The Daily Collegian
Lions excited for tough road test at Illinois
By Emily Kaplan
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Penn State women’s volleyball coach
Russ Rose picked No. 9 Illinois as the
preseason favorite to win the Big Ten.
Fighting Mini coach
Kevin Hambly said the .juniwriu’c
No. 2 Nittany Lions are WUMtIM s>
unquestionably the team VOLLEYBALL
to beat in the league.
On Friday night, con-
ference play kicks off with a showdown
between these two elite squads in
Champaign, 111.
And the Lions couldn’t be more excit
ed.
“Oh, we’re pumped," setter Kristin
Carpenter said. “Illinois is good. They're
always good. We’re basically playing
against the type of athletes that we are so
it’s good to get like a taste of our own
medicine. And we can t wait."
Illinois is 8-2 so far this season, and will
be with the services of Laura Deßruler
for the first time in two weeks.
Deßruler, who sat out the last five
matches with mononucleosis, has 1.738
career kills —just 23 short of the all-time
record at Illinois.
The Lions are eager to match up
against the best, but perhaps even more
Reddig overcomes injury, establishes threat
Whitney Reddig runs a' drill during field hockey practice earier this season
Reddig has bounced back from injury to contribute this year.
New women’s golfer proving worth to teammates
By Katie Montgomery
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
When an opportunity to play for
the Penn State women's golf team
came calling at Christina Vosters'
door, she didn’t
waste any time
answering the
call
After looking
into Ivy League
schools, other Big
Ten schools and
southern schools yolsters
such as South
Carolina and North Caroina State
Vosters knew from the beginning
that Penn State was the right
choice for her.
“[The team] has good chem
istry,” the freshman said. "I think
“Their gym is one of the best gyms I’ve ever played in.”
Fatima Balza
senior middle hitter
excited for the atmosphere they’ll be
playing in.
Huff Hall, which can hold 4,500 fans for
volleyball matches, is a red brick and
limestone arena, originally constructed
in 1925.
It’s where, in 1992, the Mini broke an
NCAA single-season volleyball atten
dance record by packing 52,666 fans into
the gymnasium over a span of 17 match
es. It’s also where, according to Illinois
folklore, the term “March Madness” was
coined, from the wild state high school
basketball tournaments the arena host
ed.
According to senior Fatima Balza, it’s
also the perfect environment for a Big
Ten volleyball match.
“Their gym is one of the best gyms I’ve
ever played in,” Balza said. “The stu
dents are all against you, yelling. It’s all
very exciting."
Balza said that last year, senior Megan
Hodge had a “superfan.”
A male Mini student took a special
interest in heckling Penn State’s four-
Amanda August/Collegian
we work really well together. We
all really want to do well and when
you have a group of teammates
who want to give 110 percent into
what they're doing and be suc
cessful, you are going to be suc
cessful."
After weeks of practicing with
the team Vosters impressively
qualified to compete with four
other veteran teammates in the
Cougar Classic on Sept. 13, the
first tournament of the season.
Although the Nittany Lions fin
ished tied for 14th out of the 19-
school field, Vosters shot a person
al-best 79 in the final round to end
with a 241 on the tournament fin
ishing tied for 99th place.
“She’s certainly more talented
than that,” coach Denise St.
Pierre said.
SPORTS
time All-American outside hitter.
Balza said he would yell things like, ‘Oh
Megan Hodge, you’re angry. Megan,
you’re angry.’
“I think he graduated so that is good,’’
Balza joked. “But we’re ready for what
ever else the other fans will do. It’s fun to
play there ”
Freshman Deja McClendon said some
of the veterans on the team have given
her a heads up about what to expect in
her first career Big Ten game. But
McClendon said she and the rest of the
Lions are ready for it. Penn State is
already battle tested from this month’s
Nike Big Four Classic, which featured
matches against now-No. 1 Stanford and
now-No. 3 Florida.
“[lllinois] is going to be a packed
house, and the crowd is going to be
insane,” McClendon said. “But our tour
nament in Florida also had a pretty big
crowd, so I’m not super worried. I’m just
excited for the competition.”
By Zach Fleagle
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Whitney Reddig has had a
slow start to the 2010 field hockey
season, but not because she
doesn’t have the
skill to con-
tribute. FIELD
One of the HOCKEY
Nittany Lions’ =====
eight freshmen
coming into the season, Reddig
battled a groin injury that kept
her off the field during an early
scrimmage against Maryland.
Reddig was struck with an injury
again against Old Dominion, as
she hobbled to the sidelines after
being hit in the knee, forcing her
to sit the next three games.
Although she said she’s not
100 percent recovered from the
bruise, Reddig said the injuries
are a thing of the past.
On Sept. 15, Reddig made her
first contribution during a home
game against Lafayette. The 5-
foot-7 forward made several runs
that had head coach Char Morett
smiling, if only to herself.
Reddig’s long strides allowed
her to get past the Panthers’
defense and although she didn’t
score, she proved she can be a
spark off the bench, which
Morett is ready to take advan
tage of more frequently.
“She didn’t have her best per
formance and it was a little bit of a
surprise because she had quali
fied so well here at home.
“It’s certainly a different experi
ence when a player goes off on
their own and I think there’s a lot
that she was absorbing all at once
and I think it got a little over
whelming for her.”
Collegiate golf differs from the
style of golf Vosters had been play
ing since she decided to pick up a
golf club in seventh grade and give
the sport a try, she said.
As a junior golfer Vosters was
responsible for her own success,
but in collegiate play she had to
adjust to playing with a team
instead of as an individual.
“It’s a different type of pressure
than junior golf,” Vosters said.
To e-mail reporter: exkso49@psu.edu
“We were really bummed
when Whitney got hurt. She gets
the competitive side of compet
ing. You get 100 percent effort,"
Morett said. “She runs down
every ball, she puts pressure on
the other team, she's always
around the cage. Whenever
Whit’s around the ball some
thing’s happening.”
That hustle was rewarded as
she recorded her first career
goal the very next game against
Temple.
The Lions' leading scorer,
Kelsey Amy, said Reddig's speed
really compliments her own
and gives the two a natural
understanding of how to use
space.
Although Reddig stands a few
inches taller than the 5-foot-4
Amy, both players, as well as for
ward Jess Longstreth. make
long runs toward the opposing
net to push the ball forward.
Morett said having Reddig as
another option can only make
the team more dangerous going
into Big Ten play.
Amy echoed Morett's thoughts
about the type of play when
Reddig is on the field.
“I feel that Whitney brings a lot
of aggression and just pure heart
to our team," Amy said. "She's
brought a lot of speed and skill
too, and has given us a new
“She’s very dedicated to her improvement.”
“When I was on tour [as a junior
golfer] I was competing against
other juniors to get a spot on a col
lege team. Now that I’m on a col
lege team I’m competing because
I want to be out there, you're play
ing it for your team which makes it
all that much better.”
To ensure she performs at her
best Vosters always eats a healthy
steak meal before competing
because the iron and protein helps
keep her focused and energized
during the competition, she said.
With a long list of first-place jun
ior finishes, including wins in the
Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010 I
Kristin Carpenter (5) sets to teammate Fatima
Balza during the Lions 3-0 sweep of St. John's.
dynamic look with our forward
line.”
Morett said the Big Ten fea
tures a much higher speed of
play, something that players like
Amy and Reddig should strive on
but the focus isn't all offense.
In fact, for Morett. it's all about
defense, specifically pressure on
the ball.
Reddig said she doesn't mind
the running, but she has to get
used to the tempo, and some
other changes from high school
to college defense included.
"Two hands on the stick."
Reddig said of things she hears
most often.
"It's definitely a different pace
of game because I played on
grass in high school. Every girl is
very skilled too so that's differ
ent '
Adjustments aside, the tall for
ward has made a mark in the
eyes of her coaches and team
mates. For now. everyone is wait
ing to see what's in store.
"She was hurt for a few weeks
and she waited patiently and
when she came back I think that
patience really paid off in the last
couple games." Amy said. "She's
feeling better every game and
I'm excited to see what she'll do
in the future."
To email reporter: zsfsoo3@psu.edu
PGA Junior Callaway Series and
the International Junior Golf Tour,
Vosters' pre-tournament ritual
seems to be paying off.
"Christina is a very hard work
er." St. Pierre said.
"She's very dedicated to her
improvement and performance in
the sport. For a freshman, she's
very mature but certainly like all
of us, has a lot to learn, but she's
very open to the learning process,
which makes her very enjoyable to
coach."
To e-mail reporter: kems23B@psu.edu
Denise St. Pierre
women's golf coach