Penn State women’s volleyball is young but confident heading into NCAA tournament play
Head coach Russ Rose calmly took questions from the media Tuesday afternoon, three days ahead of Penn State’s appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which begins with a first-round matchup with Princeton.
The postseason tournament is nothing new for Rose, who in his 41st year at Penn State has appeared in all 39 NCAA Tournaments and won seven NCAA Championships, the most of any coach in the sports’ history.
It’s safe to say Rose knows what it takes to win at the highest level, and knows what he needs to see in a team for them to have a shot at a title.
“I think some of the championship teams we had were very competitive,” he said. “(They) were self-starters and were able to monitor each other’s behavior and were able to keep themselves on task. (They) were very rarely distracted, even when other teams made runs.”
The real question is, does he see it in this year’s team?
“I wouldn’t say this team has demonstrated all of those things up to this point in time,” he said. “Nor should they. This team is different than those teams. Every team is different.”
Rose is leading a young team into the NCAA Tournament, but the high level of play in the Big Ten has helped prepare the roster for what’s to come. Sophomore Gabby Blossom said last weekend’s matches with No. 5 Wisconsin Friday night and No. 8 Minnesota on Saturday night were especially helpful, particularly with a matchup with American or Towson looming if Penn State defeats Princeton.
“We played two top-10 games back-to-back,” Blossom said. “It’s something that you get confidence (from) going into the (NCAA) Tournament.”
The Nittany Lions defeated Wisconsin, 3-2, to earn a shot at a share of the Big Ten title, but fell to Minnesota the next night, 3-1
Sophomore Jonni Parker said the mentality Rose has instilled in his team has ensured weekends like the last one can be overcome and are much more manageable when they happen.
“It’s like coach says, we just take it one day at a time,” Parker said. “You can’t get too caught up in what’s after that. We have to focus on what’s first and then after that we’ll take care of what’s after that.”
While those matchups were important, the rest of the Big Ten slate ensured the Nittany Lions were unable to take a night off and kept them at the top of their game.
“Every single game is a grind,” Blossom said. “We’re used to playing really good teams back-to-back, which is something special about the Big Ten. Going into the tournament you have that sense that you can play really hard games back-to-back. (You know) your body can take playing really hard games.”
That kind of consistent competition can create a tense environment, but Blossom said the camaraderie the team has makes it much easier to relax and enjoy the time the team has together on and off the court.
“The tournament is the most fun time of the year,” she said. “This is why you play college volleyball. This is what you dream of as a little kid. We have very good team chemistry so it’s easier for us because we’re such good friends. In the locker room, we’re dancing and singing and having a good time before games.”
The No. 11-seed Nittany Lions will have a chance to put their cohesiveness on display at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Rec Hall. The winner of that game will stay at Rec Hall to play the winner of Friday’s 5 p.m. American vs. Towson match at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
Parker said she’s ready for the challenge the Tigers present and excited for another run in the postseason.
“It’s all or nothing,” Parker said. “You’ve got to go hard all the time. You can’t let one thing stay in your head for too long. You gotta overcome it and stay fighting. It’s all in or nothing. Go big or go home.”
This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 11:57 AM.
