But when she saw the official raise one finger on the Penn State side of the court, signifying Nadeau's first career-kill, the freshman from St. Georges, Quebec jumped and raised her fists in the air.

In a 3-0 thrashing of an overmatched Penguins team, a pair of inexperienced Lions stepped into the spotlight. It may have been a JV lineup, but it was also a glance at the future of the Penn State women's volleyball program.

"I think tonight was a good opportunity to play younger players," said Penn State head coach Russ Rose. "I think this was a developmental match for some of our players."

Coming off a weekend in which the Lions got it handed to them by mighty Wisconsin and then beat up on a resurgent Northwestern team, the Lions' key players needed the break.

Katie Schumacher, who has 100 more attacks than anyone else on the team, only saw playing time in the first game of the match. She looked sluggish, with five kills and three errors on 14 attacks for a .143 hitting average. After some simple mental errors, Rose yanked her. She threw on the warm-up jacket and commenced to cheer on her future successors for the rest of the night.

"I felt Katie didn't play well in the first game, and other players wanted to play," said Rose.

Ashley Pederson, the more experienced of the two freshman, started game two and made an immediate impact, slamming all four of her attempts to the floor that game. She finished the match with eight kills on 11 attacks and a .636 hitting percentage. She also led the team with nine defensive digs and registered a service ace.

"Any time I can play and get a chance to work on things on the floor, it's going to help me feel more comfortable," she said. "With the Big Ten schedule, there isn't much time for younger players, but I want to be ready to go if I'm needed."

Pederson saw extensive time during the non-conference schedule when Penn State was plagued with injuries and looking for a cohesive unit to put on the floor. She averaged 1.92 kills a game and had 38 digs. She has seen time in only three Big Ten matches.

"Ashley took some good swings tonight," said Rose. "She played well early in the season and we wanted to get her in this match."

Nadeau hadn't played earlier in the season because Rose and his staff originally planned to red-shirt her. But Nadeau is 20 years old, and the staff feared she would not return for her fifth season because of her age.

"She's a little older, so we thought it was in her best interest to give her the opportunity to play," said Rose. "She'll make a larger contribution to this team when she becomes more physical and becomes accustomed to the speed of the collegiate game."

For Pederson, her biggest adjustment has been adapting to the new level of play Rose refers to.

"In high school, you feel like you're so experienced," she said. "But when you get here, you realize you have a lot to learn, and the only way you are going to learn it is to be on the floor."