After the Nittany Lions got a point off of a kill in their match against Purdue, Darcy Dorton let out a "Woo" and ran to the center of the court to greet her teammates.
But she was not the one who scored the point, Megan Hodge was.
Dorton smiled, jumped up in the air and quickly ran to be the first one to give Hodge, who scored the kill, a high-five after the big play.
The freshman on the Penn State women's volleyball team acts as a vocal leader for the Lions and this scene is commonly seen on the court in Rec Hall.
"I think that when you're young you have that excitement," senior setter Alisha Glass said. "We need that because sometimes it brings a little extra, and it's good for her. I think she plays really well when she's like that so we like when she gets really enthusiastic, and I think having her play well is just really an addition to what we want to do."
Dorton's enthusiasm is seen especially in her own success. The freshman is fourth on the team in kills, recording 177 after the team's match against Ohio State Wednesday. She also has an attack percentage of .304.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Indiana native has 33 digs and had her hand in on 36 blocks.
"Darcy is a stud," junior libero Cathy Quilico said. "She has already improved a lot just being here and I think she did really well in the first couple weekends of Big Ten [play]. She has done an incredible job."
After every point the freshman scores, a huge smile creeps across her face as she pumps her fists and runs to celebrate at center court with her teammates. There is rarely a time during the match where Dorton can be found not smiling or visibly having a good time.
Dorton said her goal going into every match is to help the team emotionally and get it ready for competition from an energy standpoint.
"I'm an easily excited person, that's just how I am," Dorton said. "I just have a lot of energy and enthusiasm for the game, and I hope for it to be contagious and I hope to get the team fired up."
The freshman's attitude on the court rubs off on other players as well, and they enjoy her encouragement. Junior middle hitter Fatima Balza said when they are doing rotations on the front row, Dorton often cheers on her teammate saying, "Let's go, Fati. We got this."
Balza said she loves the vocal excitement that Dorton brings to the team, and it helps the junior a lot.
Junior middle hitter Arielle Wilson agreed, saying the Lions appreciate Dorton's energy.
"The energy she brings just helps us smile and get into the game," Wilson said. "She does a great job of it and trying to get everybody involved. I think it shows how passionate she is about the sport."
Dorton said she simply has fun bringing energy to the court, but sometimes her team says she takes it overboard.
The freshman said she often has to remind herself to calm down and refocus so she can get ready for the next play.
"We tell her to calm down every once in a while," junior middle hitter Blair Brown said. "She chest bumped me, and I almost fell over during the Minnesota game, and I was like 'Darcy, you need to tone it down a little bit' and she does. Kind of. Not really."
Despite her sometimes over-energetic personality, coach Russ Rose expressed the importance of having enthusiasm and vocal leaders on the court. He said Dorton epitomizes what he is expecting from his team in those regards, and hopes that will rub off on other people.
He also said her enthusiasm is part of being young and new to a team, but he hopes to see it continue throughout her years on the team.
"She's young, but that was one of her strengths that she played with in high school and club volleyball," Rose said. "She's a competitive kid, and that's a great characteristic."
