THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Kelsey Moms/Collegian
Lions' coach Russ Rose (back, right) talks to the team during a match.
Lions looking to
move on from losses
By Ryan Loy
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
For the first time in nearly eight
years, the Penn State women's
volleyball team is
trying to rebound - --
after losing con- WOMEN'S
secutive matches. VOLLEYBALL
The No. 9
Nittany Lions (13-
4, 3-3 Big Ten) suffered setbacks at
Purdue and Indiana last weekend,
but the team knows it can't dwell
on those losses.
Coach Russ Rose and several
players said there's no use in
focusing on the past, and they
can't go back in time to change the
outcomes.
The Lions are focusing on
improving the aspects of their per
formance it can control one of
those being their attitude.
"I thought Purdue competed a
little harder than we did in the last
three games," Rose said. "When
you have opportunities to score
points and make plays, you need
to have a sense of urgency. I don't
think we were necessarily good at
that this weekend."
After beginning the season 7-0,
the Lions have gone just 6-4 in the
last 10 matches.
While two of those losses were
to top 10 teams in No. 2 Stanford
and No. 8 Illinois, the last two
defeats came to unranked oppo
nents.
Sophomore setter Kristin
Carpenter said nothing had to be
discussed among the team follow
ing the losses to Purdue and
Indiana. Each player knows it's
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time to pick up the tempo.
"It was a rough weekend, but
there's no better time to step up
our game than right now,"
Carpenter said. "It kind of stinks
that we're deciding this now, to
step our game up, but we need to
do it. The time is now"
Though the regular season is
now past the halfway point, senior
libero Alyssa D'Errico said the
Lions are still working at building
chemistry among the players on
the court.
It's been tough to form a cohe
sive unit because players are reg
ularly switched in and out of the
lineup as the team searches for
the ideal group of players,
D'Errico said.
For now, the libero said each
player is trying to get better indi
vidually, which will lead to the
team's progression.
While the team searches for its
identity, D'Errico said it's not lack
ing in confidence. She said it's
important to maintain faith in the
team during struggles some
thing she learned in her first sea
son at Penn State.
"If we would have let our men
tality change my freshman year
when we lost to Nebraska and lost
to Stanford, we never would be
what we are now," D'Errico said.
- It's just something that you have
to maintain and try to teach the
younger kids that it's upholding
the tradition. We didn't do a good
job of it this weekend, but we have
to move on and do better this next
weekend."
To e-mail reporter: rmlsl3B@psu.edu
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SPORTS
Middle battle heating up
By Emily Kaplan
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
The choice between the two
middle hitters isn't an easy one
they're not exactly similar.
Katie Slay is
3t a freshen;
just a Jst,
while Fatima WOMEN'S
Balza is a senior VOLLEYBALL
finishing up her
collegiate volley-
ball career.
Slay is defen
sive-minded
while Balza
focuses more on
offense.
Or, as setter
Krisin Carpen
ter puts it: Slay
"Katie's a giant
blocker and Fati's got that
Venezuelan swag."
It's seven weeks into the sea
son for No. 9 Penn State, but
coach Russ Rose has yet to
decide on which player he wants
as a complement to All-American
Arielle Wilson in the middle.
Both Slay and Balza offer
something different on the court.
And because of that, Rose is hes
itant to put one over the other on
the Nittany Lions' depth chart.
"I'm not sure if I was starting
today who I would start," Rose
said. "But I would think they
would both play. I would think
they'd both do some things well."
leers land in No. 4 spot
By Greg Garcia
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
For the Penn State leers, it's
only a number. The American
Collegiate Hockey Association
(ACHA) has the Icers ranked No.
4 in its latest edition of the top 25.
The Icers remained in the four
spot, despite posting wins at
Pittsburgh and a convincing 11-0
home debut against Drexel.
The two-time defending ACHA
Division I national champions,
Lindenwood University, remain
at the top despite suffering it's
first loss to Davenport, the three
time defending ACHA Division H
national champions. The
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By the Oct. 2 match against
Michigan, Slay was the regular
starter and Balza was relegated
to the bench. Slay made an
immediate impact, tallying five
block assists against the
Wolverines.
This past weekend, however,
the competition opened up again.
In the Lions' back-to-back road
losses to Purdue and Indiana,
Rose flip-flopped between the
two middles based on matchups.
And as of now, that's where the
race stands.
"It makes our team better
when it's competitive, and Katie
and Fati have this good competi
tion going," senior defensive spe
cialist Cathy Quilico said.
University of Ohio sits just
behind Lindenwood, while the
University of Oklahoma and lowa
State round out the top five.
The Icers were one of six
teams receiving a first place vote
from the committee.
Icers head coach Scott Balboni
felt the rankings are hard to read,
especially this early into the sea
son. He said as the season pro
gresses, the rankings would
become "more prevalent" after
he understands what teams have
played amongst one another.
Assistant coach Josh Hand
was more surprised when he
heard the news.
to save, visit the Watt Watchers section of
Rose has yet to name a starter
for Friday night's match against
No. 19 Minnesota. He said he's
waiting to see how things play
out in practice this week.
Balza began the year as Penn
State's regular starter. The
Meridia, Venezuela native start
ed 37 of the Lions' 38 matches
last season and her 1.47 blocks
per set in 2009 ranked 10th in the
nation.
Yet when the Lions went deep
er into their Big Ten schedule
and Slay adjusted to the fast
paced nature of collegiate volley
ball the freshman began to see
more court time. Penn State was
doing fine offensively, but needed
a defensive boost.
"To be honest, I had no idea we
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WEDNESDAY, OCT. 13, 2010 I 9
Carpenter echoed that senti
ment, adding she's seen both
players pick up their game
recently.
"Because, of course, they're
fighting for the same spot,"
Carpenter said. "It's good com
petition, it's healthy competi
tion."
The competition is so healthy,
Balza has been actually helping
Slay out.
Slay said she's been doing "a
lot of observing" during drills at
practice. The 6-foot-6 Raleigh,
N.C. native the tallest player
on Penn State's roster said
she will watch both Balza and
Wilson and take mental notes on
their form.
Afterward, Balza and Wilson
will give Slay feedback.
"Just things like I need to stay
further off the net, or watch my
relationship with the setter," Slay
said.
"And it really helps."
For Balza, that's all part of the
job description for being a senior
on the team. She said she doesn't
care who starts as long as
Penn State wins.
"We always want what's best
for the team," Balza said. "If
she's in, or I'm in, it doesn't mat
ter who's in. The point is to help
the team and get the goal togeth
er"
To e-mail reporter: exkso49@psu.edu
were ranked No. 4," Hand said
after Tuesday's practice with a
smile. "We don't put too much
weight on the rankings."
Hand said his team is more
worried about who they are fac
ing this weekend than where
they stand in the top 25, mention
ing how things can change quick
ly in collegiate hockey.
This weekend, the Icers will
square off against its first top-25
foe this season in Central
Oklahoma. The Bronchos squad
found itself ranked No. 16,
despite dropping six of their first
nine games.
To e-mail reporter: gjgso44@psu.edu
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