Mark Pavlik stood in the middle of the court before Saturday night's match at Rec Hall, awaiting the conclusion of Keith Kowal's senior night introduction. One minute later, the Penn State men's volleyball head coach was still waiting, as his All-America middle hitter's list of accomplishments seemed endless.
When the public address announcer finally gave Kowal and family the cue to meet Pavlik at center court, the arena erupted in applause. Spectators, teammates, members of Princeton's team, it didn't matter. These people rose to acknowledge and recognize the phenomenal volleyball career of someone who almost didn't have one.
The story of Keith Kowal as a volleyball player dates back to his senior basketball season at Wilson High in suburban Reading. Kowal wanted a change from basketball, the sport in which he had always starred.
"I guess I just got tired of it, a little worn out. I was looking for something new, so I played volleyball my senior year and enjoyed it," Kowal said.
Though perhaps tired, his play on the basketball court drew attention from college scouts and recruiters.
"I was being actively recruited by Patriot and Ivy League schools for basketball ... and I was down to three schools between those two conferences," said Kowal, who did tell one of those programs that he would play for its basketball team the following season.
Then Penn State assistant coach Dennis Hohenshelt got word of an athletic senior with good leaping ability, and decided to take a drive to check out the prospect. Hohenshelt reported back to Pavlik that not only could Kowal jump, but he could jump higher than any Nittany Lion at the time.
"He was someone we didn't recruit," Pavlik recalled. Programs like Penn State's -- and not just in volleyball -- often become familiar with prospects through the summer camps they run. Because Kowal had never played volleyball competitively, he never attended such a camp.
"Dennis came down and asked me if I wanted to play volleyball for Penn State," Kowal said. "I'd already been considering coming here for engineering, so it worked out well."
Kowal's decision to come to Penn State worked out very well for all parties involved. The co-captain, whose sister Kristy was a sliver medalist swimmer in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was both an All-American and an Academic All-American last season while being named EIVA Player of the Year. The 6-foot-7 middle hitter carries a 3.65 GPA in electrical engineering, and already has a job waiting for him after graduation.
