Spikers struggle to match West Coast talent

Sergio Pampena doesn't have anyone to play with at home.

This Nittany Lion middle blocker's hometown of Penn Hills, Pa., does not attract a high number of top-level volleyball players. In fact, not many East Coast hometowns do.

Regional powerhouses occur for many different reasons. The seasonal warmth of the South is advantageous for spring sports. Ice, the top necessity for ice hockey, forms in the backyards of Northern homes. And the beaches of California make a soft landing for volleyball players.

Penn State, one of the only major Eastern contenders in Div. I men's volleyball, is stuck 1,500 miles away from the West Coast and lacks serious competition.

"It is definitely not good for teams in the East or Midwest," swing hitter David Gealey said. "They (West Coast teams) are playing great competition every time they have a match. Teams in the East are not that strong. We have to rely on getting better in the practice gym by playing each other."

One the greatest disadvantages Penn State faces lies in its schedule. Seven of the top 10 men's volleyball teams, as ranked by Volleyball Magazine, are Western teams and five of those are from California.

"When UCLA and USC play each other, they are getting better because of it," Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said. "We are probably not going to improve as much as them."

In last year's regular season, excluding tournaments, Penn State was unable to play any West Coast opponents. Neither the Lions nor California powerhouses such as UCLA and Pepperdine were able to fund long and expensive journeys across the country.

This year, however, Penn State has included 10 West Coast teams in its 1998 schedule. The Lions play these matches during their spring break. Due to the distance and travel time, individual West Coast matches during school would be physically and economically exhausting.

"Last year, the level of competition (in the West Coast) was so much better," Pampena said. "Once we all of a sudden went out to the West Coast, we got hit pretty hard."

The lack of competition found in the East mainly stems from the pre-college opportunities available for the Western players. West Coast players experience strong high school and even middle school volleyball. In the 1995-96 men's season, with 19 states recording varsity squads, about one-third of the high school teams were from California. The skills they learn at a young age enable them to enter the college competition far ahead of the East Coast players.

"Volleyball is accessible to them (West coast players)," Pampena said. "Most of them start playing beach and then move to the court. How many people they play with leads them to higher and harder competition. Player for player, they were a couple of steps ahead of me. My skills have improved quicker and got up to the West Coast level."

The beach aspect of this disparity also plays a major role in the unbalanced competition between the East and West. The California players, in the off season or even on academic break are able to participate in an extensive beach volleyball circuit. The Eastern players, however, do not get this opportunity to improve themselves while not in season or at school.

"It (playing volleyball) is something our guys in the East want to do," said Pavlik. "If you grow up in the Pittsburgh area, the Rochester area or the Chicago area, you have to make sure you touch base with the people you want to play with and get them together."

Eastern teams such as Penn State and Ohio State aren't left with many solutions. They must rely on themselves for improvement or buy a private jet to fly the team to California every weekend. Until some wealthy alum experiences a burst of generosity, the Lions must challenge each other and wait for the opportunities to compete in the West Coast Volleyball heaven.