It was Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (Thon) weekend of her freshman year, and Nicole Fawcett was bored.
Her solution to end the problem: a scavenger hunt.
"I was like, screw this, we need a scavenger hunt," Fwacett said. "Let's just dress ridiculously. And we did."
With her collegiate career winding down along with Christa Harmotto's and Roberta Holehouse's, the three have had time to think about their memories. Harmotto said they've become great friends, and they are the only seniors on the current roster.
The trio helped the top-ranked Nittany Lions advance to the regional finals and a 60-match winning streak as they seek their second straight national championship.
But what is now a close friendship with accolades passed around was once a rivalry for two of them.
Harmotto and Holehouse both remember playing against each other in club throughout high school. Harmotto recalls Holehouse, who was an outside hitter, being a problem for her team's block. Harmotto joked she "couldn't stand her when she was on the other side of the net."
As for Holehouse, the rivalry continued to go back and forth in terms of who won. Despite the intensity, she said they always had respect for each other.
Also sharing her first opinion of Holehouse is Fawcett, who said it was a simple one, but one she doesn't forget.
"She was built like a little boy -- she's still built like a little boy," she said with a laugh. "She's got no hips to her, but it was more so before. She was just so tiny when she came in you could just break her."
The first time Holehouse remembers talking to Fawcett was when the two went to get their student IDs. Holehouse said they clicked right away because of their similar tastes in music. From Jack Johnson to talking about Fawcett's attendance at a Coldplay concert, the two used music as an icebreaker, Fawcett said.
The other icebreaker for the group was not a band or a song, but a country: Canada.
Back in 2004, both Harmotto and Fawcett roomed together in Canada with the USA Junior National Team, and have stayed roommates ever since. That squad won the gold medal in Winnipeg.
On one night during their freshman year, Fawcett recalls watching movies with everyone when the group heard former Lion Laura Holloway get back to her room. Holloway's roommate at the time, Holehouse, heard her and Fawcett remembers Holehouse sprinting to her room so she could pretend she was sleeping. By doing so, Holehouse left her entire jug of milk, box of cereal, her bowl and spoon.
"We were like, ''Berta, seriously now?' " Fawcett said laughing. "There was never a dull moment with all of us."
From their time in the dorms to day-to-day occurrences, Harmotto has fond memories with her classmates. She said she hopes they stay in contact as they continue their careers.
Or perhaps continue the scavenger hunt they had three years ago.
"It was so funny because people saw us and thought, 'They're drunk,' " Fawcett said. "And we're like, 'No, we're dead sober here.' We were totally just screwing around in those outfits -- they were horrendous."
