At what seemed to be the worst possible time, many of his team's faults that head coach Russ Rose complained about throughout the season came to the surface, sinking his Penn State women's volleyball team, as well as any title hopes.

When Nicole Fawcett's powerful swing sailed just out of bounds on Dec. 9, the fate of the Nittany Lions (31-3) was sealed, as their season was ended by Tennessee in the Regional Semifinals 3-1 (27-30, 30-14, 27-30, 31-33).

A combination of their own sloppy play and a strong effort from Tennessee ultimately did in the Lions, who committed a ghastly 17 service errors on the night. Freshman sensation Fawcett, who just six days earlier set an NCAA Tournament record for hitting percentage in a match, had 19 attack errors and 19 kills -- landing her a clip of .000.

"Nicole had a real tough match, but that's the highs and lows of being a freshman," Rose said. "She's a terrific young player, and I'm sure she feels terrible about how she played."

The outside hitter had not committed 19 errors in her previous seven matches combined.

The Lady Vols played well on defense, making Fawcett and the Lions work for every kill. Tennessee routinely sent a strong double block to Fawcett's side, and then stationed libero and former Lion Amy Morris on the opposite side. This meant that most anything that could get by the block would have to be within Morris' range.

The service errors, however, were not due to anything caused by Tennessee. Rose believed it to be tightness and nerves in the high-pressure situations.

"I can't think of anything else," Rose said. "It should have never happened. It was totally unnecessary ... Every time I tried to put a sub in, the sub didn't do much better."

Rose spoke in the same unemotional tones he used all season to express his displeasure in one area of Penn State's play or another.

With a total of 46 tie scores and 16 lead changes, much of the match was close. Even though the second game was dominated by Penn State, Lady Vols head coach Rob Patrick raised some eyebrows when he later dismissed the set as a "throwaway game."

Down 2-1 in games, the Lions took a 28-25 lead in the fourth, only to have Tennessee claw back and deny Penn State a fifth game.

Morris served the final point, ending the college careers of the Lions she entered Rec Hall with as freshmen.

Immediately following the match, while the Lady Vols celebrated, the Lions ran off the court in what looked to be cold disbelief -- like what had just taken place had not actually happened to them.

Tennessee made it to the Final Four, losing to eventual champion Washington.

Asked if she thought the Lions would have taken a fifth game had they been able to close out the fourth, junior Cassy Salyer, understandably dejected, issued the telling quote of what looked to be a very promising postseason.

"We'll never know," she said.

It's not all bad

Fawcett was named National Freshman of the Year, while senior setter Sam Tortorello was selected as a first team All-American. Fawcett and sophomore middle blocker Melissa Walbridge made the second team, while senior libero Kaleena Walters and freshman middle hitter Christa Harmotto received honorable mentions.

Tortorello is also one of four finalists for the Honda Volleyball Award, given to the nation's most outstanding female player in the sport.