Wednesday, Aug. 27, 1997

Lady spikers set to grab No. 1 spot

By TODD J. ENGEL
Collegian Sports Writer

The Penn State's women's volleyball team entered its 1997 campaign in rather unfamiliar fashion when it was ranked No. 2 in the nation by the USA Today/AVCA Poll.

Terri Zemaitis cranks a shot across the court against Indiana in 1995. Zemaitis and the Penn State women's volleyball beat Stanford last weekend and might become No. 1. (Collegian File Photo - click for full size image)

The No. 2 preseason ranking is the highest any women's volleyball team has ever garnered at Penn State.

But that is only preseason.

Odds are, the Lady Lions will take over the No. 1 spot in the polls next week as they defeated now-No. 1 Stanford Cardinal last weekend in three sets en route to capturing the State Farm/NACWAA Volleyball Classic title at Stanford. The victory put an end to a remarkable 50-match Cardinal home-winning streak.

Lady Lion head coach Russ Rose thinks this year's team is capable of making a run at a national title and isn't too concerned with the probable No. 1 ranking.

"I thought we put a nice start on the 1997 season for Penn State women's volleyball," Rose said. "Being ranked No. 1 in August means less than being ranked No. 1 in September. It doesn't really mean anything right now. The national championships are in December."

The always-physical junior outside hitter Christy Cochran feels Penn State can use the ranking to its advantage, despite the bull's eye on its back.

"We're a competitive group, we're going to work harder and everyone's going to pick it up a notch," Cochran said.

Sophomore Bonnie Bremner showed why she is regarded as one of the top setters in the nation as she set her way to the MVP of the State Farm/NACWAA Classic.

Bremner paced the Lady Lions in their first two games tallying 112 assists. Bremner and fellow returning All-American Terri Zemaitis lead a cast that will be a force to be reckoned with, not only in the Big Ten, but throughout the nation as well.

Careful not to look ahead, Rose is confident his team will remain focused on the task at hand and not look ahead to a Sept. 6 rematch with Stanford at the Ikon-Husky Invitational at Connecticut.

However, Rose does feel the need to mix things up a bit for the rematch with the Cardinal.

"I think we will do things differently just for the lark of it, whether we're challenging the officials, the other team or even if I'm challenging my players," Rose said. "There's no question we'll do things differently."