Safely sheltered by the invincible wall of victory, Temple junior middle blocker Charity Hill did not waste time engaging in the fine art of tact that is so common in postgame interviews.
When addressing Penn State, Temple's vanquished opponents on Saturday night, Hill was rather candid.
"At first they didn't seem tentative, but by the fourth game the Penn State players were scared," she said.
Those are harsh words when uttered by a member of the country's top team, let alone an upstart like Temple. Things have changed in the world of collegiate women's volleyball.
The Owls (28-6) stunned Penn State (25-8) on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA tournament, winning in convincing fashion, 3-1 (30-24, 30-26, 26-30, 30-23) and prompting some soul-searching from Penn State women's volleyball coach Russ Rose.
"It's a matter of being physical," Rose said. "When we've had our best teams our players have been physical. Recently our players have gone down a different path and that makes it difficult to compete at the elite level."
Penn State cruised past Penn in the first round and Temple easily dispatched Manhattan.
From the start, it was apparent that Temple, a decided underdog, had come to play. When sophomore Syndie Nadeau's attempted kill was violently turned back by Hill and setter Alison Runk, Temple had a 13-9 lead in game one. Each time the Nittany Lions appeared to go on a run, Temple dug deep and came up with a response to stem the Penn State momentum.
The trend continued as the smaller than usual crowd at Rec Hall looked on. Temple's main threats were a pair of Chinese imports, Xu Lun and Liu Shu. Both molded at the Shanghai Sports College, the pair never seemed to be rattled and came up with big play after big play.
Together they barely hit over .200, but combined for 36 kills. Time and again they were there when the Owls needed it the most.
The story was the same in game two as the resiliency of Temple shone through. Time after time, Penn State charges, led mainly by junior Cara Smith, were shut down before serious damage could be done.
When a 20-16 Temple lead had suddenly turned into 25-24 in favor of Penn State, Shu came up with a kill to quiet the crowd. Temple went on to win five of the next six points to win the game.
In game four with the crowd rocking after a stirring Lions victory in game three, the Owls came out and finished off Penn State, removing any chance of a fifth game.
It's Penn State's second straight round two exit from the sport's premier event.
"It's hard when you're on a run and then something bad happens. It just crushes the team," senior Mishka Levy said.
For Levy, who ended her first season at Penn State with a national championship, leaving with a loss is a bitter pill to swallow.
"It hasn't really hit me that it's over yet," Levy said. "On Monday when I think I should be at practice, that's when I'll feel it."
Runk, the Temple setter and Lititz native, played one of her best matches, recording 60 assists 15 digs and three blocks. If things had gone differently, she might have been doing those things in the Blue and White.
"My freshman and sophomore years in high school Penn State would always invite me to come to camps, but as I got older their interest waned," Runk said. "It definitely feels good to come in here and beat them."
That comment was just a little more salt in the wound on a painful night. Temple coach Bob Bertucci winced at both Hill's and Runk's comments. He knows it's easy to speak boldly after a win, but repercussions that might come their way from the Lions will have to wait.
