Coming out of high school as the national player of the year last season, outside hitter Megan Hodge stepped on to Penn State's campus and instantly became the team's all-everything.

She accomplished more than any coach could ask for out of a freshman by being named an AVCA first team All-American, the AVCA national freshman of the year and the Big Ten's player of the year.

Hodge has quickly established herself as the teams go to player when the team badly needed a point, and her talent has impressed her teammates immediately.

"Megan's just a phenomenal athlete. She just makes plays," Penn State outside hitter Nicole Fawcett said. "It's just how does she do that? She reads very well, and she's quick to the ball and that's what makes her just amazing and separates her from pretty much anyone that I know of."

But the Nittany Lions' reliance on the talented freshman caught up to the team at the end of last season. In the team's season-ending loss at Washington in the regional semifinals, Hodge struggled despite having 17 kills and 15 digs. She finished the match with 15 attack errors on .037 hitting, a disappointing ending to a great season.

Hodge said the boisterous Huskies' crowd with more than 6,000 fans affected her mentally more than it should have. She also said it was "weird" for her because Washington was the school were she probably would have attended if she did not go to Penn State.

Penn State setter Alisha Glass said the team's success last season was too dependent on Hodge.

"Her role on our team last year was so much a part of what we did. I think she felt like we lived or died by her success," she said. "She wants it to be like that, but it really doesn't have to be that way. She knows if she is having an off day, it doesn't mean we will be unsuccessful."

This year, Hodge and the rest of her teammates feel the team is much more balanced than last season. Hodge also feels she doesn't have to play perfect for the team to be successful.

Although she is still relied upon heavily on offense, Hodge is most proud of her improvements in her all-around game.

Penn State coach Russ Rose has seen significant strides in her passing. Hodge has improved her forearm passing, something she said she worked on for hours and hours in the spring.

"I feel a lot more comfortable on the floor passing, and I'm not really as tentative with it as I was last year," Hodge said. "I still think I have a lot room to improve on passing, and I want to get better at that."

Hodge's practice on passing has paid dividends, as she has become a much better serve receiver, an aspect last year that could take her out of her game a little bit.

"She serve receives so much better than she did last year. Her ball control is great," Glass said. "Sometimes teams will serve her almost every ball, and she's getting 60 or 70 percent of the serve receive balls and it doesn't hurt us. It doesn't take her out of hitting, and it doesn't take her out as a player mentally."

Rose already considers Hodge to be one of the best back row players he has seen in the country, but Hodge wants to improve there. It's an element of her game she believes could elevate her to be a better all-around player.

Hodge has also added more shots to her offensive repertoire, which has helped raise her hitting percentage from .270 last year to .298 in 2007. Instead of using power all the time, she has learned to use her vision and creativity to score more efficiently.

Rose said Hodge's talent and athleticism have helped her to make plays and shots that he has never seen before. He said that Hodge can jump and touch 10-feet, 8-inches in the air.

"I've seen her hit the ball over huge blocks over the top," he said. "I've seen her do some things that make you stop and look at it on a picture and think it's a weird camera angle, but it's not."

One area Rose would like to see improvement from his star is to have an even stronger work ethic in practice every day.

Hodge finds it difficult to be a leader for the team because she's not as vocal as some of the other teammates. Yet, she hopes that her play on the court is something that her teammates can follow.

Rose believes that the best players in sports know how to make their teammates better everyday by going all out in every practice, which is something Hodge knows she needs to improve upon.

"She's not great with criticism, and I'm not great with praise. So it's a tough relationship," Rose said. "But I think she knows I have her back, and I care about her wanting to be a great player. I realize, at times, her and I will fight about it, and that's OK. It's not the first time I've been in that fight. Sometimes she wins and sometimes I win."

Hodge capped off her sophomore regular season by being named a unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten team. Five of her teammates were also honored by the Big Ten including Christa Harmotto who was named the Big Ten player of the year. Hodge believes the honors are just one indicator of the better balance and depth the Lions have this year.

And if somehow Hodge would struggle in regionals again this year, she has confidence that her teammates will pick her up and play well.

But she wants one thing to be known: Don't count on a down match from her this time around in regionals.

"We're really balanced, a lot more balanced than we were last year," Hodge said. "We have a lot of offensive weapons in every rotation. That's what makes us contenders for a national championship, we have so many ways to put the ball on the floor."