Courtney has long thrived as Nittany Lion on volleyball court

In the summer of 2009, when Megan Courtney was 15 years old, she stood on the court during a Penn State volleyball summer camp surrounded by All-Americans.

Joining her were Alisha Glass, Megan Hodge, Blair Brown and Arielle Wilson.

The 15-year-old kid held her own.

“You would have had a difficult time if you were an outsider picking the 14- or 15-year-old out with those people,” coach Russ Rose said of Courtney’s early venture into Penn State volleyball. “Her volleyball IQ has always been great.”

Now 22 years old and a senior, Courtney is the veteran with national champion credits on her resume while other young girls clamor to step on the court with her.

Courtney hits the Rec Hall floor for a match for the final time this weekend when the No. 7 seed Nittany Lions (26-5) host Howard (18-13) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Dayton and Villanova meet in the first match at 5 p.m., and the winners tangle in the second round at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

During that summer camp in 2009, Courtney was surrounded by some of the biggest names in the program’s history. The team had just won its second straight NCAA title, was in the middle of an NCAA-record 109-match win streak and would win another two straight titles.

For a few days on the same floor was the young and talented Courtney.

“They were really good about letting a (15)-year-old play with them when I didn’t really deserve a spot on the court,” Courtney said. “I remember I swung and Blair blocked me and it hit me in the face. I was like, ‘Holy crap! Blair Brown just blocked me!’”

She said she wasn’t trying to impress them, just trying to hold her own. But getting to spend time with them helped convince her to attend Penn State, especially Glass. The current setter for the U.S. national team was “98 percent why” Courtney picked the Nittany Lions.

Having that connection to not only those women but so many others who have been a part of the program helps in many other ways too.

Rose has long been known for his toughness on players, for being incredibly critical. Courtney has a thick skin and can take the criticism, knowing why she hears the occasional harsh critiques.

“He knows that I can play better,” Courtney said. “Why would I let the greatest volleyball coach ever down knowing that I can have more to offer.”

“I’m hard on Megan,” Rose said, “because Megan can handle me being hard on Megan and some of the others can’t.”

So when Rose does get to her, a text or Facebook message to any of those Nittany Lion alumni helps. They all heard it too, and know how it feels, and they remind her the motivation for the words.

“When he says those things,” Courtney said, “it’s that I’m letting him down, and he knows I have so much more potential.”

It also toughens her for later in life.

“He’s going to be the hardest boss I’ve ever had,” Courtney said. “If people look at it like that, life post-Coach is going to be easy. You’re going to be coasting through.”

While she could hold her own at 15 among those All-Americans, she also could hold her own as a freshman in 2012 in helping the team to the NCAA semifinals and being named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. That team also was filled with juniors and seniors with plenty of All-America awards on their resumes.

Two NCAA titles followed, along with the Most Outstanding Player award from last year’s tournament, and she brings 1,130 kills and 1,107 digs for her career into this tournament, just the eighth Nittany Lion to hit the 1,000 double-double.

She takes a lot of pride in that passing ability, and she is one of the best on the team this season. She calls it the most important skill she has developed, and it can seriously influence a player’s confidence.

“It may not get the glory,” Courtney said, “but it definitely gets the wins over being able to bounce balls.”

She graduates in two weeks with a degree in kinesiology, and the real world awaits. She has no idea if she wants to try a pro career, so she may only have six volleyball matches left.

There may still be someone left to impress.

“It’s do or die,” Courtney said. “If you win you advance, if you don’t you go home thinking, ‘What could I have done better?’ I know our team has talked a lot about not regretting anything we do at the end of the season and not saying, ‘What if?’”

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 10:09 PM with the headline "Courtney has long thrived as Nittany Lion on volleyball court."