PSU volleyball club among top-ranked teams

By Chris Adamski
Collegian Staff Writer

Six months ago, the Penn State women's power volleyball club was conducting its first-ever tryouts and was stepping up in class to enter a new league.

"We really weren't sure what to expect," club member Christina Bennett (senior-biology) said.

"I was not aware of the level of competition of the teams we would be facing, so I didn't know how successful we could be," said power volleyball club advisor Jon Stoltzfus, who also serves as the team's coach.

However, that uncertainty at the beginning of the season has now disappeared. Penn State sports a 17-1 record, No. 11 national ranking and a legitimate shot at a national championship.

"We are definitely at the top of our league (the Northeast Women's Volleyball Club League (NWVCL))," Penn State opposite hitter Karin Frantz (junior-kinesiology) said.

The National Intercollegiate Recreation and Sports Association (NIRSA) Collegiate Volleyball Sport Club Championships are April 6-8 in Reno, Nev. Penn State will be heading there with an attitude that it has a chance to win.

"We really have been building confidence throughout the season," Penn State team captain Holly Guyer (senior-elementary education) said, "and now we are starting to click. I expect us to do pretty well."

"Based on the way we are playing, we have a reasonable shot to win the whole thing," said Bennett.

The team has no reason to think it cannot win. It has already won six of the eight tournaments it entered this year, including last weekend's regional NWVCL tournament in Boston, where it defeated Princeton in the final (25-15, 26-24).

The victory officially crowned the team as league champions and garnered Penn State a trophy and cash prize. In addition, Guyer and Jessica Shank (senior-biology) were named first-team All-NWVCL.

"I think we have a lot of talent here," Guyer said. "We have a lot of really versatile players and a lot of really good athletes."

Indeed, beyond the high level of talent, Bennett said he thinks talent is well spread-out on the squad.

"We are all at about the same skill level," she said, adding the high level of skill leads to a better overall team atmosphere.

Many of the upperclassmen have been playing together for three years now, and even the rookies have fit nicely into the group.

"A lot of them are friends and hang out together," Stoltzfus said. "I think that makes them play better."

The Penn State power volleyball club held its first-ever tryouts early last fall, drawing about 35 prospective members. The team solicited players via its Web site, fliers across campus and at the HUB Involvement Fair.

Of the 35 women who tried out, only nine were selected for the team.

"It's a nice chance to play," Stoltzfus said, "without all of the obligations normally associated with a varsity sport."