Men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik doesn't expect sophomore Joe Sunder to jump any higher this season.
Nor does he expect him to hit the ball any harder, dig any deeper or hustle to the net any faster.
Pavlik does, however, expect Sunder to play with a new swagger -- something he says the outside hitter gained from playing this summer for the U.S. Men's Junior National Team in the FIVB Men's Junior World Championships.
The Championships, held in Pune, India, from July 31 to Aug. 9, were a chance for Sunder to test his skills among the international elite. Though the U.S. team finished 2-6, placing eighth in a 12-team draw, Pavlik said it was the experience of playing in a high level competition that was essential to Sunder's growth as a player.
"I didn't expect for him to come back and say, 'Wow, Joe's a whole new guy,' " Pavlik said. "Rather he came back a player with more experience and certainly more confidence."
That is something Sunder is looking to focus on in his second season with the Nittany Lions.
Statistically, his rookie campaign had a near perfect script. Sunder, named to the EIVA All- Championship Team, played in all of Penn State's 31 matches last season, starting in 28. He also totaled 251 kills, 23 aces, 120 digs and 52 total blocks en route to the Nittany Lions' 24th NCAA appearance.
Yet behind the numbers, the accolades and the success, there was something separating the 6-foot-7 Sunder from his true potential.
"It took him a while to feel comfortable out there," senior captain Max Lipsitz said. "[The World Championships were] definitely a good experience for him, and now he's communicating better on the court and has made some improvements."
Some of those improvements include a new outlook on the game. For the U.S. team, Sunder was asked to play opposite hitter, a position he never played before. He said while the adjustment was hard at first, it eventually gave him a new perspective of the court.
Sunder said he will mostly play his regular outside hitter position for the Nittany Lions this spring, but coach Pavlik might find a way to incorporate him as opposite hitter in a few rotations.
"Last year was pretty straight forward," Sunder said. "Now I can do a couple new things, and I'm ready to have fun and mix it up."
And Pavlik is ready for Sunder to use some of his new "subtle improvements" at the collegiate level.
"Now that he's played against 6-foot-8, 6-foot-9 Russian players, he's learned what works for him," Pavlik said. "Hopefully he carries that over to when he's back to playing against 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-4 guys."
If practice is any indication, it certainly will.
In a routine preseason practice Wednesday morning at Rec Hall's South Gym, the team was working on situational drills. A three-man block was set up against Sunder, yet that didn't faze him. A perfect set by Edgardo Goas floated his way, and Sunder capitalized. He ripped the ball over the net, deflected it off sophomore Mark Shipp's fingers, before it dropped out of bounds in a matter of split seconds.
"The blocking was so good when I was in India," Sunder said. "So rather than hitting the ball straight down, I would have to hit it off the block. I've been trying to do that here."
Lipsitz thinks that small adjustments like that will allow Sunder to live up to his potential this season.
"He played well for us down the stretch last year," Lipsitz said. "And now I think he's ready to keep that up and really be a presence."
