Forget that she is only a freshman. Discard the fact that she just made her first NCAA women's volleyball tournament appearance in this past weekend's games in front of a rowdy crowd at Rec Hall.

None of that mattered as Penn State's freshman middle hitter Melissa Walbridge showcased career numbers in the early goings of the NCAA tournament.

Walbridge finished in double-digits in kills in both the first and second round matches of the tournament this weekend.

Friday night against American, Walbridge tallied 11 kills with a .500 attack percentage and no errors, but her career night came Saturday against Maryland.

She posted a career high with 15 kills. Coupled with her kill total was a remarkable .636 attack percentage with only one error.

"She knows how to mix up her shots," Maryland's middle blocker Stephanie Smith said. " ... she's a tough one to [block]."

Smith's compliment shows just how well Walbridge played during the match.

Smith finished with 10 blocks but most of Walbridge's attempts were good, thanks to junior setter Sam Tortorello.

"I thought Sam was setting the ball really well, like, giving me one-on-one opportunities so it was easier for me to hit around the block," Walbridge said. "So that made it easier for me to score."

She certainly did hit around the block all night, but her most important score perhaps was her final kill, which was also the final score of the game. With the two teams battling back and forth, Walbridge sealed the victory over Maryland with a kill that gave Penn State a 34-32 win in the third game and the three-set sweep.

After the match, Walbridge earned praise from Penn State women's volleyball coach Russ Rose.

"She hit .636 and led us in kills. I think she played great," he said.

"She even had a back set. You know freshmen are crazy when they're doing stuff like that," Rose joked.

As the season progressed, Walbridge said she eventually lost the feeling of being a freshman on the team. She said that her teammates treat her like she is older, but they still expect her to take her play to a higher level as the season progresses.

"I think both of our freshmen [Walbridge and outside hitter Kate Price] are really mature," senior outside hitter Ashley Pederson said.

"I think as the season progresses they've grown more. We don't have any reason to treat them like freshmen because they've done a great role for our team."

And now, with the current seniors quickly moving toward the end of the season, Rose hopes that the younger members have learned from the seniors who have won two Big Ten championships in their tenure.

"Hopefully the younger people can keep it in the same direction," Rose said.

And with a freshman like Walbridge quickly developing into a premier player, Rose should not have to worry.