There is a new setter directing the offense for the No. 9 Penn State men's volleyball team, and he is installing many changes.

Standing about 6-feet tall with shaggy brown hair, junior Luke Murray is the new setter for the Nittany Lions, and he is very much the opposite of his predecessor, Dan O'Dell.

After spending two years in the shadow of O'Dell, who was the Lions setter the past four years, Murray now has his chance in the spotlight. By drawing on what he learned in high school and on the sidelines, Murray is moving the offense from being dominated by sheer physicality to one that is focused on speed.

"He is making some good decisions," Penn State men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik said.

"He is enabling us to change our offense to fit his strengths and I think that's going to make some of the hitters we have a little bit more dangerous."

Murray graduated from Hempfield High School in 2004 and was on a team that won four consecutive Pennsylvania State Championships.

He became the main setter during his sophomore year at Hempfield and was named first team All-State for the next three years.

He left high school with 3,502 career sets, a number the Lions are hoping he can come close to achieving in his college career.

"Luke's quicker, so a lot of the balls that Danny [O'Dell] struggled to get to with his hands, Luke is getting to them, keeping us in system, giving his hitters a better swing," Pavlik said. "His quickness, defensively, is also an advantage."

By adding speed, this year's offense is much different than last year's. O'Dell, who is seven inches taller than Murray, relied on his height and physicality. Subsequently, with the added height of Matt Proper, Nate Meerstein and Matt Anderson, O'Dell became an outside hitter when needed.

"Danny would get us points at the net, stuffing balls," Pavlik said. "He would get up and get the tight pass. Luke is not going to get us the points blocking. He's not going to get abused but he's not going to be the shut down guy that Danny could be on a left side hitter."

Settling into the position as the Lions setter has been Murray's first priority these past few weeks.

With the Outrigger Invitational in Hawaii only a few days away, Murray finally has the chance to show off his new offense and skills against some of the more dominant volleyball programs. Hawaii's Brian Beckwith is one of the top ranked setters in the country, and Murray will have to have a good weekend to keep his team's chances favorable.

"He's bigger," Murray said. "He's got a lot more experience than me too, even internationally, but I don't really care about that. I think I've seen some pretty high level play."

With the 2007 season just beginning, Murray is in the driver's seat for the Lions. The offense has already morphed from last year, and now it is his job to control it.

"Danny was the man last year," Pavlik said. "We are seeing Luke just develop into that role now. This is his team."