Saturday evening began with a tribute to the seniors of the Penn State women's volleyball team, but ended in concern for freshman Christa Harmotto.

The middle hitter landed awkwardly after going up for an attack at 16-16 in the second game of a sweep of Iowa. Harmotto, in obvious pain, fell to the ground as the stunned Rec Hall Senior Night crowd of 4,507 simultaneously fell silent.

Reflecting on the scene of Harmotto writhing in pain while lying on her back under the net, senior Nittany Lion Kim Holm described her initial reaction as "nausea."

As trainers tended to the freshman's knee, Penn State head coach Russ Rose was forced to decide upon how to best replace Harmotto's hot hand in the lineup. The middle hitter from Aliquippa attacked at a .667 clip with nine kills on 12 attempts. Her lone error on the night came when that final hit ran into a Hawkeyes triple block.

Holm replaced Harmotto in the middle, as the No. 2 Lions appeared to be either out of sync or rattled following the injury. On the first point after Harmotto was helped off the court, senior setter Sam Tortorello tried to set the ball for Holm, but a communication breakdown resulted in the ball falling helplessly to the floor. Holm was set four times with two kills, and registered a block on the defensive side.

"Whenever a player gets hurt in a situation like that, you don't have time to really change anything," Rose said. "You don't go into practice thinking this could happen during a game, so you don't have time to make adjustments."

After the usual postgame team meeting, the players jogged to the trainer's room to check on their fallen friend and teammate. Though on crutches, Harmotto was reportedly in good spirits. She will be examined today, at which point doctors will determine the extent and severity of the injury.

"She's our friend," Tortorello said. "We're sad for her because she's hurt, but she's still our teammate, and she's still a big part of this team."

Harmotto leads the team in blocks per game and is second in kills per game.

The Lions still have a bit of flexibility in Harmotto's absence, as right side hitter Cassy Salyer made the switch from the middle over the past year. Holm is also a capable replacement, either playing in the middle or moving to opposite should Rose send Salyer back to her old position.

As for Senior Night, Tortorello said that she, Holm and fellow senior Kaleena Walters enjoyed the pregame ceremony without shedding a tear. Due to Harmotto's injury, however, Tortorello was visibly choked up after the match.

"We'll take it as a separate part of Senior Night," Tortorello said of distinguishing between the good part of the evening and her friend's ailment and pain. "We're gonna enjoy it together for the rest of the night and try to forget about it, but Christa's gonna be in our heads."