Some people think of practice as a waste of time.

"We're talking about practice. We're not even talking about the game, the actual game, when it matters. We're talking about practice," Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson said in his infamous press conference in 2002.

Yet when the No. 3 Penn State women's volleyball team shows up to practice, there are no tattoos, headbands, armbands or arm sleeves. The only arm covering recognizable is junior Cassy Salyer's green jacket she wears when she's freezing.

What Penn State women's volleyball coach Russ Rose won't tolerate is a lack of importance placed on practice. So when the Nittany Lions beat No. 10 Wisconsin in a way that didn't quite meet Rose's expectations, yes, the talk was about practice.

"They were bad all week in practice," Rose said. "The players have to understand how hard you have to play all the time."

Going into the backstretch of the Big Ten schedule, Penn State is getting ready to face more familiar foes, including No. 19 Ohio State today. With former Big Ten Player of the Week Marissa Main setting the ball to sophomore hitters Danielle Meyer and Ami Stevens, Penn State can't just rise out of bed and win this match.

"How you prepare is how you come out in a big match," Salyer remembers Rose stating in between Games 1 and 2 against the Badgers.

Meyer averages 4.92 kills per game, greater than Lions freshman Nicole Fawcett, which ranks her third in the Big Ten. Fawcett, who is fourth in the conference in kills with 4.43 per game, is coming off of her worst match of the season against Northwestern where she hit negative for the first time in her collegiate career.

While Fawcett is expected to make "freshman mistakes," seniors such as libero Kaleena Walters and setter Sam Tortorello need practice just to meet high expectations from Rose.

Against Wisconsin, Walters tallied 26 digs, two short of her four-game record. But the performance wasn't anything to be proud of by Rose's standards.

"Kaleena dug some balls and could have easily had 35 digs in the match if she would have been a little more communicative with some of the other people," Rose said.

Rose also critiqued Tortorello for not setting Salyer enough against the Badgers. Salyer ended the match with 30 attack attempts, three short of her career high. Still, Salyer was hitting .467 and had the hot hand, as opposed to sophomore Kate Price who had 44 attempts in the match, hitting .044.

"There's an old saying, one hitter can't lose a match but a setter can," Rose said.

And one second of each practice is another repetition of the game plan. Game film is broken down and weaknesses are exposed. Penn State has to remember that the opposing team is practicing every day, thirsty to beat numero uno in the Big Ten.

"Every team is capable of beating you if you don't play well," he said. "It's not always what you're doing on your side of the net."

So, yeah, practice is pretty important. Rose would know, he's won a couple of National Championships. Iverson, none.