Freshman outside hitter Nicole Fawcett feels a little "mind fried."

Playing into November as a first-year starter for the No. 3 Penn State women's volleyball team, Fawcett remembers back in high school when volleyball season would be nearing its end. Without any chances to recuperate during this month, Fawcett once called home looking for sympathy.

"Don't you think that everyone else is going through it, too," said her father, Bob Fawcett.

Freshmen aren't always asked to carry the offensive load like Fawcett, who leads the Nittany Lions with 4.44 kills per game. But on Friday the Purdue trio of freshmen Stephanie Lynch, Danita Merlau and Kelli Miller will give Fawcett many examples of her own situation.

Merlau, like Fawcett, leads Purdue in kills, with 3.59 per game. Penn State women's volleyball head coach Russ Rose compared to Miller to Nittany Lions' libero Kaleena Walters, who is Penn State's all-time leader in digs. Lynch is another player that Rose thinks might be on the Big Ten All-Freshman team at year's end.

Fawcett remembers Merlau from high school club volleyball as hitting some of the hardest shots she has ever dug out. But despite knowing her opponents and wishing them well, Fawcett doesn't care when she gets on the court.

"You definitely know the struggles," Fawcett said. "Everyone else is tired, too. Who's stronger and

who's mentally tougher to push past that point is important, and that's what I'm hoping to do."

Fawcett has had an example of brain drain in her own roommate, teammate and fellow freshman, middle hitter Christa Harmotto. Schoolwork combined with weekly travel on charter planes to other universities has taken its toll on Harmotto.

As freshmen, both Fawcett and Harmotto have been key contributors to the Lions. Harmotto ranks second on the Lions in kills and first in blocks per game over the course of the season. Her focus going into the Purdue match is to block Merlau and Lynch and to "mess with them" a little bit.

"They are freshmen, so they are in the same boat as I," Harmotto said. "I think it's all about getting in their heads before they can get in mine."

Rose looks at all five freshmen going into the match and knows that it would make up quite a team. But Rose doesn't want to get caught up in particular matchups and hopes that the match goes as it did back on Sept. 24. If the learning curve for all five players is the same, then Penn State will be better off.

"All three of those players from Purdue have made incredible contributions to their team," Rose said. "I hope [the results] don't change. We won last time."

In the previous match, Fawcett and Harmotto accounted for 34 Penn State kills, while Lynch and Merlau racked up 27. But Harmotto, in particular, is geared up for the match versus the Boilermakers. This season is far from over.

"We could be going till December, at least that's what we plan on doing," Harmotto said. "So the mental part of it is key."

Fawcett, on the other hand, isn't calling home anymore looking for parental guidance. She has adapted to the pains of the Big Ten season, and Fawcett has remembered why she's a Lion in the first place.

"I'm playing volleyball," Fawcett said. "It's tiring, but to look at the big picture, the opportunity that I have, it's definitely worth it."