One of the most underrated features of competitive sports is what you don't see in the win-loss column.

That feature is the friendships and camaraderie that are instantly formed from just being part of a team. No one knows about this relationship better than senior middle hitter and co-captain Nate Meerstein.

For the last two years, Meerstein has practiced and played along side one of the best middle hitters in Penn State men's volleyball history, Keith Kowal.

In Kowal's career, he racked up 527 blocks, ranking him No. 1 all-time in that category. He also hit at a .523 percentage for his career, ranking him at No. 1 in that category, as well.

Thus far in Meerstein's career, he's been similarly dominant. Coming into this season, he ranked second in hitting percentage with .523, and his 373 total blocks put him fifth on the all-time list.

On the court, Meerstein and Kowal were famous for terrorizing opponents. Off of it, they were friends, and often pushed each other to get to that elite level at which many were so used to seeing them play.

"We were probably best friends," Meerstein said of Kowal. "We were roommates on the road and everything and we hung out a lot."

Having a teammate like Kowal on the team also enabled Meerstein to learn a lot about the subtleties of the middle hitter position.

"I learned a lot from him just on and off the court," Meerstein said.

"He's one of those kids with just a ton of natural ability, he could just pick up anything. Mostly, his work ethic, take everything serious and just to go hard at everything."

But with Kowal's graduation, it left a pretty large hole to fill at the middle position, a hole that freshman Max Holt has been asked to fill.

And there's no one better than Meerstein to give Holt the necessary advice on how to become the player that the Nittany Lions will need him to be in order to make a postseason run.

"Early on, Keith would sort of look out for me. Now I sort of do that with Max and get on his butt and help him out if I see something he needs help with," Meerstein said. "You sort of bond together when it's the two of you in there."

The help has clearly paid off, and Holt has gotten better and better with every match the team has played. He currently leads the team in blocks with 1.53 per game and has recorded at least eight kills in his last four matches.

"I try to learn from [Meerstein] and try to be like him at this point," Holt said. "I look at him and try to mirror what he does because he's pretty much at the highest level of volleyball."

The impact that Meerstein has had on Holt hasn't gone unnoticed by the coaching staff, either.

"I think Nate's been able to give him some tips on what he's been doing wrong and what to look for at the net," assistant coach Dennis Hohenshelt said. "It's almost like a big brother learning type of thing going right now. It's worked out better than we could've hoped for at this point."

So can Holt be another Kowal? It's probably way too early to tell, but the way he's progressing, it may not be too far a stretch to compare the two.

Meerstein thinks so, too.

"He has a whole lot more talent than I did coming in as a freshman, and I've done pretty well here," Meerstein said.

"Pretty well here" may be the biggest understatement Meerstein has made, and, with a crowning endorsement of Holt's abilities from him, it proves that Holt could end up becoming something special here at Penn State.