Forgive the Lady Lion volleyball team members if they have not yet changed their calendars. If it were up to them, they would probably like their 1994 season to continue -- for at least one more match.

Nonetheless, memories of another successful season filled the minds of the Lady Lions over the holidays.

"I think it's great that we were able to make it to the Final Four in back-to-back years," senior Saundi Lamoureux said. "But we didn't really play great all season. When we lost, it was because we didn't play well -- not so much that the other teams played that much better than we did."

The entire season was filled with ups and downs for the Lady Lions. It began in early September with victories in two weekend tournaments in Rec Hall and ended on Dec. 15 with a five-game loss to UCLA -- the eventual national runner-up -- at the Final Four.

Four talented seniors -- Laura Cook, Salima Davidson, Lamoureux and Jen Reimers -- concluded their final season in a Penn State uniform. And precocious freshmen like Terri Zemaitis and Lindsay Anderson entered the program, providing Penn State fans and coaches with a glimpse of a bright future.

The team finished its season 31-4 and spent much of the semester in the top five of both the Volleyball Monthly and American Volleyball Coaches Association polls. The squad was unable to claim a third-consecutive Big Ten championship but posted a 17-3 conference record -- second only to champion Ohio State (19-1), which also lost in the NCAA semifinals.

Only the loss to UCLA kept the Lady Lions from reaching the NCAA championship match. But Penn State defeated previously unbeaten Nebraska, which spent a few weeks at No. 1 in both polls, in the regional finals of the tournament.

"Clearly, the players had their best match of the year against Nebraska," said Coach Russ Rose. "If we had played (UCLA) the way we played against Nebraska, we would have won the national championship."

But the team played well enough to win matches at key points of the season. It swept San Francisco, Central Michigan, Rutgers and American in the Penn State Classic during Labor Day Weekend.

The Lady Lions followed those wins with victories over national powers UCLA, Florida State and LSU in the Volleyball Monthly Invitaitonal the next weekend. Penn State won 17 of 20 Big Ten matches -- including six of its last eight -- to gain momentum heading into the NCAA tournament.

"I thought the players did a good job just to get there (Final Four)," Rose said. "We had some good maturity and made a run. We made a good showing getting there."

While Rose is "losing 18 years of experience with those four (seniors)," and despite suffering disappointing losses to Michigan State, UCLA and Ohio State (twice), the Lady Lions' proverbial glass is half-full, not half-empty.

"It gives us confidence," Zemaitis said. "It's great for younger players to get to the Final Four. It shows us what it takes to get there. And it gives us the determination to try to get there again."