It was evident early.

Ohio State freshman Stacey Cordon saw the six hands pop up in front of her lane, and she hit right through it.

Cordon is the real deal.

The Big Ten Freshman of the Year award already has her name engraved on it. Now, she has her aim on a bigger prize.

"She should get votes for player of the year, not just freshman of the year," said Penn State coach Russ Rose.

Like any player, her main goal is for her team to win. They did that in convincing fashion last night at Rec Hall, destroying the Nittany Lions 3-0. Sure it was the worst performance of the year by a roller coaster Penn State team, but take nothing away from the most prepared team to come to Happy Valley this season.

The Buckeyes aren't a very tricky team. They set their outside hitters and let them wail away. And they serve as tough as any team in the country. Cordon, who hails from Oshawa, Ontario, pounded 25 kills on 37 attacks with just five errors for a .541 hitting percentage. She also had three aces and nine digs.

The Lions, considered one of the top blocking teams in the conference, could do nothing to stop her. She's superior physically and mentally to most players on the court, which everyone knew coming into this year, especially Cordon.

"It's not really a surprise so much," she said of her early impact in the conference. "I knew I'd have some responsibilities to take care of. It's more a matter of the girls making me feel comfortable."

If the adjustment to college volleyball was difficult for Cordon, she hasn't shown it yet. She was third in the conference in kills with 4.52 per game entering last night. She averages 2.77 digs per game, good for fourth in the league, and is also ranked in the top ten in hitting percentage (.344) and service aces (0.43).

Earlier this year she became the first freshman to be named Big Ten Player of the week two weeks in a row (for the weeks of Sept. 24 and Oct. 1, both Big Ten weekends) She joins Sherisa Livingston, the other leading candidate for Big Ten Player of the Year, as the only players to be named twice.

For Rose, the numbers and honors take a back seat to what he thinks really makes Cordon a special player.

"The best thing about her is that she's a gamer," he said. "She goes out and competes hard and is very intense."

A machine on the floor, Cordon executes time after time. She is smart enough to mix up her power shots with offspeed tips. She not only gets to balls for digs, she passes them right to setter Katie Virtue, who leads the league in assists. Cordon took a hard shot from Mishka Levy in the third game and directed it right above the head of Virtue, who slammed it down for a point on the second ball over.

Yet she knows she can improve.

"I need to work on everything," she said. "There's not one part of my game I'm happy with."

Take the incredible amount of skills, unparalleled work ethic and ability in the clutch and what you have is clear.

"I'd be hard pressed to think of a freshman that's had a bigger impact on any team in the Big Ten during my 11 seasons," said Rose. "She's as good as I've seen."