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[ Tuesday, Nov. 24, 1998 ]
The big picture
Lady spiker senior night takes added significance
By CARLA MOTKO
Collegian Staff Writer
Senior night is fast approaching for the Penn State women's volleyball team. It will be the last regular season home match for the team's four seniors. But senior night has a bit more weight this year than in past years. If the No. 2 Lady Lions can come out of this weekend with two wins, they'll be almost assured of more matches at Rec Hall in the postseason. "That's something I'll point out to them," Penn State coach Russ Rose said. "Senior night is a time when some players get all teary-eyed and have a hard time seeing the big picture through all the tears in their eyes. Hopefully we'll be more mature than that."
PHOTO: Collegian File Photo
Penn State senior outside hitter Christy Cochran spikes the ball earlier this season.
The Lions (28-0, 18-0 Big Ten) will play their last two regular season matches in Rec Hall when they take on Northwestern (15-15, 5-13) at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Indiana (16-11, 9-9) at 7:30 Saturday.
For a team that already has sole possession of the Big Ten title, only a few things can get them fired up. Senior night may be one of them, but the other is the potential for an undefeated regular season.
"Winning the Big Ten title was great, but it wasn't our primary goal," setter Bonnie Bremner said. "Now that we have it though, we'd like to go undefeated to make it that much sweeter."
Penn State has won the title for the past two years, but shared it both of those times. According to opposite hitter Lindsay Anderson, sole possession of the title seems to be more of an accomplishment. Anderson is one of the team's four seniors and has been at Penn State for its last two co-champion seasons.
Although the title is a great accomplishment for the players, it's not that big of a deal for Rose.
"I'm not disappointed that we did it, and I'm not ecstatic that we did it. I'm just trying to do my job everyday," Rose said. "I don't have anything in my contract that says I get more money if we win one or less money if we don't."
In 1990, Rose was in his 12th year as head coach at Penn State when the Lions had their last undefeated regular season. It was also the team's first year in the Big Ten. If the Lions do go undefeated, it will only be Rose's second time coaching an undefeated Lion squad.
Rose, now in his 20th year as coach of the Lions, is never overly optimistic of his team's abilities. If his 20 years of coaching have taught him anything, it's that any team can win at any given time.
Indiana and Northwestern have been proving that all season. Indiana is playing for a chance at the postseason, making it a dangerous team. Northwestern, although it has no hopes of postseason play, is still playing for the dignity of its five seniors.
Despite the threat these teams pose, the Lions are confident in their abilities, especially after conquering one of the nation's best conferences.
"The Big Ten is a great conference, it's hard to win," Rose said. "Winning a Big Ten Championship is a reflection on this year's team, not a reflection on the future or the past. This year's group was able to string together 18 matches in a row that gave them the opportunity to win a Big Ten Championship, and I'm very happy for them."
