Rising to the occasion
Sophomore spiker Gealey beefs up team with hard work

By SCOTT GLASSMAN
Collegian Sports Writer

Not many high school students would turn down a free ride through college to participate in the sport they love.

But for sophomore David Gealey, a member of the No. 6 Lion volleyball team, the opportunity to fulfill a long-time dream was in another, more difficult direction. And there was no way he was going to let it pass him by.

Coming out of Baldwin High School in the Pittsburgh area, Gealey turned down a full scholarship offer from nationally ranked Ohio State. Wanting to attend Penn State since he was a little kid, Gealey applied and was accepted to Penn State McKeesport.

Although he was scouted by the Lions during his senior year, Gealey did not even receive so much as an offer from then-Lion Coach Tom Peterson to play at University Park.

Even though the door seemed to close on his chances, Gealey was not ready to give up.

"I went to talk with Coach Peterson and he said he could get me onto the main campus," Gealey said. "But I still would have to walk on the team."

Gealey made the team as a redshirt freshman, destined to spend the year watching and learning from the national championship-bound Lions. But the following year, two outside hitting positions opened up after the graduation of Byron Schneider and NCAA Tournament MVP Ramon Hernandez.

The fight began between Gealey, sophomore Brent Lapp and juniors Jason Kepner and Fred Matheis to fill the void.

While Kepner emerged as the best passer and was moved into the swing position, Gealey began to catch Coach Mark Pavlik's eye with his outstanding leaping ability, strong work ethic and desire to play.

"David was a little quicker and a better leaper than the others," Pavlik said. "We wanted him coming up with the tough digs to put us in point scoring positions by getting the ball to Eddie (Josefoski) and Ivan (Contreras)."

Surpassing even his own expectations, Gealey was awarded the starting position late in the preseason. But he wasn't the only person who appreciated the dividends of countless hours of hard work without prior recognition or glory.

"I didn't see it happening for maybe two or three years down the road," Baldwin Volleyball Coach Mike Scahill emphatically admitted about the star of his team.

"It's amazing how much he's progressing. The more he plays at that level, the better he's going to get. I can see him being one of the best in two years."

Contreras, a sophmore middle blocker and Gealey's roommate, agrees that Gealey has a great future ahead of him.

"Last semester, he wasn't sure if he was going to start, but after he did, everybody saw the potential he had," Contreras said. "He will grow to be a leader, maybe not this year, but in the future."

In Gealey's mind, though, he is not playing for the future. He understands that the team is definitely not where it wants to be.

"We know we have the potential to repeat and over the next three to four weeks, we have to really work hard," Gealey said. "After Spring Break, we need to be playing at our peak."

But Scahill knows that the hard working, modest young kid who built Baldwin's volleyball program from a pretender to a fiercely competitive state championship contender is smirking inside.

After pondering Gealey's success with admiration, Scahill happily expressed what he knew Gealey truly feels.

"I know he's living his dream right now," he said, "by playing on that Penn State volleyball team."