Just before Christmas, the Penn State Department of Intercollegiate Athletics contacted Brigham Young's Tom Peterson about succeeding Tom Tait, who announced his retirement as men's volleyball coach last May. Although the athletic department has not officially announced his hiring, Peterson said in a phone interview Saturday that he had accepted the job.

Tait, who will step down as head coach when Peterson arrives next week, said that Peterson will have few problems during his transition from a club coach to the coach of a major NCAA power.

"I think we have a real good person coming in who the team will be able to relate to well," Tait said. "We wanted a young guy who would bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the program. He has worked with the national program, so he knows what kind of people he will need (to have a successful team)."

Under Peterson, the BYU volleyball program has reached the pinnacle of club athletics. The Cougars have won the national club championship the past three seasons and routinely draw crowds approaching 5,000.

"Our program has been very good, one of the best teams in the country," Peterson said. "Any one of our starters could play anywhere in the country. We draw the largest crowds (at BYU) behind football and basketball, and we've (hosted national powers such as) UCLA and Pepperdine."

Following a speaking engagement next Saturday, Peterson plans to drive across the country to Happy Valley. With him will be Loren Finn, currently the coach of BYU's junior varsity team, who will assist Peterson.

Peterson began coaching as an assistant with the University of Utah women's team. He returned to his alma mater, BYU, in 1983 in a similar capacity. The next year he took over as head coach of the men's team and has subsequently taken it to new levels of excellence.

Peterson was an assistant coach of the 1985 Junior National Team which competed in Europe, but perhaps his most impressive honor was not achieved in a coaching role. Last year he was named a United States Volleyball Association first-team All-American for players between the ages of 30 and 35.

His first contact with the Penn State team was two years ago when both teams competed at the Long Beach (Calif.) Classic. Since then, Tait has helped the BYU program, Peterson said.

Although the two have not discussed any immediate plans, Tait said he will still be around the team, adding input whenever it would help Peterson's adjustment.

"It'll take him a while to get into a groove," Tait said. "Now he'll have NCAA regulations and lots of other things that he hasn't dealt with before."

Senior middle blocker Chris Chase, a three-time All-American, said he does not anticipate a difficult transition.

"I don't think it will be as big an adjustment as many people think," Chase said. "Even if Coach Tait's not working with the team, I expect he'll work with (Peterson). We don't really ask the coach about certain techniques; we usually go to other players, so I don't think it will be too serious.

"It was hard when I first heard about it, but I understood where (Tait) was coming from. It's a sore spot to have to adjust to a new coach in my senior year. Nobody on the team knows anything about his coaching philosophy, but his team has beaten all the best teams in California."

An interesting, and perhaps ironic, situation developing from the coaching change is that involving the freshmen. They were recruited by Tait and will now never have the chance to play for him.

"I haven't really thought about it," newcomer Tom Gingrich said. "Right now it isn't affecting me."