For one player on the No. 6 Penn State men's volleyball team, this season has been both a maturation process and a journey.

Sophomore Matt Anderson, who sometimes looks out of sorts in his 6-foot-9 frame, has gone from being overshadowed by last year's four seniors to having an important role in the outcome of each match.

"It's more of an attribute to how he's done, what he's done and how he's done it," Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said. "We try to put him in an environment that challenges him and he's in a position where he knows he can do this."

Last season, Anderson joined Penn State with fellow sophomore Max Holt and was touted as one of the biggest recruits. Both players had the chance to start for the team and there was a lot of pressure.

The tall, gangly freshmen took their positions in stride and became two of the more dominant Nittany Lions. Anderson and Holt played in every match, but it was Holt who matured a bit quicker and overshadowed Anderson in kills, hitting percentage, and service aces.

This year, it's been Anderson who has spent the season maturing. He began the season on the left side, where he dominated a year ago. And after a few weeks, Pavlik decided to move him to the right and set up senior Aaron Smith on the left.

It took a little bit of time for him to settle in, but since the match against Princeton in late February, Anderson has been consistent. In 12 matches, he's been averaging 15.67 kills and 1.33 service aces. In the previous 10 matches, he averaged 13.5 kills and 0.9 service aces a match.

"You look at Alex [Gutor's] career and how he developed over his career and you look at Anderson's career," Pavlik said. "There comes a point when something inside of them says, 'I can play at this level.' "

Anderson spent last summer playing on the Junior National Team with Holt and will play in the World Championships this summer.

His maturation, however, is still in progress. While Holt is already one of the top-five middle hitters in the country, Anderson is not at that level yet. On Friday night, against Princeton, he did not have his most dominant performance, hitting .364 and scoring five service errors to two aces.

"I could've played better, but obviously I could've played a lot worse," Anderson said.

"Like Luke said, there is not really a drive right now. I mean, you're playing against Princeton. Even if they might be second in the division, it's Princeton."

It's that attitude versus lesser teams that is the next step in maturation for Anderson. Against St. Francis on Saturday night, he had six aces and 14 kills. Still, it was St. Francis, and Anderson's true potential won't be seen until Penn State plays tougher teams.

"That's the next step. When you do play Princeton, and there is a [6-foot-2] kid in front of him, after the game is over the kid says 'That's Matty Anderson,' " Pavlik said. "Gutor's gone through it. Luke's gone through it. Holt's gone through it. It's a journey."