There were three empty seats at commencement this spring, and an ocean away the three people who were intended to be in those seats were playing in their last matches as members of the Penn State women's volleyball team.

Syndie Nadeau, Tabitha Eshelman and Ashley Pederson joined teammates, coaches and boosters from May 7 to 19, playing their way through Slovenia and Italy.

The NCAA allows Division-I volleyball teams to take a trip abroad every four years. Five years ago the Nittany Lions traveled to Cuba.

The team played five matches, two in Slovenia and three in Italy, and in that short amount of time Nadeau and Pederson were able to grab the attention of two scouts from club teams in Europe. Nadeau signed a contract to play professional volleyball outside of Paris, while Pederson will continue her career in southern Spain.

Nadeau, Eshelman and Pederson's teammates threw them a commencement of sorts overseas -- with their real Penn State graduation garb and even a round of "Pomp and Circumstance." Missing "real" graduation wasn't that big of a deal.

The Lions were far from the comforts of Rec Hall and had to make do with the equipment they were given. Ants crawled over the hardwood floor of one practice gym, hardwood that was unfinished and lacked the shine from back home. The volleyballs themselves were "old-school," and stored in shopping carts. Not the usual Nike Swoosh covered equipment the lions were used to.

"I have a new respect for what we have ... Our facilities at Penn State are great," sophomore middle hitter Melissa Walbridge said.

On the court coach Russ Rose and assistant coach Mike Schall were both pleased with the play of Big Ten Freshman Player of the Year Katie Price.

The coaches were able to move some of their personnel around into positions they would usually not play, because of the varying quality of their opponents.

"This is more a cultural exchange, than a volleyball experience," Rose said.

The Lions won all five games they played, although according to Schall it was a bad time of year to travel abroad to play because all of the professional teams were not currently playing.

"Volleyball is volleyball everywhere you go, and we earned the respect of the [opposing] players, and that's always a good thing," Schall said.

When the team arrived in Italy from Slovenia one of the first places they stopped was the historical city of Rome.

"Rome was a really bad New York City," junior outside hitter Ashley Fidler said. The team backed up that claim within the first 30 seconds of being in the city; one of the boosters on the trip was the victim of a local pickpocket.

The team also noted some anti-American graffiti in the capital city of Italy. But several members of the team said that the people were very friendly, especially in Italy's restaurants.

When one local waiter was asked to take a photo of the team, junior Cassy Salyer got an unexpected surprise as the team was posing.

"The chef come out from the back," Salyer said. "His hat made him as tall as me. He kissed me on the cheek and picked me up." Salyer is listed on the roster as 6-foot-5.

The team did notice a few differences in how the game is played over in Europe.

"There were a lot of doubles and lifts called they don't call here," senior setter Sam Tortorello said.

When the team attended a local professional volleyball game, one thing they definitely noticed was the noise.

"It was just as loud or louder than Rec Hall and it had one-third of the people," libero Kaleena Walters said.

In Rome, the Lions got all dressed up set out to see Vatican City, but the team was caught in an untimely downpour. Luckily, though, the rain stopped just in time to witness Pope Benedict XVI deliver his first weekday address as pope to the Vatican public.

The rain picked up again later that day, after the pope finished his speech.

Overall the team will take away a lot from this trip, on and off the court. On the court Salyer said it was good that the team played in an uncomfortable situation.

"We had to adjust in a short time," Salyer said.

Off the court they got to see what life is like outside of Happy Valley. They understand the people, the customs and languages of Slovenia and Italy a lot better. Some still use "grazie," whenever they say thank you.

"It's nice to see it's similar to here," Walter said. "Just little things were different."

Schall said that, because of the language difference, the team had to spend a lot of time together.

"It was neat to be involved in the culture and volleyball," Director of Volleyball Operations Julie Backstrom said.

"We'd do it again."