributions of junior Cassy Salyer (6'5", MB-Opp), sophomores Melissa Walbridge (6'3", MB-OPP) and Kate Price (6'2", OH) and freshman Laura Holloway (6'1", OH) and it's easy to see why the Nittany Lions are once again a force to be reckoned with.

"We have a great group of talented girls," said Walters. "We have big hitters that can put the ball away and Sam is a great setter. That combination has made us successful up to this point."

Two of those big hitters include freshmen Fawcett and Harmotto. The 6'4" Fawcett, a native of Zanesfield, Ohio, was leading the Nittany Lions in kills (4.29 per game) through late October and the 6'2" Harmotto, who calls Alaquippa, Pa. home, was averaging a team-best 1.45 blocks per contest and 2.98 kills. That duo comprised part of a 2005 Penn State recruiting class that was ranked No. 2 by Volleyball.

"I think before the freshmen even came in here, we had high expectations for them doing so well," said Walters. "They have been great and have been an added bonus, but I expected them to do what they have been doing."

Fawcett admits she didn't know what to expect in the beginning, but points to one major impetus in the success of the freshman class.

"We have great senior leadership," said Fawcett. "We have two and three freshmen playing at a time. We're inexperienced in a way, but the seniors have definitely stepped up and helped us adapt. At the beginning, I felt a little uncomfortable. Now, we're having so much fun. It's not who is a senior or a freshman out there. It's the fact that we are a team that plays together. We win together and we lose together."

Veteran Penn State coach Russ Rose, who is approaching the 850-win plateau in his 26-year tenure, also is not surprised with how his freshman class has performed.

"There are a lot of good freshmen in the country," said Rose, who has directed Penn State to eight Big Ten titles, five national semifinal appearances and the 1999 national championship. "I'm not necessarily surprised by Nicole and Christa. They were two of them."

Besides, bringing in a talented freshman class, Rose also ratcheted up the Nittany Lions' schedule considerably. Penn State opened the year in Omaha at the AVCA/NACWAA Showcase against defending national champion Stanford and Hawaii. Matches against Hawaii and USC followed in Hawaii and a trip back to Nebraska featured a tussle with the top-ranked Huskers.

"When I looked at the potential schedule for the year I based it on the fact we had a veteran setter and a veteran libero," said Rose. "Those were the prime reasons for stepping up the level of competition in the early part of the season. It was a good challenge. We learned a great deal about what we are good at and what we need to get better at. We could have ducked those teams. But the top teams should play each other. You have nothing to lose. It's not like football where you have bowl games and need six wins. In those matches, I found out a lot about my players and I found out where to set the bar."

Part of how high the bar has been set is because of the veteran presence of Tortorello and Walters. Tortorello surpassed the 5,000 career assists mark this season and will go down in the annals of Penn State women's volleyball as part of an elite group of setters that includes fellow All-Americans Michelle Jaworski, Bonnie Bremner, Salima Davidson and Ellen Hensler—some of the program's all-time greats.

"Sam is an unbelievable setter," said Fawcett. "She always does stuff that amazes me just how she sets the ball and she makes things happen. She makes unbelievable sets for the hitters. Without her, it would be tough to play the way we are playing."

"Sam is very vocal on the court," said Walters. "She expects a lot out of everyone. Having her on this team is very important."

Equally important is the defensive presence Walters provides. Walters was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2004.

"I wouldn't trade Kaleena for any of the liberos we have seen," said Rose.

And Penn State's players aren't about to trade Rose either.

"Russ has been here a long time and he's the reason Penn State is the way it is now," said Tortorello. "The thing I have learned the most from him is about playing with passion and love what you do—go into every day trying to do your best."

And like Tortorello mentioned, the tradition Rose has built in University Park, is a powerful motivator.

"The teams before us have been so successful and the people before us mean so much," said Walters. "We want to make sure we are doing the same thing they were doing that made Penn State known for volleyball."

Rose, however, isn't so sure about the tradition aspect.

"It doesn't win you any matches," said the always candid Rose. "It helps in recruiting and it helps you talk to players. In the rally scoring era, you have to come ready to play or you will be beat. Rally scoring has introduced a few new ways to lose matches. My expectations remain high for the girls every year. I want girls who work hard and aren't expecting someone to kiss their butt and tell them how good they are. I have a lot of respect for players like Sam and Kaleena, but I'm still hard on them. I keep on every player to get better or they shouldn't be here."

Walters believes Penn State's success this season has come from the sum of the different parts.

"We do a variety of things pretty well," said Walters. "We do the things we need to do that will make us successful."

And that success only adds to the continued volleyball excellence in Happy Valley.