"Jose Quinones!" shouted the PA announcer during introductions at the Penn State men's volleyball annual alumni match this past Saturday. The crowd started cheering with most, perhaps, not knowing whom they were cheering for. But a man in his mid-to-late 20s waved to the crowd just the same as he must have waved hundreds of times during his playing days.

This was Quinones' first time back to University Park since graduating in the spring of 2002, but you couldn't tell it by the way he handled himself.

When the match eventually started, the current Penn State squad gave him a harsh welcome back.

"Luke [Murray, Penn State's current setter] and I were talking," Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik said, "and Luke said, 'Yeah, we got him the first time, the very first ball out there to Sweets [Penn State opposite hitter Ryan Sweitzer]. Sweets buried it."

After that initial point, though, Quinones was in his element, as he gathered the alumni squad together on the court and made an adjustment. While the alumni would go on to lose Game 1, they would eventually win the match, thanks in part to Quinones' quick thinking.

Quinones was always on the court for the first two games of the match. Whether he was serving or hitting, the ball came out of his hands with amazing touch and grace. He was designing plays -- he was an artist at work.

"It's the first time I've come here," Quinones said. "I mean it's great. Walking around campus, seeing people I haven't seen in a long time. It feels great."

Between the second and third games, Jose playfully bickered with the alumni coach about whether he should come out of the game. He eventually departed the court laughing, but he let it be known he wanted to play, "three or four more."

It was obvious, for those who knew his story, that he had come a long way since first stepping on that very same court in the fall of '97.

The kid in the corner

For those who watched Jose Quinones play in high school, no one would have expected him to become a three-time AVCA All-American and rank among the top 10 in four statistical categories at Penn State. At one point, he topped the career aces list. He currently holds the record for career assists.

Quinones was a self-described "late bloomer."

He battled injuries often in high school, including at one point having a serious back ailment because of a late growth spurt.

During his senior year, however, the Puerto Rico native started playing well, and his team went undefeated and won its league championship, securing a bid in the USA Volleyball 1996 Junior National Championships, where Jose's volleyball career would go for a major ride.

Coaches from across the country were there to scout talent. At the time, most of the talk surrounded big names like West Coast setters Josh Lukens and Brad Griffith, both of which would attend Stanford.

"Everybody was down in the back corner on courts one and two watching the two big name setters," Pavlik said. "Up here in this court, like on court 43, was this team from Puerto Rico.

"The setter was the tallest kid on the team, there was everybody else. All I saw was hands that were this big. And then I watched him. And the team wasn't very good. There'd be a not so good pass, he'd go over to the younger kid and pat him on the shoulder. He spent the entire time, every time I watched him, he was the best player on the team, because he was so supportive. He worked hard, tried to make people around him better."

Due in part to the general fascination with Lukens and Griffith, and because so many schools already had big-name setters, Jose would visit only three schools: Penn State, Pacific University, and Ball State.

"This was the first school I visited," Quinones said, "and the moment I stepped on campus I was like, 'This is more of what I envisioned a college campus should be.' The team, the buildings, it looked old-fashioned. They gave me a good offer, financial aid also helped me out a little bit, and the references I had from people who had come here were "A-plus". So when it came down to it, the decision was made for me."

Growing up

Though he had hoped to land at a school where he could play as a freshman, Quinones redshirted his first year.

"He was competitive, it wasn't that he couldn't have played," Pavlik said. "But we redshirted him on the idea that his fourth and fifth year he could be the best in the country."

The plan was for Jose to acclimate to the college scene, and then take over the starting setter position the next year.

The plan worked to perfection, as Quinones would post 1,714 assists the next season and be named the EIVA's Newcomer-of-the-Year.

Quinones entered his sophomore year of eligibility in an unfamiliar position, as he was named one of the team's co-captains along with senior Adam Whitescarver and junior Steve Aird.

"Jose brings a variety of different things to the match," Whitescarver said to The Daily Collegian in 2000. "His athleticism allows him to get to a lot of balls other setters wouldn't."

Whitescarver would go on to compare Quinones to his predecessor and then-holder of the Penn State career assists record, Dan Pollock.

"He's still maturing, but he's going to be a great player," Whitescarver said.

Quinones, as a sophomore, couldn't have agreed more, explaining how he needed to improve his defense and blocking before he could be compared with the best setters in the country. Little did they know that it was only a matter of time.

Over the next two years Jose would continue his statistical success, setting the school record for career assists as a junior, and would be named to consecutive AVCA All-American teams.

However, he would also be inadvertently laying the foundation for the current Nittany Lion squad.

It was during those years that a young Penn State volleyball fan by the name of Luke Murray would make trips up from East Petersburg to watch the matches.

Given the chance to play against Quinones, who was essentially a boyhood idol of his, Murray said, "It was freakin' incredible."

The legacy

By the time he was a senior in 2002, Quinones had already cemented himself among the greatest ever to don a Lions uniform. After all, he did break the career assist mark the year prior.

With a good team alongside him and the Final Four being held at Rec Hall, he was positioned for a story book ending.

"The fact that we've always been pretty good, that it's my last year, and that it's in Rec Hall, means it could be a storybook ending," Quinones said that season. "I couldn't have asked for a better scenario. I'm playing the sport I love to play."

The storybook ending wasn't meant to be, and Jose graduated without having played in the national championship match after making it to the Final Four every year as a player.

"Being a setter, I judge myself on if we win or lose," Jose told The Daily Collegian. "Every time we lose, I think it's my fault."

Quinones would play professionally both in Europe and in his home country of Puerto Rico. He was also named to the Puerto Rican national team and just recently helped Puerto Rico to a 12th place finish out of 24 teams at the world championships in Japan last fall.

Even with all his accomplishments, Quinones still hints at regret about never winning a national championship at Penn State.

"My plan worked out perfectly, still I will always regret that we didn't win a championship, but it wasn't because of a lack of effort," Quinones said. "Sport is sport. Sometimes things go your way, and sometimes they don't. When we played our best matches in the Final Four, we lost. When we played our worst matches, we also lost."

A lot has changed since the days when Jose walked the halls of the buildings on campus. Even Rec Hall, where he spent countless hours during his time at Penn State, has undergone a facelift.

Of all the things that have changed, so too has Quinones' game. Now, of all the aspects one could choose to rave about Saturday, the coaches and players chose to dwell on his phenomenal blocking.

The road Quinones took to get to this point, his journey down it, his game, and as the fans that cheered for him surely felt that the experience to see him play Saturday were all, "freakin' incredible."

Timeline

1996 Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik discovers Quinones at USA Volleyball's 1996 Junior National Championships

As a redshirted freshman posts 1,714 assists, good for the fifth best season in Penn State history. Named to the All-EIVA first-team, in addition to being named the EIVA's Newcomer-of-the-Year.

Named one of three team captains as a sophomore. Records 2,063 assists, the second best season in Penn State history. Named the EIVA's Uvaldo Acosta Memorial Player of the Year. Named to the AVCA All-America third-team.

Breaks the Penn State career assists record as a junior. Named the EIVA's Uvaldo Acosta Memorial Player of the Year for the second time. Named to the AVCA All-America first-team.

Graduates as the Penn State career record holder in assists (6,364) and aces (99). Named the EIVA's Uvaldo Acosta Memorial Player of the Year for the third consecutive year. Named to the AVCA All-America first-team.

Played professionally both in Europe and Puerto Rico.

Played in world championships as a member of the Puerto Rican national team.