During the intermission of last Saturday night's volleyball match against Indiana, nine members of the NCAA-championship-winning 1987 Penn State women's lacrosse team and then-head coach Susan Delaney-Scheetz were honored. The title was the first women's team NCAA championship in Penn State's history.
Delaney-Scheetz, currently an Associate Athletic Director at Penn State, was 67-9 in only three years as coach of Penn State's lacrosse team.
In 1988, the Nittany Lions lost to Temple in the NCAA final. In 1989, Penn State only lost one game en route to another national title.
But if the 3,234 fans had been there just one night earlier, when the Lions took on Purdue in Rec Hall on Friday night, they would've had another glimpse at what might be a group of champions.
In a dominating sweep of No. 14 Purdue, particularly the first two games of that match, the No. 3 Penn State women's volleyball team (24-1, 13-1 Big Ten) put together one of its finest efforts of the season. It was the best the Lions have looked all year at home.
And if they can summon the same energy and drive they brought to the gym on Friday and manage to stave off injuries, the Lions could be the last left standing come mid-December.
"Anything's possible," sophomore outside hitter Nicole Fawcett said on Saturday night. "I think when we play well we can accomplish a lot of things. But we have to learn to be consistent all the time and play at a consistent level and not be on the roller coaster that we've been."
In the first game, Penn State came out charging and relentlessly pounded the Boilermakers at a .444 hitting percentage. And, making that game particularly unique, the Lions truly got their middle hitters in action.
For the first time this year, the offensive play of junior Melissa Walbridge and sophomore Christa Harmotto out-shined Penn State's outside hitters. Walbridge cut through Purdue for five kills on .500 hitting and Harmotto had three kills at a .500 clip.
As a team, the Lions only had two attacking errors in the opening game. They jumped out to a 20-6 lead and never looked back, as the passing and pace of the offense seemed perfectly aligned. Penn State took the game from Purdue, 30-13.
And in the second game, the excellent distribution from freshman setter Alisha Glass continued and the outsiders and opposite were able to get more involved.
The match was over in only one hour and 19 minutes and the Lions out-hit the Purdue .388 to -.020. They out-blocked Purdue 14 to 6. They received six or more kills from six players. They were at their best.
Even still, Penn State head coach Russ Rose brushed aside the notion that the Lions hit a peak this weekend.
"I thought it was a combination or two things: I thought we were playing well, and Purdue wasn't playing as well as Purdue normally plays," he said. "Sometimes when a team is playing really well it just gets away from you and you try a little harder and its just harder to get it done."
That's the type of response that could be expected. Rose has been around long enough to know that there are a number of factors that go into making a strong post-season run.
He cited Florida men's basketball coach Billy Donovan, who said that an NCAA tournament winner -- in this case regarding volleyball -- is simply able to win six games. The champion may not be the best team in the country, but simply have the benefit of a healthy roster and a favorable bracket position.
But if these Lions stay healthy and roll into the tournament playing like they did against Purdue, who is going to stop them?
