Special to ESPN.com
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Wednesday, October 14, 2009
When top-ranked Penn State defeated No. 5 Minnesota in three sets Sunday, the Nittany Lions were playing for more than sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.
They were playing to uphold the program's tradition of excellence.
Darcy Dorton (No. 1) can't replace the graduated Nicole Fawcett, but she's on a path for success.
Even with a roster that includes four All-Americans -- senior setter Alisha Glass, senior outside hitter Megan Hodge, junior right-side hitter Blair Brown and junior middle blocker Arielle Wilson -- there was a question of whether PSU could maintain the dominating precedent established while winning back-to-back national titles.
Penn State's challenge coming into 2009 was to find a way to compensate for the graduation of outside hitter Nicole Fawcett and middle blocker Christa Harmotto, both first-team All-Americans who now play for the U.S. national team, and Roberta Holehouse, who earned honorable mention all-conference honors despite playing on the team that led the nation in hitting percentage.
"You don't really replace great players; you ask other people to carry different loads," coach Russ Rose said. "To date, we've been able to do that, but we've certainly had a number of teams that have showed us where we need to get better if we want to have success at the end of the year."
While there is little doubt Penn State's veterans are up to the challenge, winning a third consecutive national championship and a seventh straight Big Ten title will ultimately come down to whether or not the newest additions to the lineup can achieve the same level of chemistry.
Filling the vacated positions are junior co-captain Alyssa D'Errico at libero, junior college transfer Fatima Balza in the middle and outside hitter Darcy Dorton, considered the nation's top incoming freshman by several publications.
Dorton accepted the challenge and went one step farther, agreeing to wear Fawcett's number when the two met during the recruiting process. And so far, it appears to be a good fit. Dorton has been honored as the conference's freshman of the week four times and appears to be a strong candidate to duplicate Fawcett's first-year honors as the AVCA National and Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
"Wearing the No. 1 jersey does give me a lot to live up to, but it's exciting and a little bit of extra motivation," Dorton said. "She's a great player and not someone you can easily replace. I'm sure that she'll be someone who I can look to for advice and someone who will be willing to help. She's a great asset to the program."
Through 18 matches, Dorton is fourth on the team averaging 2.77 kills per set and has an impressive .345 hitting percentage. Her stats have been even better during the first six conference matches. In addition to sheer numbers, Dorton's on-court demeanor is reminiscent of Harmotto.
Co-captain Alyssa D'Errico has proven herself as a team leader at the libero position.
"It would be really unfair to ask Darcy to replace Nicole," Rose said. "Although she is wearing the same number, she has different strengths, and we're trying to bring her along as a freshman. But with Christa leaving, I thought we really needed someone who had great energy, and Darcy has done a great job as a freshman being consistent with her energy."
Dorton also benefits from playing with and against Hodge on a daily basis. The MVP of the past two Final Fours, Hodge has elevated her game again this season and gives Penn State a nearly unstoppable go-to player in any situation.
"She could have been the go-to player in every match since she's been here," Rose said. "We had so much talent that we didn't need that to be the case. Now we need that to be the case, and she's able to do that. There are a lot of challenges associated with that as well. You get beat up a little bit physically, you're always facing a big block and the other team's defense is prepared to stop you, specifically."
So far, no one has been able to stop her. Hodge is averaging 4.76 kills per set and owns a .444 hitting percentage, both career highs.
"Megan knows so much about the game, and she's always there to help me," Dorton said. "I can't do all the things she does right now, but in the future, that's the level I want to be at."
D'Errico's move from defensive specialist to libero was natural, and she leads the team averaging 3.38 digs and 0.59 aces per set. And after living with Fawcett and Harmotto, she was well-suited to take on the role of co-captain.
"Penn State volleyball is about upholding the tradition," D'Errico said. "Year after year, it gets passed down between classes. One of the things that Christa, Nicole and Roberta passed down to the rest of the team is that they worked from when they first got here all the way through the end -- and it paid off."
The Nittany Lions will need to work harder than ever if they want to make it through the conference schedule without losing a match for the fourth time in five seasons. So far this year, six conference opponents have been ranked in the Top 25 while two more have been listed among "Others Receiving Votes."
In 29 seasons, Russ Rose has created a tradition of excellence for Penn State volleyball.
After this past weekend, all 11 teams had winning overall records. If Penn State can pick up victories at No. 11 Michigan and Michigan State this weekend, the Nittany Lions will have defeated four of the top six teams in the Big Ten standings on the road.
"Michigan beat Nebraska 3-0 at the onset of the season, so we know how good they can be because we know how tough Nebraska was in Omaha the last time we played them," Rose said. "Every match has its own set of issues that you have to be prepared for."
Being prepared is one reason Penn State now owns a Big Ten-record 51-match conference winning streak. Iowa might have taken a set from the Nittany Lions on Oct. 2, but not since Nov. 8, 2006, at Ohio State has PSU lost a conference match.
"We know that every team is going to play their A-game against us and bring their best to the table," D'Errico said. "We have to bring our attitude and our style to the court, and make sure people know what Penn State volleyball is all about."
By defeating Minnesota, PSU took a crucial step toward winning another conference title. The Nittany Lions also have won 82 overall matches in a row since dropping a five-set decision to Stanford on Sept. 15, 2007.
Penn State needs only six more victories to tie the UCLA men's basketball team's record of 88 consecutive victories that began on Jan. 30, 1971, with a win at UC Santa Barbara and ended on Jan. 19, 1974, with a loss at Notre Dame.
"That says so much about the tradition that we have here, and it's something I'm really excited about being a part of," Dorton said. "That was exactly what I was looking for in a program -- someplace that was going to push me to get better every day and that would give me the opportunity to play at the highest level. The tradition of excellence here is like no other."
Dave Reed is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
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