This week, Penn State women's volleyball head coach Russ Rose has watched his team change before his eyes.

While everything was pretty much the same on Monday, the newly crowned Big Ten champion Penn State women's volleyball team became the new No. 2 team in the land. The Nittany Lions leaped over Washington in the national rankings following the Huskies' first loss of the season.

It was a small change, but one of many that has occurred though the long volleyball season. Despite the fact that the conference coaches voted the Lions as the conference favorite since August, this season has been a coaching accomplishment for Rose.

The raised expectations at the beginning of the season can't belittle the effort that has gone into making this team a champion.

"People say, 'Oh the coaching is not important' and, 'The players didn't really make any great contributions,' " Rose said. "When in reality we had to work very hard with these kids."

It has been a long season for Rose. Despite no problems with injuries or a lack of production on the scoreboard, Rose has had to rework the machine to keep his team near the top of the volleyball world this year.

The list starts with moving junior Cassy Salyer from middle hitter to right-side hitter. Salyer, who was the 2003 Big Ten Freshman of the year at middle hitter, moved to the outside having never played there in her life. Since the Lions' NCAA tournament exit last December, Salyer has stepped in and helped Penn State in a new way this year.

"A lot of kids had to make some changes," Rose said. "This team has worked hard, and hopefully they will continue to work hard and get lucky enough to do something in the NCAA tournament."

The switch made way for the addition of freshmen performers, such as outside hitter Nicole Fawcett and middle hitter Christa Harmotto, who have bloomed as the season has gone on.

The same day that the Lions rose to one spot behind No. 1 Nebraska, Fawcett was named the top player in the Big Ten with her second Player of the Week award. While Fawcett and Harmotto have admittedly made "freshman mistakes" as Rose calls them, the Lions duo has been relied upon heavily for offensive production.

While Harmotto leads Penn State in blocks per game with a 1.52 average, Fawcett averages a team-high 4.43 kills per game. Rose might depend on his young guns for a lot, but Fawcett knows that her success has much to do with the strong team that Rose has formed around her.

"I don't look at myself as the top person here," Fawcett said. "You have to have the pass, you have to have the set to have the kill. It definitely starts with them."

And while this group has taken a lot of work to piece together, Rose has seniors Sam Tortorello, Kaleena Walters and Kim Holm to thank. Their leadership has made Rose's job this season that much easier.

Rose might be hard on Tortorello and Walters, coaching them to not just be good, but great. But as the seniors' last weekend at home is approaching, Rose wishes he could sign those three up for a long-term deal.

"Over the course of time there are players that you can't wait until they leave and there are some players you hope they never leave," Rose said. "I feel really positive about the development that Sam and Kaleena have made as players and as people here, Kim as well."

Now that the season is winding down and it is coming to tournament time, Rose will depend on his senior leaders. Despite winning three straight Big Ten titles in their time at Penn State, Rose has greater plans for this group.

"I don't start the season saying, 'The goal is to win the Big Ten,' " Rose said. "This group I thought had the potential to win more than the Big Ten."

Rose wants to extend this team's season far into December and hopefully watch them continue to change for the better.