Lady spikers reload

When it comes to football recruiting in Happy Valley, the saying is, "We don't rebuild, we just reload."

The same could be said for the Penn State women's volleyball team. After bringing in top talent last year in Bonnie Bremner, Lauren Cacciamani and Carrie Schonveld, the Lady Lions have recently added two star recruits from Illinois in hopes of finishing what they started last year.

Katie Schumacher, a 6-foot-2 middle hitter from Chicago, and Nadia Edwards, a 6-foot-1 middle hitter from Frankfort, Ill., signed letters of intent to join the Lady Lions for the 1997 season.

The similarities between the two are almost a tribute to how talented they are. Schumacher and Edwards played on the 1996 U.S. Youth National Team, were selected by Volleyball Magazine to their "Top 50" recruiting selections and named to the 1996 Chicago Tribune first-team all-state.

Schumacher led Mother McAuley High School to two Class AA state titles, posting 322 kills last year. Her versatility and sense of the ball caught the eye of Penn State coach Russ Rose, who said she is "one of the top recruits in the country."

"She has all the tools to become a good player," he said. "I feel real good with her decision to come and play at Penn State."

Edwards, who played at Lincoln-Way High School, has not had the full volleyball experience of Schumacher, but her athletic skills have Lady Lion assistant coach Erin Tomblin feeling confident Edwards will get into the swing of things.

"She just hasn't had a lot of practice, just hasn't had a lot of touches," Tomblin said. "Like last year we had Carrie and Bonnie, who both came from programs that are in the gym a lot of the time, touching the ball a lot more. Lauren came from a program that wasn't in the gym as much, and the first day of practice you could kind of see that. But Lauren caught up real well. I think Nadia is in the same situation."

One of the areas Edwards must improve to get playing time is her ball-handling skills, which might force her to redshirt the upcoming season. Her spiking ability, though, is comparable to another Penn State volleyball player, but on the men's team.

"Nadia can hit the ball harder than anyone, except maybe Ivan (Contreras)," Rose said.

Schumacher's experience could land her a seat on the already crowded Lady Lion bench, but with the departures of Angie Kammer and Heidi Rottinghaus from last year's team, the hole at the outside hitter position is wide open.

"I think Katie has a little better ball-handling skills that we should be able to use her at the outside hitting position," Rose said.

After coming up two points short in their quest to return to the Final Four last season, Rose is confident his team will benefit from the new blood that has joined the Lady Lions in their battle to repeat as Big Ten champions and win a national title.

"Both players are quality people. They feel confident that they will have great success here," Rose said. "This could be the most athletic team ever at Penn State. If we improve our ball handling, this could be a very exciting team."